Retail vs online store
It began with a retail store. A simple site + Satisfactory SEO provided calls and customer visits. Finally, the number of targeted search queries in the top exceeded the critical mass. And ... Customers began to actively demand delivery to the apartment and office.
We will understand whether IM is needed here?
Or - for a mirror story. How will sales change if I add to my retail?
So. A collection of our stuffed cones on the example of the project "Bambolo"
Sales of carnival costumes have a pronounced seasonal nature. There are two spikes in demand in the year: Halloween and the new year. If we take for 100% of the sale in the rest of the time, then during spikes demand will be 1000% and 1400%, respectively. Is it possible to increase the demand using IM and smooth the races in sales? How IM can expand sales during peak demand. And what problems await you.
Finally, we will try to understand: “How retail and IM sharing affects aggregate sales.”
Summer 2011 There is a retail - we launch it. Why solve the problem:
')
As a solution, we chose a self-written CMS. Why?
Technically, retail sales and through MI are two ways to write off goods from one warehouse. If the company first appeared in retail, they usually take 1C and attach it to it. The base of goods is already there, the staff got used to the interface, etc. Another undoubted plus of 1C is that it is actually an industry standard. You will always find specialists and turnkey solutions. Cons, too, are known to all. But the main thing in this situation is two bases, which means that synchronization of bases will always be a weak point.
In our situation, there was no umbilical cord to 1C, we worked from scratch.
Therefore, we have an enterprise management system - this is rather a website with the possibility of selling in retail. We did not find a complete solution. Therefore, they did it themselves. Below is how it works.
Single base instead of synchronization
When you break through the goods in the check, it can no longer be bought on the site. Similarly, when placing an order on the site - the goods will not break through in the store. On the site is always the current quantity of goods. It does not happen that they bought it at the same time in the store and ordered it on the site until the bases were synchronized.
For retail sales - cashier’s workplace
Which is one of the admin sections. To work you need a laptop, barcode scanner (Barcode), a printer and the Internet from 4kbps (that is, it can work even on a modem). Mobile and scalable. For example, in case of peak sales. The new workplace is a laptop + Internet + HQ scanner via USB.
All inventory accounting in the admin site
The product arrives on the site from the same second as it was credited to the warehouse and stuck with the SK. No delay. When making a product indicates the cost of buying and selling. Immediately prepared product card for promotion in search engines.
Of course, management accounting is at hand from anywhere in the world and from any mobile phone.
Quick and easy support
No need to hire expensive 1C programmers. Writes more people on php and is cheaper.
What did not think in advance:
Site
Platform: virtual machine on VMware Server, Processor: Xeon 5110 1.6Ghz, 2Gb of RAM. On board: Ubuntu Server 10.04 because:
2 ip addresses (backlog for scalability)
on the first ip, the apache2 frontend hangs and handles php
nginx hangs on the second ip and gives off static
On the site itself, all static content is loaded from the host static.bambolo.ru, looking at the second ip. If necessary, all the statics can be put on a separate server.
The database is on mysql 5.1.62, replication is configured on the backup server. Again, with a large load, you can switch all read operations to the backup server.
php 5.3.2 - out of the box
There is nothing unique in hosting - almost everything is delivered out of the box. On peak days, the system kept 5.2k uni per day with a depth of 5.6 pages. At peak hours, it reached 2.1 php script requests per second. This is not counting static.
Almost all information on the site is calculated in real time with minimal caching. For current needs is enough and gives room for maneuver in performance with an increase in the flow of users.
results
Internet sales increase total sales 2-3 times.
As a result, we have a decrease in dependence on the monthly fluctuations of various sources of sales.
IM must increase sales during the peak period, because all bottlenecks are scalable: people in stock, call center, courier service.
IM is a handy tool for ordering clear things. For example, for repeat orders. Retail store - better suited to buy a new unknown thing. To touch, smell, listen and appreciate the size and weight, taking in hand.
The real address and telephone number on the site is better than a feedback form and a cell phone. Trust more. Trite, of course.
Warehouse for IM with the possibility of self-delivery means the need for a room with repair. Convenient from a transport point of view. It turns out that at a price it is comparable to the rental of a retail store. It is easier to immediately make a shop with the possibility of fitting and self-delivery.
Retail and MI is a situation when 1 + 1 is greater than 2. Utility multiplication occurs for the client. Online buyer - you trust more. And retail - gets a convenient way to repeat orders.
Write comments, I wonder what you think.
The next article is “Sorry, the store is re-registered”
We will understand whether IM is needed here?
Or - for a mirror story. How will sales change if I add to my retail?
So. A collection of our stuffed cones on the example of the project "Bambolo"
Sales of carnival costumes have a pronounced seasonal nature. There are two spikes in demand in the year: Halloween and the new year. If we take for 100% of the sale in the rest of the time, then during spikes demand will be 1000% and 1400%, respectively. Is it possible to increase the demand using IM and smooth the races in sales? How IM can expand sales during peak demand. And what problems await you.
Finally, we will try to understand: “How retail and IM sharing affects aggregate sales.”
Summer 2011 There is a retail - we launch it. Why solve the problem:
')
- Choosing telephony for IM (see Double Direct ... )
We plan to take 8,800 for the regions. - We hold a tender among courier services (see. Looking for the perfect ... )
- Choose a CRM system. Requirements:
Important- Optimized for SEO. If there is no optimization, there will be no sales.
- Scalable.
- Able to synchronize the warehouse and IM. If this is not done, you will constantly explain why one thing is written on the site, and in fact everything is different. Unpleasant work.
- Available for changes to business goals.
Desirable- Cheap. For it is not known how things will develop.
- Access to web management information
- Choose a payment system.
Platron.ru. Why? Because the commission% is the same for everyone, everyone has an API. Initially, we focused on another company. But we were embarrassed by the arrest of their director for organizing a hacker attack. - Choose a method of accounting for goods in a retail store.
As a solution, we chose a self-written CMS. Why?
Technically, retail sales and through MI are two ways to write off goods from one warehouse. If the company first appeared in retail, they usually take 1C and attach it to it. The base of goods is already there, the staff got used to the interface, etc. Another undoubted plus of 1C is that it is actually an industry standard. You will always find specialists and turnkey solutions. Cons, too, are known to all. But the main thing in this situation is two bases, which means that synchronization of bases will always be a weak point.
In our situation, there was no umbilical cord to 1C, we worked from scratch.
Therefore, we have an enterprise management system - this is rather a website with the possibility of selling in retail. We did not find a complete solution. Therefore, they did it themselves. Below is how it works.
Single base instead of synchronization
When you break through the goods in the check, it can no longer be bought on the site. Similarly, when placing an order on the site - the goods will not break through in the store. On the site is always the current quantity of goods. It does not happen that they bought it at the same time in the store and ordered it on the site until the bases were synchronized.
For retail sales - cashier’s workplace
Which is one of the admin sections. To work you need a laptop, barcode scanner (Barcode), a printer and the Internet from 4kbps (that is, it can work even on a modem). Mobile and scalable. For example, in case of peak sales. The new workplace is a laptop + Internet + HQ scanner via USB.
All inventory accounting in the admin site
The product arrives on the site from the same second as it was credited to the warehouse and stuck with the SK. No delay. When making a product indicates the cost of buying and selling. Immediately prepared product card for promotion in search engines.
Of course, management accounting is at hand from anywhere in the world and from any mobile phone.
Quick and easy support
No need to hire expensive 1C programmers. Writes more people on php and is cheaper.
What did not think in advance:
- The reality of working with courier service.
We thought so. Now we will do the integration: CMS looks - if there are orders by a certain time. If there is, the courier is called by API. The consignment note is formed here from the CMS data: address, recipient, weight, list of goods, amount. In fact the following. We are for the courier service non-standard customer. Therefore, not all courier staff understand us. How can an API call a courier? Once a week, they persistently ask us questions about the need for a courier, the direction of parcels, etc. At times, a courier arrives - requires us to fill in the receipt with our hands.
On the state of spring 2012 - the main technological issues removed. The process of returning abandoned goods is being established. - The human factor in the store;
We conducted an inventory, put in order the base. And then one of the stories will surely happen: an unknown number of something is being stolen, or the seller will sell part of some composite suit.
It's time to do the inventory again. Although this question is rather organizational, it shows how the seller can influence the seemingly deliberate decisions. - Geodomains
If we had a time machine, we would certainly not invest in the promotion of one domain both in Peter and in Moscow. We would immediately begin to make geodomains. Why is this so important? Because so, you can do, without claims of Yandex, dozens of domains in the most important regions for you. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, only one sixth of the total population of Russia lives. It may well be that your buyers will be in the rest of the territory. Is there less buying power? But the competition is several times lower.
Right now we started the experiment with geodomains. What came out of this, we will write a little later - when we collect the regional statistics. Hey! Are there those who have already experienced it? Write in the comments. Your experience is now very useful to us. - Yandex.server - as a search engine on the site
Do you have hundreds of products on the site? Ok, soon even sellers will get confused in it. Prices, completeness, etc. Until you do a relevant product search, your customers will wander the site and / or torment you by phone. - Filters for goods
The search is good when you know the name of the product. If not, you need filters and product categories. They will clarify the availability, gender, color and size. - Customer issues
Made and tested. On the site - the current quantity of goods. Usability seems to be fine. Get ready for the fact that you have to turn into a captain obvious.
Client: You have written on your site that there are 5 pieces. And how many of them do you have?
You: Five. There indicated on the site the actual available count.
How to stop wasting time and resources on this we have not yet invented.
Site
Platform: virtual machine on VMware Server, Processor: Xeon 5110 1.6Ghz, 2Gb of RAM. On board: Ubuntu Server 10.04 because:
- quickly goes out and works out of the box
- Long Time Support until 2015
- Free and legal
2 ip addresses (backlog for scalability)
on the first ip, the apache2 frontend hangs and handles php
nginx hangs on the second ip and gives off static
On the site itself, all static content is loaded from the host static.bambolo.ru, looking at the second ip. If necessary, all the statics can be put on a separate server.
The database is on mysql 5.1.62, replication is configured on the backup server. Again, with a large load, you can switch all read operations to the backup server.
php 5.3.2 - out of the box
There is nothing unique in hosting - almost everything is delivered out of the box. On peak days, the system kept 5.2k uni per day with a depth of 5.6 pages. At peak hours, it reached 2.1 php script requests per second. This is not counting static.
Almost all information on the site is calculated in real time with minimal caching. For current needs is enough and gives room for maneuver in performance with an increase in the flow of users.
results
Internet sales increase total sales 2-3 times.
As a result, we have a decrease in dependence on the monthly fluctuations of various sources of sales.
IM must increase sales during the peak period, because all bottlenecks are scalable: people in stock, call center, courier service.
IM is a handy tool for ordering clear things. For example, for repeat orders. Retail store - better suited to buy a new unknown thing. To touch, smell, listen and appreciate the size and weight, taking in hand.
The real address and telephone number on the site is better than a feedback form and a cell phone. Trust more. Trite, of course.
Warehouse for IM with the possibility of self-delivery means the need for a room with repair. Convenient from a transport point of view. It turns out that at a price it is comparable to the rental of a retail store. It is easier to immediately make a shop with the possibility of fitting and self-delivery.
Retail and MI is a situation when 1 + 1 is greater than 2. Utility multiplication occurs for the client. Online buyer - you trust more. And retail - gets a convenient way to repeat orders.
Write comments, I wonder what you think.
The next article is “Sorry, the store is re-registered”
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/143649/
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