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Shopping Centers Today -> April 2003
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E-TAXES INEVITABLE, CONSUMERS DON’T CARE
State and local sales taxes will be collected on all merchandise bought over the Internet within three to five years, says Jupitermedia Corp. But that’s not likely to have an impact on the medium’s growth, the tech research firm predicts. Most consumers are not even aware they can avoid paying sales taxes by shopping on the Internet, and those who are don’t care, according to a Jupitermedia survey. Only 46 percent know that they evade taxes, and of these, 61 percent say they don’t go out of their way to find online retailers that don’t charge taxes; only 9 percent say they always do. “The benefits of multichannel integration overwhelmingly outweigh the importance of sales-tax avoidance,” said Ken Cassar, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research, which is part of Jupitermedia, in a news release. |
MULTICHANNEL MIX-UP
Charming Shoppes, which owns the plus-size Catherine’s, Fashion Bug and Lane Bryant stores, has a multichannel dilemma on its hands. The company is due to begin selling apparel on lanebryant.com this spring, a site it has hitherto used only for marketing purposes. But this is not to be confused with lanebryantcatalog.com, owned by Brylane, the previous owner of the Lane Bryant chain, which still owns the rights to the name.
FAO TAPS SAKS APPEAL
Saks and bankrupt toy retailer FAO Inc., which owns FAO Schwarz, The Right Start and Zany Brainy, at press time were planning to set up a joint in-store and online baby-gift registry in their respective stores. This is part of an agreement already signed that allows the toy chains to sell merchandise in Saks. “These great departments and special products will be a wonderful addition to our stores,” said George Jones, Saks Department Store Group’s president and CEO, in a news release. |
VIDEO VENDING
A local clothing and gift store near Charleston, S.C., is taking an extra step for its online customers — literally. The upscale store, Gwynn’s of Mount Pleasant, is equipped with two Web-linked cameras mounted on tripods. Internet shoppers can call up and a sales assistant will wheel a camera over to merchandise they wish to inspect on their computer screens, while talking to them on a mobile phone. “It’s the antithesis of the Internet,” owner Marshall Simon Jr. told SCT, explaining that the service enables the store to offer e-shoppers the same personal service that walk-in customers get. But walk-in customers can also use the cameras and phone to consult family and friends about outfits, said Simon.
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ALERT RETAILER
The U.S. government’s decision early this year to raise the terrorism alert status level to orange raised some green for an entrepreneurial Midwest hardware store chain owner. Mike McWethy assembled his own homeland security kit — consisting of duct tape, plastic sheeting and a copy of the Department of Homeland Security’s Preparedness Advisory Document — and sold more than 100 online at his chain’s Web site for $15, plus $15.80 shipping and handling, he told SCT.
Shopping Centers Today
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