Size Doesn't Matter Anymore In Online Purchases
Internet-only deals are increasingly turning the Web into a virtual bargain basement for big-ticket items from snowblowers to HDTVs.
The offers are stoking a marked change in consumer behavior. For years people have embraced the practice of buying small and easily-packaged items, such as books, online. But purchasing big, costly products after merely viewing them on a computer screen has been much slower to catch on. In recent months, however, a number of retailers have noticed a significant jump in online sales of big-ticket items, like refrigerators and treadmills.
Overall, total revenue from online sales of large items, including furniture, appliances and other equipment rose 34% during the most recent pre-Christmas holiday period (Nov. 1-Dec. 25, 2005) from a year earlier, according to research firm comScore Networks. Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. says sales on its Web site in December grew more than 40% from December 2004, with appliances such as big-screen television sets selling particularly briskly. In fact, Best Buy tallied that TV sales on its Web site grew three times as fast as TV sales in its stores in 2005 from a year earlier. Companies such as Sears Holdings Corp., sporting equipment retailer Cabela's Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. now report selling hefty items like treadmills, log cabins and mattresses on their Web sites.
Some retailers believe that the increased complexity of products such as TVs and washing machines has sent more consumers to the Internet to conduct research -- and many end up placing an order while they're online. Many manufacturers and online retailers have also put better systems into place so that online orders can be shipped to the customer directly from the manufacturer. To entice consumers further, some online retailers are offering to pay the shipping costs.
Jeff Elliott, a 46-year-old building-materials project manager in New Palestine, Ind., purchased a $2,700 42-inch plasma-screen television set late last year from Best Buy's Web site, and about a year ago he bought a $1,100 Bose audio system with speakers and subwoofers online. Mr. Elliot says he bought the large items over the Web to spare himself from "breaking my back, or taking a chance of breaking something" by having the retailer deliver his big purchases to his home. He adds that if Internet sites are willing to do the "heavy lifting" with big items, he's all for it.
A gun safe sold at Cabela's is one of the oversize items available online.
All of this is a boon to consumers as some retailers, eager to promote online sales of large items, offer more Internet-only specials related to big stuff. Target Corp.'s Web site is offering free shipping on select furniture and patio furniture through Saturday. J.C. Penney Co. offers discounted beds, bedroom furniture sets, patio furniture, mattresses, tables and chairs on its Web site. Home Depot offers no shipping charges on its patio furniture bought online. Best Buy currently has two offers centered on sizable items that can be found exclusively on its Web site. In one offer, Best Buy says it will give away a free DVD recorder with any $999-or-higher TV purchase. In its other offer, Best Buy promises a free 20-inch television set with the purchase of any large appliance priced at $999 or more.
When Charley Geoly, an executive recruiter, was building a home in Menlo Park, Calif., recently, he bought 3,600 pounds of copper gutter, a 37-inch and 50-inch TV, 1,000 cabinet handles and pulls, and other items on the Internet. "What the Web gives you is much broader access" to suppliers and manufacturers, he says. "I had better selection and more easy selection."
The trend differs from buying used cars and homes through the Internet, since cars and houses can't be mailed to a consumer's home. Many of the car and home sales that take place through Web sites also aren't sales at all -- real-estate and auto sites typically refer a consumer to a car dealer or real-estate agent and take a cut for making the referral. Some sites such as eBay Inc.'s eBay Motors site are exceptions, because the entire transaction, mostly used cars, takes place on the site and delivery of the used car varies widely from in-person pickup to shipment and special delivery. For the most part, actual physical sales of homes and used cars over the Web are limited.
For retailers, the payoff from selling big stuff online can be huge. The average order on Costco Wholesale Corp.'s Web site, which sells many large items such as caskets and children's playhouses, is $450, according to Ginnie Roeglin, senior vice president of e-commerce and publishing. Some retailers and analysts say that big, brand-name items carry a higher price and are more generally more profitable than small products such as socks, though that varies by product.
Some online retailers say consumer purchases of big merchandise on the Web will help fuel their growth. Amazon.com Inc. last year built several new warehouses, which Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said were constructed in part to accommodate the larger products that he anticipates the company will sell. Amazon sells jumbo items including patio furniture, mountain bikes and home gym equipment. The company declined to comment on the number of big items it sells.
Start-ups also are capitalizing on the growing appetite for buying big items online. UShip Inc., an Austin, Texas, company founded in 2003, helps buyers and sellers transport large items. The firm created a Web marketplace in the image of Internet auctioneer eBay, where individuals post an item that needs to be moved -- such as a car -- and independent truckers and freight carriers bid on listings to deliver it. UShip charges the trucker or person providing the moving service a fee of 7.9% of the accepted bid price.
Doug Dolginow, an executive at a genomics drug company in Gaithersburg, Md., recently tested out UShip. In August, Mr. Dolginow bought a 250-pound astronomy dome from another hobbyist on an astronomy Web site, but didn't know how to transport the odd-shaped 6-by-7-foot item from Boston to Maryland. Commercial shippers wanted to charge $1,000 or more, and flying to Boston to drive the dome home by U-Haul would have cost just as much, says Mr. Dolginow. So he turned to UShip, and found a mover through that site.
The transaction and the move were "amazingly smooth," says Mr. Dolginow, who ultimately spent $550 to get the dome to his house.
大件商品占据网上购物一席之地
网上交易使互联网日益成为从吹雪机到高清电视等大件商品的虚拟集散地。
消费者的行为也因此发生了很大变化。多年来，人们已经习惯于在网上购买书籍等容易包装的小商品。但仅凭在电脑屏幕上看上几眼就购买价格昂贵的大件商品却一直难以为人们所接受。不过，近几个月来许多零售商都注意到，冰箱和脚踏车等大件商品的网上销售量出现了迅猛增长。
根据研究机构comScore Networks的数据，家具、家用电器等大件商品的网上总销售额在2005年11月1日-12月25日的圣诞节销售旺季比2004年同期增长了34%。电子产品零售商Best Buy Co.表示，其网站去年12月份的销售额比2004年同期增长了40%以上，大屏幕电视机等电器的销售尤为火爆。实际上，Best Buy的统计显示，同2004年相比，2005年该公司网站上的电视机销量增幅是商店中销量增幅的三倍。Sears Holdings Corp.、体育设备零售商Cabela's Inc.和沃尔玛连锁公司(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)都已在其网站上销售跑步机、小木屋和床垫等大件商品。
部分零售商认为，电视机和洗衣机等产品的日益复杂使越来越多的消费者到网上搜索相关信息，许多人也就因此在网上订购了相关产品。许多制造商和网上零售商业推出了更先进的系统，使网上订单能够把商品从制造商那里直接交付给消费者。为了进一步吸引客户，部分网上零售商还代付送货费。
印第安纳州46岁的建筑材料项目经理杰夫?爱略特(Jeff Elliott)去年从Best Buy网站花2,700美元购买了一台42英寸的等离子电视，大约一年前他还在网上购买了一台1,100美元的Bose音响。爱略特说，他从网上购买大件商品是为了将自己从到商店购买大件商品的繁重劳动中解脱出来。他还说，如果网站愿意挑起大件商品的运送重担，他完全赞成。
随著一些热衷于在网上销售大件商品的零售商提供了更多互联网上才有的特殊服务，消费者也从中获得了实惠。Target Corp.的网站周日至周六对部分家具和户外家具提供免费送货服务。J.C. Penney Co.在网站上提供了折扣价的床、卧室家具、户外家具、床垫、桌椅等。Home Depot对在网上购买的户外家具免费运送。Best Buy目前对仅在其网站上销售的大件商品提供了两项优惠活动。其中一项是对任何购买999美元以上电视的消费者免费赠送DVD刻录机。另一项是对任何购买999美元以上家用电器的消费者免费赠送20英寸的电视机。
当担任某公司招聘主管的查理?乔利(Charley Geoly)最近在加州兴建房屋时，他从网上购买了3,600磅的铜水槽、一台37英寸的电视和一台50英寸的电视、1,000个门柜把手和拉手，以及其他物品。他说，互联网使你能接触到更多的供应商和制造商，能够更方便，更好地进行挑选。
这个趋势同在网上购买汽车和房屋不同，因为它们不能邮寄到消费者的家中。许多网上的汽车和房屋销售根本就不是销售──房地产网站和汽车网站通常将消费者推荐到汽车销售商或房地产机构那里，并从中收取介绍费。不过，eBay Inc.的eBay Motors等一些网站是个例外，因为全部交易（多是二手车）都是在网上进行的，二手车的交货则包括当面交付和托运等多种方式。总的来说，网上销售实际销售的房屋和二手车数量有限。
对零售商而言，在网上销售大件商品能够获得丰厚的回报。Costco Wholesale Corp.电子商务及出版业务高级副总裁金尼?勒格林(Ginnie Roeglin)称，该公司网站的订单平均金额为450美元。一些零售商和分析师表示，知名品牌的大件商品价格更高，利润一般也比袜子等小商品更大，不过这也因产品不同而有所变化。
一些网上零售商表示，消费者在网上购买大件商品会推动公司业绩的增长。亚马逊公司(Amazon.com Inc.)去年建设了几个新仓库，该公司首席执行长杰夫?贝索斯(Jeff Bezos)称目的之一是为了放置预计公司将要销售的大件商品。亚马逊公司销售户外家具、登山自行车和家用健身设备等大件商品。该公司对其销售的大件商品数量不予置评。
一些初创企业也看到了网上购买大件商品热带来的商机。成立于2003年的德州公司UShip Inc.帮助买卖双方运送大件商品。该公司在网上拍卖网站eBay那里建了一个网上店铺，人们可将汽车等需要运送的商品贴在那里，个体卡车司机或货车司机报出运送价格。UShip向中标卡车司机或提供运送服务的人收取的费用是成交价的7.9%。
马里兰州一家基因药品公司的管理人员道格?多尔吉诺(Doug Dolginow)最近也尝试UShip的服务。去年8月份，多尔吉诺在一个天文学网站从另一个爱好者那里购买了一个250磅重的天文观测室，但不清楚如何能将这个7英尺长，6英尺宽的物品从波士顿运到马里兰。多尔吉诺说，专业运送机构的报价是至少1,000美元，飞到波士顿将这个房子通过U-Haul运回也要花差不多的价格。因此他选择了UShip，并通过该网站找到了一个运送者。
多尔吉诺说，交易和运送都特别顺利。他最终花了550美元将这个观测室运到家中。
