Winning sites add to the thrills for players and fans alike
Winning in the business of retailing sporting goods requires a sharp focus on what’s new in sports gear and apparel—and connecting with the passions of each sport’s enthusiasts. That strategy is common among the seven sporting goods retailers in this year’s Hot 100.
Take skiing. Ski buffs wait for months for the first snow to fall, as they clamor for any information on the latest in constantly changing ski gear and styles. Skis.com serves their passions in a way only an online retailer could: It posts hundreds of videos prior to each ski season that feature skiers testing and commenting on new skis, boots and other equipment. “That brings credibility, brand recognition and traffic to our site,” says Steve Kopitz, president and CEO of Summit Sports, which operates Skis.com and several other e-commerce sites for outdoor sports.
Each sport has its own set of passion plays that winning retailers serve well. At NASCAR.com/Superstore, stock car racing fans don’t have to look far to find merchandise personalized to their favorite drivers. A tower of lighted drivers’ numbers—mimicking the racetrack tower that shows the current race position of each driver—lets shoppers click into a merchandise shop for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or dozens of other professional drivers on the NASCAR circuit.
Hunting and fishing enthusiasts, of course, love to brag about the one that didn’t get away. So when Gander Mountain launched its first retail e-commerce site this year, it didn’t crimp in providing an online forum on GanderMtn.com for customers to strut their stuff. The site’s Bragging Board lets visitors upload photos of their catch and share comments on each other’s accomplishments. “The outdoors person is very community oriented, so our Bragging Board gets a lot of attention,” says vice president of marketing Casey Ramm.
When sports enthusiasts aren’t outside doing their thing, they often imagine they are. No one helps them do that better than outdoor gear retailer TheNorthFace.com, where high-resolution photographs give viewers the feeling they’re right there hiking alongside a glacier or scaling a rocky peak. And when they’re ready to buy something for their next outing, the retailer’s online imaging and quick-look features make shopping a breeze. Back to top
A community of hunters
More than a decade ago, Gander Mountain left the direct-to-consumer business to its rivals in retailing of gear and apparel for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. In the summer of 2008 it returned, sporting both a catalog and its first-ever retail e-commerce site.
A big reason for the return, says Casey Ramm, vice president of marketing, is to use the web presence to build on the outdoor sports enthusiasts’ interest in sharing their exploits and learning from one another. They can do that on the site’s Bragging Board, where visitors upload photos of the fish or deer that didn’t get away, and comment on each other’s accomplishments. Judging by its popularity, Gander Mountain has come a long way in a short time in meeting its online objective.
“The outdoors person is very community-oriented, so our Bragging Board gets a lot of attention,” Ramm says.
Gander Mountain has struck a chord with its community features, one expert says. “The Bragging Board seems to have some nice traction, they should promote that more,” says David Schofman, former head of Callaway Golf Interactive who is now an independent e-commerce consultant.
The site is designed well with good navigation, but needs better searching and sorting capabilities to help shoppers find what they’re looking for, Schofman adds.
Gander Mountain’s return to the direct business remains a work in progress, as it steadily increases the assortment of products available for purchase through GanderMtn.com and completes its integration with Overton’s, a web and catalog retailer of marine sports supplies it acquired last year.
In the meantime, it’s generating traffic with seasonal changes in merchandise along with its community features. “What gets people coming back to our site is the newness of product offerings changing from one season to another,” Ramm says.
As Gander grows online, it will use its community features to better understand what customers want, Ramm says. “Our goal is to properly outfit our customers, so they’re not disappointed when they get out to the hunting or fishing site.” Back to top
Social shoe shopping
A big marketing challenge for online retailers these days, especially those targeting a youthful audience, is figuring out how to project a brand on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook without using devices like banner ads that are overtly commercial.
Determined to leverage the marketing potential of online social networks, shoe retailer Journeys.com allows shoppers to share product information through several social networking sites such as Digg.com and Facebook.com.
Shoppers can share product information by clicking on the social networking site’s icon on the product page. For example, Digg.com allows members to submit stories on a topic which others can then comment on.
Journeys.com added the feature to appeal to its core audience, made up of consumers between the ages of 12 and 24. “This is a social-oriented demographic when it comes to sharing information,” says John Tighe, director of e-commerce for parent company Genesco Inc. “They want to share opinions in a relevant manner.”
“More retailers are dipping their toe into social networking in order to draw shoppers to their sites,” says Sunita Gupta, an executive vice president for consulting firm LakeWest Group LLC. “Journeys.com has found a good starting point.”
Recognizing that its customers like to share opinions, Journeys.com also has added customer reviews that are posted on its site and in some cases on product review site buzzillions.com. The feature enables shoppers to comment on products in their own voice, which makes the information more poignant to their peers.
“It’s a way to push information out from our site to the social networking sites, rather than down from social networking sites,” says Tighe.
Journey’s zoom feature plays well with shoppers by enabling them to click to zoom in on a product. They can also use a slider to magnify or reduce an image.
“Shoppers want advanced zoom features because they replicate inspecting an item up close in the store right down to the shoe pattern,” says Chris Vicente, senior manager, Products Consumer Markets Group for BearingPoint. “The site says to its audience ‘we know how you want to shop.’” Back to top
On-track performance
When NASCAR fans head to the track on race day, they often wear the number and colors of their favorite driver on a customized jacket or baseball cap. And as they cheer from the stands as cars fight for position amid the roar of horsepower, they often glance at the electronic tower of lighted numbers that show the race position of each driver.
At NASCAR.com/Superstore, a familiar tower of lighted drivers’ numbers greets fans on the home page. Ranked by level of merchandise sales, which often coincides with drivers’ records in winning races, each number lets visitors click to a merchandise page related to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or any of dozens of other drivers currently competing in the races of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
“We’re the official online store of NASCAR, so we want to make sure it looks authentic, and make it as familiar to customers as possible,” says Mike Denton, director of e-commerce.
The site is as efficient as a pit stop at a NASCAR track, says David Schofman, an e-commerce consultant and former head of online retailer Callaway Golf Interactive. “It is clean, easy to navigate and fast,” he says. “The shop-by-driver concept is a type of selling that makes perfect sense for this target consumer, which is most often driver focused.”
The NASCAR online shop, designed and hosted by GSI Commerce Inc., is continuing to rev up its performance, Denton says. In July it launched a custom configurator that lets shoppers design their own products with racetrack logos—for example, a sweatshirt with their choice of several NASCAR-related emblems on the front, back and sides. Shoppers also can insert a professional driver’s signature and add their own name in block letters across the top of the back.
And NASCAR is not planning on slowing down. The site, which also sells items ranging from wristwatches to barbecue grill covers adorned with drivers’ numbers, plans to launch a redesign in 2009 that will allow for even more customization, Denton says. Back to top
Perpetual change
The Orvis Co. Inc. has been selling sporting goods and clothing for the outdoors-minded for 12 years. Such longevity suggests an ability to change with the times and an understanding of what shoppers want. Since 1997, Orvis.com has extended those traits to its e-commerce site.
Orvis.com’s rule of thumb has been incremental change, rather than wholesale site tear-down and rebuild, says Brad Wolansky, vice president of global e-commerce. “We have built a platform that we know works and that our customers are familiar and comfortable with,” he says. “And new customers find it very easy to use. We are very conscious of staying up-to-date and competitive with features and functionality and introducing things into the site that will cause people to come back.”
Since January, Orvis.com has upgraded or added a range of features and functions including site search, save for later, gift registry/wish list, product Q&A, basket preview and integrated Flash video. The Flash video feature, developed in-house, was designed to keep shoppers engaged for a few seconds while a home page product video loads. The presentation takes the place of the “please wait” message that many sites display during the few seconds a site takes to load Flash media.
“The static presentation has made the user experience better, and that makes marketing better,” Wolansky says.
Orvis.com exudes warmth and trust, says Georgianne Brown, managing partner at Big Couch Media Group and president and CEO of PetStyle.com, a web broadcast and social network for pet lovers. Product selection is tightly focused on an outdoor lifestyle, she notes, while product range is extensive. “Once inside the main categories, the second-level sub-categories go very deep.”
Adherence to its theme carries through to ancillary products and services, including travel and home resources, Brown notes.
The site’s overall feel is advanced by its merchandising, which is seasonally focused, she says. “That’s always important for a lifestyle site.” Brown also praises Orvis.com for positioning its e-mail newsletter sign-up on every page, and for following up with a “thank you” message after registration. Back to top
Making great strides
Many bricks-and-mortar running stores allow shoppers to try on shoes, take a stroll around the shop and even go for a jog while an associate analyzes their gait
RunningWarehouse.com takes that same level of customer service and product assessment to the web. The e-retailer knows that, when it comes to running shoes, fit makes all the difference, and so it offers several ways to help runners ensure they are getting it right—even if they can’t physically test the shoes out.
For example, shoes on the site are classified not only by brand, but by attributes such as supportive or wide. Those new to running who aren’t sure what type shoe they need can submit a video of themselves jogging, which Running Warehouse employees analyze and use to recommend an appropriate shoe.
The Most Similar Shoe comparison feature points out shoes with common traits. “If you went into the running store and told the rep what you ran in, these are the shoes he would bring out,” says Joe Rubio, general manager of Running Warehouse LLC. “It’s another way we try to replicate the store experience.”
The site also offers 360-degree shoe views and runner-focused product details, such as the height of the toe box and arch structure. A scale accompanying each shoe rates pronation control and support.
“All the information and rich technology reinforces trust in the company and brand and in the purchase of the product,” says Alexandra Sotereanos, senior engagement manager at retail consultancy McMillan Doolittle LLP.
Rubio takes inspiration for new site features from everyday life. Paging through car magazine Road&Track, for example, he noticed a feature called First Drive—a writer’s take on a new vehicle after a quick spin. That inspired a video segment the retailer is developing called First Run—a short clip of a runner offering a review of a new shoe after a test run.
And Rubio is not above paging through his wife’s reading material for ideas either.
“My wife gets People magazine and they have clothing sections that are pretty well laid out,” he says. “I look at that for apparel ideas.” Back to top
Straight to video
Online shoppers like product reviews, but it’s tough to review skis because typically a ski is offered just for one season. By the time a skier could write a review, the ski season is likely coming to an end.
That’s why Steve Kopitz, president and CEO of Summit Sports, which operates eight stores and several web sites, takes 30 of his employees to an annual event in February where ski and snowboard manufacturers give retailers an opportunity to test new products. Kopitz has his employees try out scores of skis and snowboards. Then they glide right from the slopes to a waiting videographer to tape product reviews.
Those videos are posted to Skis.com, an e-commerce site owned by Summit, so that customers can view them before ski season begins. “Competitors don’t have reviews on their sites because nobody’s skied these products,” Kopitz says.
Skis.com first posted the video reviews last year, and also posted 300 of them on YouTube, generating more than 1 million views, Kopitz says. “That brings credibility, brand recognition and traffic to our site,” Kopitz says. During ski season, unique visitors to Skis.com surge to an average of 225,000 per month, compared to a monthly average of 95,000 for the year.
This year the reviews include a new element: each tester does a video describing his skiing experience, so visitors can find reviewers with a skill level like theirs.
Another new feature this year allows shoppers to create a package of products based on skill level. They choose skis and bindings, then can choose from a variety of other products, such as boots, poles and apparel. “We make sure customers get the exact right product,” Kopitz says. “There’s no mixing of a low-end boot with a high-end ski with inappropriate binding.”
“Skis.com is trying to establish itself as a portal of information for anyone who is interested in skiing,” says Ayat Shukairy, a managing partner with Invesp Consulting, which specializes in optimizing e-commerce sites. She thinks that’s an excellent strategy, and one that could be advanced with the addition of blogs and forums. Back to top
Looking up
TheNorthFace.com may be new to e-commerce, but its staggering imagery, content and media firmly establish the site as a serious online retail contender.
Previously the outdoor gear manufacturer, a division of VF Outdoor Inc., sold through the web sites of partner retailers. It launched its own direct-to-consumer site this year.
One of the biggest draws of the site is the videos that offer a balance of beauty and performance, says Mara Devitt, partner at retail consultancy McMillan Doolittle LLP.
“The sophisticated imagery on the site inspires action and successfully showcases the strengths of the product under real working conditions,” she says.
Indeed, the site showcases many of the more than 50 athletes The North Face sponsors doing what they do best—testing the limit. An expedition video titled Trango Passion, for example, follows two climbers as they conquer a peak in Pakistan. The athletes’ personal blogs vividly describe their exploits, and photos capture breathtaking scenes along the way.
While mesmerizing photos are great, the company has learned that a site that sells needs different content from an informational site, says Greg Pulsifer general manager of e-commerce. “We’ve had to work on incorporating content and optimizing product detail pages,” he says. “We listened to the feedback and people were telling us they want to know the weight of our tents and they want more information about materials.”
The new mindset also inspired innovations designed to make shopping easier. For example, if the site is out of a particular SKU, a new service searches the inventory of other e-retailers selling North Face merchandise. If the product is available elsewhere, TheNorthFace.com directs the consumer to the retailer’s site.
Features on the horizon include a buy online, pick up in store option, and a new focus on spring and summer apparel, equipment and gear. The North Face brand has always had a strong following for alpine sports and now hopes to expand in warm-weather activities, Pulsifer says.
There’s a lot on the to-do list, he says. Indeed, at less than a year old, TheNorthFace.com is far from reaching its peak.
