Selling Remotely Without Disrupting an Independent Store

A customer asks you by message if an item is available. You look for the reference, send a photo, confirm the price then organize collection. Repeated several times a day, this succession of exchanges can become difficult to follow during in-store reception. A distance selling system can structure these requests. But before opening an online store, you must decide which products to offer, who prepares the orders and how to keep the stock up to date. The tool supports this organization.

What Aux Belles Histoires says

In a testimony from the CCI updated in February 2022, Aux Belles Histoires, a book and toy business in Aix-les-Bains, looks back on its move to distance selling during the 2020 confinements.

The manager reports around one hundred orders between April 20 and May 11, 2020, with exchanges by email, collection and delivery. It also highlights the necessary preparation work and family mobilization. During the second confinement, the store developed online ordering with the support of the CCI Savoie.

This return illustrates both the interest and the burden of an additional channel. Its context is exceptional: this volume does not constitute a forecast for a business today. The testimonial does not provide a net margin and specifies that these sales do not replace usual turnover. Read the testimony published by the CCI.

Choose a first serve that is easy to hold

Start with an already common situation: reserve an available product, recommend a known reference or prepare a gift for collection. A precise objective will help you choose a suitable route.

If stock requires manual verification, a reservation request may be suitable. Make it clear that she is waiting for your confirmation. If you collect directly online, the customer must be able to count on availability and collection or delivery methods consistent with the order.

Don’t multiply channels from the start. An order received by email, another on a social network and a third over the phone become difficult to track without a common register.

Select the products before filling out the catalog

Choose references that you know how to describe, prepare and restock. A short, up-to-date catalog may be a better starting point than a complete inventory whose availability becomes uncertain.

For each product, gather a faithful photo, the price, the variants and the information that allows you to choose. Report helpful restrictions, such as a mandatory pickup for an item you're not shipping.

Also evaluate the counseling time. If a product systematically requires in-depth discussion, offer contact before ordering rather than letting the customer choose at random.

Organize the preparation and delivery to the customer

Define who views orders, verifies possible payment and puts items on hold. A shared status must make it possible to distinguish a request received, an order in preparation and a withdrawal completed.

Reserve an identifiable space for prepared products. Set pickup slots based on the actual presence of the team and specify how the customer learns that their order is ready.

Before communicating widely, test a complete process: order over the telephone, reception at the store, preparation, confirmation then delivery. Also check what happens when an item is missing or a customer wants to change their choice.

Watch what each command actually leaves

The number of commands is not enough to judge the device. Track associated revenue, product cost, payment fees, packaging, eventual delivery and processing time. Also include cancellations and returns in your balance sheet.

Compare this operation to the capacity of your team. If each sale requires many messages, improve the sheets or simplify the choices. If the preparation disrupts the reception, adjust the slots before expanding the catalog.

Distance selling can complement the store when its organization and economics are tenable. Present your catalog and your operation to ISS Agency to define a first realistic route.