I know: There鈥檚 no shortage of eager young people willing to work for nil. Hey, I was one of them. I accepted a three-month unpaid internship at an outdoor magazine a few years ago, hoping it would be a launching pad for my journalism career. (Turns out, it was.) I don鈥檛 regret the decision to work for free鈥攄espite thousands of dollars spent in steep rent and university tuition for an internship course that legalized my unpaid labor. But I was lucky. I had scholarships and family to help me afford it. Listen up, outdoor industry leaders. It鈥檚 time to start paying your interns.

Plenty of talented potential employees can鈥檛 say the same. What about the students punching in at two or more summer jobs to fund their college education? They can鈥檛 consider an unpaid position. Students from higher-income families snatch the jobs instead, and we lose voices the industry so desperately needs. An internship at a major company can be a crucial foot in the door for a young employee. So if we鈥檙e serious about improving diversity in this industry, let鈥檚 start opening that door to everyone.

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While hauling his luggage out the door, Eric Derflinger ticks off each item from his mental packing list.

Jackets, pants, and gloves? Check, check, check. Skis and poles? A split second of panic, then he remembers he鈥檚 renting this time around. Old habits are hard to break.

A few years ago, skis would have been the first thing Ohio-based Derflinger tossed in his car before driving to the airport for a ski trip, but hefty baggage fees have convinced him to give renting a try. Lugging gear around an airport and to the resort was always a hassle, anyway.

He鈥檚 not alone: resort town ski shops are bursting with people renting their gear. By all accounts, the number of skiers and snowboarders hopping flights or driving across state lines in search of stoke is up, and more of those powder-hungry winter enthusiasts are leaving their gear at home. Instead, they鈥檙e renting and demoing on (or near) the mountain.

Flying Solo

鈥淩entals have been extremely successful, and increasing,鈥� said Bill Irwin, a seasoned rental manager for Elan USA Corp. In his 25 years of visiting ski shops and resorts around the U.S., he鈥檚 watched the rise of rentals sweep across the industry.

Why? Convenience, for one. 鈥淚 always rent when I fly,鈥� said Roddie Haley, a skier picking out demo gear at Jackson鈥檚 Base Camp in Park City, Utah, one day last December. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pain to take my gear with me and pay extra.鈥� With round-trip baggage charges ranging from $100 to $200 and a demo package of brand-new products running about $50 a day, the math makes sense.

Nick Sargent, president of SnowSports Industries America, has been watching the trend unfold as the next generation of skiers hits the slopes. He defines the group as 鈥渃ost-savvy, time-sensitive, and technology-driven,鈥� which translates into unique customer habits: they follow the snow and book their trips last-minute.

What鈥檚 more, skiers are increasingly purchasing multi-resort passes, allowing them access to unprecedented terrain around the globe. With Vail Resorts鈥� Epic Pass (access to 65 resorts) or Alterra Mountain Company鈥檚 Ikon Pass (38 resorts) in hand, trips to Whistler Blackcomb, Keystone, and Squaw Valley in one season are that much more doable.

Try Over Buy

There鈥檚 one more reason skiers and riders, especially experienced ones, might be tempted to travel without gear: to take high-performance demos for a spin. 鈥淚f they were to bring their skis, they鈥檇 only bring one pair,鈥� said Sam Beck, director of marketing and communications for Nordica. 鈥淏ut if they鈥檙e renting or demoing, they can trade it in or out according to the conditions.鈥� Skiers and riders lust after testing the latest technology, and shops are keeping up with customer demand by offering a wide selection of high-quality performance skis.

The old trope of beat-up rental skis is on the outs as ski shops, particularly at destination resorts, upgrade their rental and demo fleets more often. Jackson Knoll, owner of Jackson鈥檚 Base Camp, replaces his 168 pairs of skis and boards with new products every single year.

Jack Walzer, general manager at JANS Mountain Outfitters in Park City, has begun changing his fleet to cater to this experienced demo crowd, swapping out the novice-friendly sport skis that used to be popular for high-performance demo models. 鈥淲e had about 260 sport skis a couple of years ago, and maybe 150 high-performance [packages],鈥� Walzer said. Now, the shop maintains a more even split.

Give 鈥楨m What They Want

A subset of skiers鈥攐ften city dwellers who travel once or twice a year to ski鈥攍ike demoing and renting so much they鈥檝e gone all in, choosing to demo indefinitely over purchasing their own set of skis. Industry leaders say Europe has already moved in this direction and, based on numbers, the U.S. is likely to follow.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a steady increase in rentals balancing a steady decrease in retail,鈥� Irwin said.

Nordica recently updated its most popular retail skis (which are increasingly used for demos) to have a thicker topsheet for added durability, Beck said, answering the call for gear that can stand up to repetitive use and continuous tuning. In the 2018-19 season, Nordica released its rental-specific ski, the Drive; the tail shape, ski width, and rocker were all designed so beginners and novices could more comfortably navigate off groomers. And in F19, the brand will launch its new boot line, the Cruise for adults and Speedmachine J3 for juniors. The boots are lighter and more comfortable, and include a dual soft flap opening to make slipping them on and off easier. Rockered heels and Gripwalk technology in the soles are aimed to improve walkability.

Elan has experimented with a new way to increase flex and maintain durability in skis. The resulting technology, called U-Flex in junior skis and Groove Technology in adult products, has lines cut into the topsheet that flex like little hinges.

This technology is in the F17 junior Explore ski and the F18 adult Element ski, which are available now for rental and retail. The bumped-up durability is breaking into the company鈥檚 rising demo market as well. 鈥淥ver the last two years, we鈥檝e doubled our performance rental market share,鈥� Irwin said. 鈥淎nd this year, I think we will go higher than that.鈥�

Demo skis have also become an increasingly important part of DPS鈥檚 sales, said spokesman Alex Hunt. The brand recently partnered with Aspen Skiing Company to provide its innovative base treatment, Phantom Permanent Waxless Glide to be used on the company鈥檚 demo fleet. Once ski shops apply the one-time treatment, they eliminate the time-consuming process of re-waxing skis and boards.

As the travel-to-ski trend gains steam, it can鈥檛 hurt to make it easier for footloose skiers鈥攁nd the shops that serve them鈥攖o rent and demo gear. And brands that embrace it might just gain the upper hand.

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Sure, price-shopping consumers can save a few dollars by buying from big e-tailing sites, but brick and mortar specialty shops can do more to capture those sales and create a long-term, loyal customers in the process.

It happens practically every day in outdoor shops across the country. A customer walks into the store and heads over to the pack wall. He tries a bunch on, finds the perfect fit, the ideal size, and the feature set that he likes. He may or may not be casually surfing on his phone throughout the process. Regardless, he offers a quick 鈥渢hank you!鈥� then boogies on home to make the purchase online, where he saves a few bucks.

It鈥檚 called 鈥渟howrooming,鈥� and it鈥檚 become a dirty word in the world of brick and mortar retailers. Mark Swindel, store manager of REI鈥檚 Salt Lake City location, says it happens far more than he鈥檇 like.

Nowadays, everyone has product information at their fingertips, and apps such as ShopSavvy and PriceGrabber make comparison shopping even easier. Swindel and other retail managers find it hard to fight against the competitive prices of the 鈥淎mazons of the world.鈥�

But there are ways to combat showrooming, and bring those transactions back into your shop.

#1 Train Your Retail Employees.

Human interaction is something you can鈥檛 get online, even if there is an open chatroom. Bob Phibbs, CEO of Retail Doctor, a retail consulting firm, attributes showrooming to less retail assistants on the floor and a lack of communication with customers.

鈥淸Retailers] think it鈥檚 all about price and it isn鈥檛. The reason people showroom is that they aren鈥檛 getting served,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you get a friendly employee who can actually engage a customer and earn trust, you keep those customers.鈥�

Oftentimes, retailers hire hobbyists who might have a wealth of knowledge about gear, but are scared to start a conversation with a stranger. Employees should be outgoing, and if they aren鈥檛, retailers need to train them.

Training is expensive and time consuming, but it also translates to loyal customers who prefer taking the time to drive to your store, rather than purchase a product online.

Big ticket items can be hard to sell in-store, but Joe Campisi, managing partner of Campisi / Manzella & Associates LLC, a consulting firm in the outdoor and active lifestyle market, agrees that employee engagement makes all the difference.

Campisi called it 鈥渃o-inventing their adventure with them.鈥� Connect with the customer. Make it personal with real-world experiences and passions that you share. Give them deeper product info, help them accessorize, and show them alternatives.

#2 Integrate Online and In-Store.

The divide between people who shop online and those who prefer brick and mortar has crumbled. Everyone is now a digital customer. Internet giants thrive because they use online marketing strategies to drive sales, and they have big data on their side. Every click, scroll, and search is recorded and used to define customer habits. There鈥檚 flexibility and feedback to test online displays, ad placements, and 鈥渞ecommended鈥� items. Bryan Eisenberg, partner of bryaneisenberg.com, a business that coaches companies on this digital marketing, wants to see offline stores take the same approach.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot harder to move around shelves than it is moving a couple of images [on a site鈥檚 page], but we鈥檙e going to have to get there if we really want to see the growth people are expecting,鈥� he said.

Camera-based solutions like RetailNext, BrickStream, and DigitalMortar help retailers track consumer habits in stores, like how people move through a store and what displays draw attention.

Through online user data, digital marketing managers realized that customers want to see reviews, so gear reviews are generally visible and easy to navigate, both on retailers鈥� sites and sites like Backcountry.com. Eisenberg recommends giving shoppers what they want in stores, by purchasing tablets and placing them beside products. Customers can read reviews and product specs from the store鈥檚 site or app, so there鈥檚 no need for personal research on a smartphone, where a deal might catch their eye. Also, stores can connect their site to the store by providing online coupons redeemable only in stores.

#3 Focus on Display.

Besides being able to talk to an expert, people enter stores to experience the product for themselves.

鈥淸Consumers] are all still enamored by touch and feel, so anytime we can add those senses [to a consumer鈥檚 shopping experience], we add value,鈥� Campisi said. Presentation and interaction are key. Eisenberg suggests stepping away from the traditional set-up of a retail store over-stocked with products. Instead, showcase a tent filled with sleeping bags shoppers can step into or climbing shoes beside a mini climbing wall. Retailers should utilize the back of the store for storing multiple sizes and colors of products. Running stores often do this with shoes, leaving room open for customers to try on the shoes and run down a track.

鈥淚鈥檇 rather have X number of square feet to experience a product versus having racks and racks of products,鈥� Eisenberg said. Plus, having less product for customers to grab at the front of the house requires customers to seek help and interact with employees if they want the product in their size.

#4 Tie-in Sales.

Give customers free gloves when they purchase a jacket in-store or offer a free ski wax next season to ski buyers. Shops have to give customers a reason to purchase something now, and that can be done through additional gear or service, Campisi said. These deals makes customers feel an urgency to buy, which is crucial for in-store sales. It can be difficult to beat low online prices, so it鈥檚 essential to convince the buyer that they鈥檙e getting something in the store they can鈥檛 get anywhere else.

#5 Utilize Technology.

While some applications like ShopSavvy and Barcode Scanner, which allow you to scan barcodes and find better deals online, hinder brick and mortar retailers, there are others that benefit them. Some geo-location shopping apps, like Shopkick and Ibotta, reward customers for purchasing at retail stores, and retailers can leverage those rewards. Providing easy ways for people to check out, such as mobile wallets, has become a necessity.

鈥淚f I can鈥檛 buy the way I want to buy, and enjoy the process with minimal effort, I might as well come into the store, browse, and leave,鈥� Eisenberg said. If retailer shops want to compete with e-commerce sites, they need to offer free delivery for items too big to lug home鈥攍ike kayaks, canoes or bikes鈥攁nd fast, free shipping for items that aren鈥檛 immediately available in the color of size the customer wants.

Bottom line: you can convert showroomers into loyal, repeat customers. You already got them to walk through your door, after all. You just need to get them to put down their phones and engage with the people on the sales floor.

Carolyn Webber is a freelance outdoor journalist from Salt Lake City, Utah, who spends every spare moment backpacking, climbing, and snowboarding in the Wasatch Mountains.

The post Retail How-To: 5 Tips for Battling “Showroomers” appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.