GODZILLA IS A SHAPESHIFTER

Mark Jubelirer, president of Reyers Shoes, on why the playing field between independents and internet behemoths may finally be leveling.

ONCE UPON A TIME in America, shoe retailers had a decision to make: to sell online or not?

Many of my brick-and-mortar brethren weighed the pluses and minuses as we could best envision them. Online retailing represented a new frontier of boundless customer reach and 24-7 operations, albeit fraught with many financial risks and unknowns. We did the math as best we could; was there an achievable non-zero ROI great enough to persuade us to take the plunge?

The historical calculus was of no utility here. Before Internet Godzilla, we more or less knew what we were doing. The variables were consistent: should we add a new vendor to our matrix, or a new color in a good-selling style, or take bigger markdowns on slow movers, or give this person a raise, or fire that slacker, and the like. This is what it meant to be a merchant. You made your best-educated guesses about myriad questions every day. You had to do the retail math, and the longer your doors have been open is a testament to having those skills. Collectively, we’d been fighting this Bottom Line Godzilla for a long time.

But Godzilla is a shapeshifter. Internet Godzilla is a completely different beast. He flipped the playing field on its end. For starters, few, if any, major online dealers charged for shipping. Consumers could buy as much as they desired—and send it all back for free if they weren’t satisfied! So let’s say a woman’s optimum size is an 8 medium but, just to be safe, she also orders that style in 7 ½ and 8 ½ mediums. And, while she’s at it, she adds a few extra colors in that style to see which shade works best with her outfits. Remember, it’s no cost to her, global footprint repercussions be damned! That carefree convenience became intoxicating. Additionally, Internet Godzilla offered seemingly unlimited inventories, low prices, and service that was just good enough. It bent the enduring arc of our brick-and-mortar universe. How could we compete? Would we all eventually be squashed by Internet Godzilla?

But the world turns. Times change. Internet Godzilla’s accountants are now convincing management that enough is enough on the free shipping perk. Now that much of the competition has been slayed, radical refinement is possible. It’s starting with shedding repeat return offenders. The number-crunchers are confident that ROI will increase dramatically. That more profit can be achieved on less volume. Basically, they’re saying to these returns-happy customers: “We don’t need you; we don’t even want you!”

Indeed, free shipping has done its dirty deed. The enormous volume it helped generate has thinned out the competition. They own virtually the entire playing field now. But Internet Godzilla without the might of unlimited free returns may give us survivors a chance to get in the online game with only one hand tied behind our backs. And one day soon, Internet Godzilla might start charging for freight, too. That should loosen the restraints upon us little guys even more. Oh, happy day!

Internet Godzilla has dined upon our communal carcass for decades. He’s been ferocious and unrelenting. But the playing field is leveling, and it soon may be time for us to start nibbling at his ankles—if we’re still around.