Canadian Retailer - Spring 2014 - 32

MYSTORE INDIE PROFILE

A SPACE TO GROW
TWO INDEPENDENT RETAILERS MAKE MOVES ONLINE
BY ROBERT PRICE
THE BIGGEST opportunities for independent retailers are online. There is endless floor
space and the potential for traffic is limitless.
And for retailers willing to develop the skills
needed to sell online, they have the opportunity to develop the store into a brand appreciated by customers far away from home
and by those right across the street.

Traffic problems

Amanda May Lingerie

"Online, communication has a lot to do with the
message that's right for me. What do I post on
Facebook? What's right for Twitter? What's right for
Pinterest? How should I do my Google ads? What is
my Google ad strategy? Am I going to target all the
products in store, or just a few that do really well?"

Amanda Beaubien used to have a job in finance. Now her business is bras and bottoms.
The entrepreneur opened Amanda May
Lingerie on Dalhousie Street in Ottawa's Byward Market in February 2013. At the same
time she cut the ribbon at her boutique store,
she launched a Web store, AmandaMay.ca.
The Web store is a window into the Ottawa
store's brand and product selection. Gorgeous photography, product reviews and a
clear navigation give customers a fast education on what the store is about.
Beaubien says the decision to open a Web
store was automatic. Her customers are just
like her-they want to see the store before
they visit the store.
"I'm in my twenties. I feel I shop a lot differently than my mom does," she says. "I don't
go into a store unless I know what they have
because I don't want to waste my time with
something that's not my style."
She also sees the opportunity available to
her in the online space because not many retailers have managed to get online lingerie
sales right.
"It's like real-estate that not many people
have claimed yet. There is a lot of room to
become a huge presence online," she says.
As she develops her e-commerce business,
she says she wants to make the store a place
where customers from around the world can
find the best brands, the newest trends and
great service.

32 |

As a new store, Amanda May Lingerie
has garnered attention for making Ottawa
a little sexier. Sales at the brick-and-mortar
store purr along, and traffic is high, but sales
online have required a different approach.
Beaubien has had to learn new ways of retailing to drive customers to her Web store.

- AMANDA BEAUBIEN
Amanda May Lingerie
One area that has required a lot of work is
online communications. When the customer is
in the store, it's easier to chat them up, answer
questions, offer alternatives, reduce resistance
and close the sale. In an online selling environment, communication isn't so intuitive. It has
to be calculated. One message isn't enough-it
has to be calculated for each channel and platform because each platform has a different
draw, a different audience and different messaging. Twitter wants short messages, Instagram
wants pictures, Pinterest wants links-they're
all demanding in their own ways.
"Online, communication has a lot to do with
the message that's right for me. What do I post
on Facebook? What's right for Twitter? What's
right for Pinterest? How should I do my Google ads? What is my Google ad strategy? Am I
going to target all the products in store, or just
a few that do really well?" asks Beaubien.
The other challenge with online retailing
is waiting. Feedback doesn't come instantaneously, like it does in-store, when a customer

canadian retailer | spring 2014 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

http://www.AmandaMay.ca http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Canadian Retailer - Spring 2014

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