By Margaret Fitzcharles
Mercury Staff Writer
Pottstown – Even as shopping by mouse grows in popularity, a national publishing firm has shown that the greater impact of the Internet is on consumers researching products before they head to stores to buy.
A study conducted by InfoBeads, a division of Ziff-Davis Publishing, reported that while 8 million consumers purchased gifts online during last year’s holiday season, 30 million customers researched gifts online. And the numbers are predicted to go much higher this year.
“The Internet has created an educated consumer who is using it to research products online. Armed with product specific information downloaded from the Web, consumers are taking this information to brick-and-mortar stores where they actually purchase the products,” said John Konarski, senior vice president of research at ICSC.
“Shopping is a sensory experience and consumers still want to touch and see products before they make a purchase.”
That growing consumer interest has not escaped the attention of local merchants who want to capture their share of the billions of dollars being spent by online shoppers.
Several local companies which maintain Web sites say the Internet has brought them business they perhaps may have never seen.
In addition to boosting sales, Web sites are being used by area merchants to offer specialized services that benefit local consumers as well as businesses.
A.D. Moyer Lumber Co., a longtime local building supply business, is using the Internet to attract customers by offering additional services to those found in the store.
A.D. Moyer's director of marketing and estimating, said the company’s Web site, established about three years ago, was designed to advertise the business and to offer convenience to the building community it serves with stores in Pottstown, Boyertown, and Douglassville.
“Our business is primarily contractor-driven, so we wanted to find ways to offer convenience to them, and it’s worked out well,”.
But the success with contractors showed there was a potential to serve the general public, too, he said, so the store expanded the Web site.
A homeowner who needs to replace a door can, for example, click onto A.D. Moyer’s Web site, choose a new door through links to the manufacturers of the products the company sells, find out what it will cost to have the door installed, then simply walk in the store and complete the transaction.
But Moyer’s Web site goes even further to make what can be an intimidating task easier for consumers who want to hire a contractor, but are unsure of how to find a reliable one.
“Another driving force was our effort to connect those in the general public looking to have work done by contractors to connect with the contractors who deal with us,”. That connection is now a link on the store’s Web site where consumers can get contractor referrals.
“We take it for granted here that people know the good contractors. But we’ve been here a long time, and we’ve been working with contractors a long time so if we can hook people up with good contractors, that is one more service we are offering,” he said.
“We also have some contractors who have purchased mini Web sites on our site that tell people about themselves and show some of their work, and that’s been a very useful tool also,” he said. “The contractors who have utilized it have given me good feedback. They’re saying people are calling because they learned about them on the Web site.”
Model train enthusiasts can also strike gold when they click on A.D. Moyer’s Web site.
The company has an online store where consumers can purchase a specialized line of model trains and accessories, the Aristocraft G Gauge, sold only at the Pottstown store.
While the Web site in general has brought A.D. Moyer new business from the private sector, the online Aristocraft train shop has drawn customers from way beyond the Pottstown area.
“Now that is the line that brings us the most business to our Web site, “ he said. “We’ve shipped trains all over the nation.”
Denney Electric Supply Co., at 523 Rhoads Ave. in Boyertown, has literally put itself on the map with it’s Web site.
Being “off the beaten path” has left even Boyertown residents in the dark as to the existence of the local outlet offering electrical supplies including light fixtures, according to manager Andy Whittemore.
Denney’s Web site, up and running about eight months, has also brought the company new business. “We’ve been in Boyertown 12 years, and people don’t even know we’re here,” he said. So Denney posted a map complete with directions on their Web site, and Whittemore said it has paid off with an increase in business.
“We felt with the technology explosion that’s where the business is going to go, and we wanted to be on the front end of it, not on the tail end of it,” said Whittemore.
“And right now we are in the midst of expanding the site to include references to manufacturers so that if somebody wants a ceiling fan or a light fixture they can use the site to select what they want, then simply come in and pick it up,” Whittemore said.
Denney Electric is also working on a contractor referral list like A.D. Moyer maintains for residential customers.
Eagle Pool and Spa Inc., with stores at 1379 E. Schuylkill Road (Route 724) and 3246 Ridge Pike in Eagleville also joined the marketing technology revolution about a year ago, and since then, have found the medium to be a boon for both the business and consumers, with a heavy emphasis on customer service.
“The Web site allows us to provide access for our customers to get in touch with the manufacturers of the products we sell but it also lets us provide the customer with as much current information as possible,” said manager David McKee.
Customers purchasing swimming pools or spas must follow up in person simply because of the nature of the products, said McKee. But someone in the market for a new pool or spa can save time and effort by researching the product on Eagle’s Web site before they visit the store, he said.
Pro-Am Golf Shop of Douglassville has had a Web site since 1994, according to company officials, where everything that is sold in the store and more can be purchased online.
Store officials said they have found the Web site has led to an increase in business, but has also led to those customers being better educated about the products they want to purchase. As with the other businesses, Pro-Am sees customers who walk in the shop ready to buy, having already prepared by doing their research online.