By MICHAEL STRAND

Salina Journal

If you're in the market for a titanium spork, a first edition of "A Canticle for Leibowitz," or a WikiLeaks hoodie, that whole "shop local" thing can be problematic.

But online shopping also can include the kind of everyday items one might run to a local store to find, and many traditional retailers also have a significant online presence.

Some in the industry call this hybrid business model "clicks and mortar."

JC Penney was an early adopter of selling online, starting in 1994 -- the year Netscape Navigator was released, Yahoo was created and the term "information superhighway" was coined.

Today, online sales through jcp.com account for just more than 8 percent of the company's annual sales.

But it's the way the stores mesh with the online operation that's the newest part of the company's strategy.

"At registers throughout the store, associates can log into jcp.com," explained Steve Galle, manager of the Salina JC Penney, in Central Mall. "It's really associate-friendly -- with a couple of clicks, we can see what's available, look up product knowledge and so on to help the customer."

And yes, the monitor can be turned so the customer can see what the employee sees.

That immediate access to the company's website throughout the store can have lots of benefits to customers, "especially here, where we're a regional store, and shoppers might drive in 50 or 60 miles," Galle said. "If we're out of something, we can order it."

The company offers free shipping to a store, where the customer can pick it up -- but also offers free shipping to the customer's home on orders totaling $69 or more and special offers for shipping on other items.

Variations on that model are offered by most large retailers, including Kohl's, Sears and Walmart.

The combination of a physical presence and an online presence "provides a comfort level for the customer," Galle said.

One of those "comfort level" features provided by a physical store is that if there's a problem with an item ordered online, it can be returned to a store -- instead of being boxed up and shipped back.

"You can bring it back to the store, and we'll take care of it for you," Galle said.

Having access to jcp.com at the register provides other benefits, Galle said.

"If a customer comes in and says, 'I saw this shirt on your ad,' but can't remember the details, we can go to a copy of the ad online and find exactly what they're wanting," Galle said. "The customers are really pleased when we can use these functions to help them."

From the website -- either at home, on a portable computer or at the store -- customers also can check a particular store's inventory to see if an item is in stock.

According to the company's research of how its website is used, 70 percent of visitors to jcp.com are there to do some type of research, either looking at products, comparing prices, looking for sales or looking for home or personal fashion ideas.

Often, that online visit results in a trip to a store; the website allows users to print a shopping list they can take to a store.

Another online feature JC Penney and other retailers offer allows customers to post a photo and other information about something they're thinking of buying -- so they can get advice from their friends.

"I use this on my Facebook page," said Irene Bevard, JCP services supervisor at the Salina store.

She also likes the other features offered through the company's online presence.

"It's wonderful for us and what we can do now," she said. "If we didn't have something, we used to have to call the warehouse -- but the only warehouse we could call was the one in Lenexa. Now we can go online and find out if anybody has it and get it shipped."

One convenience many customers take advantage of during back-to-school season, Bevard said, is the ability to visit a store, find bedding, such as comforters and bedspreads -- and then order them online, shipping to a store near where their child is going to college.

"They don't have to find room for that bulky stuff in their car that way," she said.

n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:
Salina.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here. Read our full online terms of service policy.

Post a comment

Comment:

Poster:

Enter text seen above:

Read our full use policy.

Email this story to a friend:

Subject:

Recipient:

Sender's email (required):



Enter text seen above: