At the dawn of e-commerce, many claimed the days of the brick-and-mortar retailers were numbered.
It's true that many small brick-and-mortar retailers in states with sales taxes support the Enzi bill.
In the last few years, Internet sales have grown at a much faster rate than sales at brick-and-mortar retailers.
Over the next few years, the brick-and-mortar retailers that succeed will be the ones that change the in-store dynamic.
New technologies are opening the door for local brick-and-mortar retailers to connect with their customers in compelling new ways.
Not to be outdone, brick-and-mortar retailers are hosting flash sales of their own.
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Instead, brick-and-mortar retailers need to adopt a multi-pronged approach that includes price-matching, a personalized consumer experience and improved cross-channel integration.
But is that the case with some of the larger brick-and-mortar retailers?
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Rather than focusing solely on price-matching, brick-and-mortar retailers need to take a broader view and work to elevate the total customer experience.
Brick-and-mortar retailers have grumbled for years that Amazon has an unfair advantage in not collecting sales tax at the time of purchase.
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The Main Street Fairness Act being considered by Congress would create a level playing field for both online and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
The holidays are upon us, often seen as make-or-break it time for brick-and-mortar retailers as shoppers stream into their stores by the millions.
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Brick-and-mortar retailers also need to update their demand chain management practices so they can reduce out-of-stocks and satisfy demand at the point of purchase.
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Though many pundits have predicted the death of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers for selling games, PopCap says those outlets have been a key part of sales.
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New retailers do not compete just on price, but are able to offer selection, availability and customer service at levels unachievable by traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
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Brick-and-mortar retailers are fighting back again such e-commerce trends, of course.
Brick-and-mortar retailers are on the brink of getting parity in the e-commerce-versus-real world shopping wars, but they still cannot afford to lose ground over the holiday season.
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Meanwhile, New Hampshire's brick-and-mortar retailers will bear no such burden.
Of course, brick-and-mortar retailers are getting into the game, too.
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"The rules today don't allow brick-and-mortar retailers to compete evenly with online retailers, and that needs to be addressed, " said Raul Vazquez, Wal-Mart's executive vice president of global e-commerce.
Shopperception uses PrimeSense technology to provide brick-and-mortar retailers with an amazingly advanced system for understanding precisely and in real-time just what shoppers do in front of a retail shelf.
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That may sound small, but it's a massive figure relative to the .05% to .07% fraud rate at brick-and-mortar retailers, estimates Avivah Litan, senior analyst for Gartner, a Connecticut-based technology consulting firm.
Under current law, a state collect sales tax from companies that have a physical presence in the state, which hits brick-and-mortar retailers but not Internet retailers that ship to customers with the state.
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From an Internet retailers perspective the passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act would not only add layers of administration and cost to comply, but it could cut into their competitiveness with small businesses and brick-and-mortar retailers.
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That loophole puts small local retailers and brick-and-mortar-only retailers at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Additionally, making the internet the only source for games would put a lot of pressure on both brick-and-mortar and online retailers that sell games.
The real question is whether or not the this incremental tax will crimp consumer spending, which would be bad to small business as well as brick-and-mortar and online retailers alike.
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These include the biggest online marketplaces like eBay, brick-and-mortar music and game retailers, and Goodwill all concerned they may lose their right to freely sell used goods.
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After a few years of selling the DVD independently through FilmBaby.com, they signed a deal with a distributor, who got the movie into brick-and-mortar stores and digital retailers like iTunes and Amazon.
As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers a big advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.
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