WHO TO CALL:

Fashion Editor
Layne Christensen

985-2131 (418)

See Ranta
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"GET WIRED of get wastac” ia the rallying cry of retall con-

sultants Darcle Buzzelie and Thm Rhodes of

focal business st up shop on the Internet.
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owners:
waste by

the industry newaiettes, RetallWerks, on the Net.

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114 East 15th St., N. Van

Stuart Weitzman
Piero Amore
Unisa
Bandolino
Caressa

Guess

Etlenne Aigner
Onex

9 West

Bastien

. many more

Randbags
Belts

Mon.-Sat.

984-3035

2,
Delt

NV duo sees future in Internet shopping

NORDSTROM'S CUSTOMERS can
now shop by e-mail, order a selection of
sizes and have the items Fedexed to
home or office the very next day, at no
extra charge.

By Layne Christensen
Fashion Editor

Shoppers in La Jolla, California, surf the Net
when they want to roam the aisles of their local
mall. In San
Francisco and
Chicago,
savvy shop-
pers purchase -
their gro-
ceries online.

Cyber-
shopping is
the future of
tetail. Or a
vital compo-
nent at the very least, according to the husband-
and-wife team that powers up Buzzelle Design.

North Vancouver-based retail consultants

' Darcie Buzzelle and Tim Rhodes presented

their views to retailers during the International
Council of Shopping Centers conference at
Whistler Jan. 24.

Buzzelle and Rhodes. who have their own
site on the Internet (http:
‘fwww.retailworks.convretailresource/), see the
potential for retailers to combat lagging sales
by setting up shop on the information super-
highway. Their rallying cry: “get wired or get
wasted.”

“We're dealing with a really debt-ridden,
ambivalent customer who’s trying to make her
ends meet,” Buzzelle told the roomful of retail-

66 Buzzelle and Rhodes ... see the potential for
retailers to combat lagging sales by setting up parks.
shop on the Information superhighway. 9? —

ers. The solution? Make it fun and they will
come. .

If at the same time the consumer can save
time and money, then you've got a winner.

The process could be as simple as putting up
a photo and a few words about your product or
service, which could cost as little as $300, or as
complex as a site with full-color moving pic-
tures, audio and clever, interactive components.

Fans of L.L. Bean’s outdoorsy merchandise
can dial up http://www.llbean.comy/ and point-
and-click their way through a company profile,
a_ catalogue
of products
and even a
’ directory of
(American)
national

Mall
shoppers in
La Jolla can
walk the

. aisles of
University Towne Centre online
(http://www.shoputc.com/), view sale items and
print off discount coupons redeemable through
a store visit.

Some sites, like PC Gifts and Flowers
(http://www. pcgifts.ibm.com/), even allow for
online purchasing.

When the site is “secure,” the image of a key
appears in the lower !eft-hand corner of your
computer screen, and you are safe to type your
credit-card number.

Though the Internet has its detractors who
say it’s just a fad, Rhodes and Buzzelle think
it’s here to stay. /

“It’s not just for geeks and nerds,” said
Rhodes, “the demographics (of. users) are all
across the board.”

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