Pier 1′s Frightening—and Frightened—Relationship With The Web
Written by Evan SchumanJuly 15th, 2010
Sometimes, retail innovation is knowing when not to play. And for $1.3 billion Pier 1 Imports, it sometimes can mean knowing when to play again. But this time around, the home furnishings chain is only going so far—and it's not nearly far enough.
Back in 2007, after years of E-Commerce activity, the retailer shut down all of its Web activity to pour its efforts into in-store. In six weeks, though, Pier 1 is returning to the Web: as a brochure site only. You can see, but you can't buy, unless you drive to a store.
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2 Comments | Read Pier 1′s Frightening—and Frightened—Relationship With The Web
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Readers, specifically those who want to comment on a story:
Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk.com? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
-Christine
July 16th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Really, I am old enough to want to see the mdse before I purchase.
I am thoroughly annoyed by Store sites offering hard mdse that can only be bought ‘on-line’. 200 items, only 3 available in-store. Ticks me off completely, and I just ignore that merchant.
Even a reasonable location with a half decent on-line inventory would be welcome.
Every retailer should have a “Available in Stores Only” button, not the opposite. Losing sales and customers, otherwise.
Grins,
RW
July 25th, 2010 at 6:00 am
i think pier 1′s website is the stupidest one i ever seen, i cant purchase online, weste my time in looking on line there btw since sale items not even available in the store but shows online but not avaible for purchase. what the…..