In today's market there are many selections for the consumer. Not only do you have your traditional retail outlets but also now a person can shop form the comfort of their own home on the Internet. Most every company has some sort of Internet site; some just with corporate information but most sell their product directly on the Internet. There are two types of Internet retailers, Click and Brick, which is a company that has both Internet and Retail stores, and Click and Click, which is a retailer that sells solely on the Internet. Both types of companies can be very successful and the following is a compare and contrast of both.
An example of a Click and Brick company is Hat World. Hat World is a retail outlet that specializes in sports headwear. They are the largest mall chain in the United States with 420 stores. Hat World grew to these numbers in less than 10 years so it can be said that they are a successful retail company. However the retail stores were only scratching the surface of the business that Hat World had waiting for them on the Internet. Hat World.com has been another overwhelming success for Hat World's business. Now customers can shop for their favorite sports team's hat without even leaving the comfort of their own home or they can stop by Hat World at their favorite mall. Hat World can sell their product at any time of the day to many more customers than their 420 stores can reach. Their online shopping also adds another dimension and that is the ability to return items purchased online to the retail store in the mall. The convenience of shopping at Hat World is outstanding. It seems that Hat World could possibly move to a complete on-line retailer and save the expenses of operating a retail facility. However, they could lose not only the convenience factor but also the recognition of millions of Americans walking past your store on a daily basis. It would be very hard to get that kind of exposure in an on-line community.