Merchants: Why Your Sales Are Down

Ahh forgot that.. I generally just find places from friends, so didn't think 'bout that.

There are some good points mentioned, but I rather think that instead of 'none of the above' or 'some of the above' the reason sales slump is 'all of the above' - There are too many variables, too many things going on, to attribute bad months (and good months) to any one thing. The gambling and banking bans certainly upset things, new search has had a huge impact, ongoing technical problems making it impossible to search or TP or buy or rez... all these things play a part, before you even get to the stuff that merchants can directly control themselves.

I am positive a big factor is market saturation too - if you're competing against a few thousand or a few tens of thousands of other people in your market, it's going to be that much tougher, than it is for someone who has carved out a small niche for themselves and has only a few dozen competitors.

I do agree that it's important to bring new products to market. I would love to get a new product out every week but SL is strictly parttime/hobby for me and sometimes I have to go a month or more between new products. In businesses like mine (scripted stuff) there's also ongoing support issues, like updating stuff to make sure it still works in view of ongoing changes to the environment.

Overall, I believe running a successful business in SL is almost as hard as it is in RL - it's just a different 'medium' but the pressures and demands are all very similar.

For what it's worth, I am pretty sure (touch wood) that this month will turn out to be my small business's best month ever. And if I could attribute that to any one thing, I'd put that thing in a box and sell it Realisticly though, I'm sure there's a dozen factors that have contributed, and there won't be any quick simple way to figure out what that combination is.

-Atashi

Before I rent in any mall I always check to see if they have a landing point on one huge parcel...if so, typically I will not rent there. I want to be able to run my own classified with the tp location set to right in front of my store. I do the same as a couple here mentioned...if I tp in and have to look for the store through a maze of stalls, I don't bother....so I figure a lot of other people do the same.

To the best of my knowlegde, I've only been featured in a fashin blog twice... within a month of opening my shop...

nothing for six months now...

how many little black dresses, babydoll dresses, bikinis, latex catsuits, salsa dresses can one girl own?

unless you create something that upgrades my already bloated wardrobe, you wont be getting any more money from me. i have EVERYTHING and i know how to build now. So unless its spectacular like new 1 prim sculptured trees that change textures with the seasons or something like that, im probably not going to be very impressed.

you guys took enough of my money anyway.

I think this sounds lovely. But - I remember reading here on the forum not that long ago someone putting "shops that don't have signs telling me the price" in a list of annoyances. I guess that person didn't like having to click on things to see the price (perhaps the problem was the danger of accidentally selecting "buy" - I don't know).

So while I agree with you - a clean display of the item to be sold, without ugly signage, is pleasant way to shop - there's no pleasing everyone, I guess.

Thank you!! I'm sorry but a lot of the stuff I see out there is something I could do myself. And I am not a clothes maker or a builder. I want details damn it!!!

As long as you have hover tips on you shouldn't have to click . Simply hover the mouse over a prim for sale and you'll see the for-sale price.

You make a good point Madhu: what is good for me is not necessarily good for someone else. So I cannot argue the point futher.

Even with some signage, a store that feels welcoming, non-cluttered, and organized will keep me there a lot longer. The same is true for websites and brick-and-mortar stores, as a comparison.

After as long as I've been here, i finally noticed that the other day... >.< saves me time, since i often like to see owner name, object name (Sometimes will have a brand in it of something i wanna see more from the makers), and price.

My sales are growing if anything. The new items I continue to add, sell as well as the old merchandise. My Slex catalog is steady as well (Onrez is practically non-existent).

Of course, I'm not competing with a zillion other similar product lines. My merchandise is very niche.

I think it's important to continually add new merch. And all of your new pieces should be higher quality than your older pieces...if they aren't, don't put them up. You should continually better your product--never put up something less professional than an older item.

I love the fact that I have two solid competitors, and that's it. We can watch each other, and fashion our business models and catalogs around what we like and dislike about one another. It's a great dynamic.

I can't imagine people that are swimming in an ocean of similar product...how do you stand out? Sadly, the answer, is illegally use content, and rip from other artists. Obviously not everyone copies or rips...but a lot do.

I, personally as a fairly new merchant, have picked up a couple of pointers here. Unless today ends up being some record-setting sales day, this will be the first month since I opened last November that I haven't seen a sales increase from the previous month.

I have the advantage, so far, that I don't have any direct competition. Up to now, my advertising has been limited to paying parcel directory fees on a couple of parcels and being able to place landmark givers in some very key locations.

Yes, I have only put out a couple of new products in the last month and they are admittedly high ticket items compared to my bread and butter items, so I didn't expect a rash of sales from those. However, I've been promising a new line of items for way too long now and just the other night announced yet another delay, so I know that doesn't help, but with my new line so close to release that I can almost taste it, I got hit by the last couple of weeks worth of asset server issues and could not effectively finish work on them.

So for myself, I attribute my lackluster March primarily to a lack of new products primarily driven by recent grid instabilities. The increase in support requirements due to undelivered products has not helped, either.

I agree the the OP. My sales are a little down this month, and I believe that is due to the grid issues. Other than that, my sales have been steadily increasing since my business started to take off in October. I have been working hard to frequently add new items. I am in a niche with little competition. My stuff is (mostly) unique and new.

I do. I look at my transaction history probably 50 times a day...and I have a sick memory, so sometimes I can remember avatar names as someone who has purchased before if I see their name again. What really helps show repeat customers is that I print out my transaction history at the end of each week, I manually review it and have created a new spreadsheet that calculates how many of each item was purchased that week. I usually know which items sell best by memory (looking at the transaction history 50 times a day helps!), but I like to see it on paper with actual figures. So between doing all those things I do recognize quite a few repeat customers.

This is actually a huge factor. Especially for land.

For new residents who don't know the difference, they will easily go for cheap land even if the region isn't financially viable - few tenants do the math, or even know what math to do. Amazingly, some would-be land barons can't seem to sort the math either. I've seen this over and over and over again.

I also know some region owners who decided: I like my region for myself, but I just have tenants to offset my costs a little... and often these are at insanely low prices because it's not really a business to them.

Everyone's SL business has to survive in this environment - it's just a reality of life in a microtransaction world.

Well, I do agree with the OP - you have to keep coming up with new stuff, or new customers, in order to keep making an income.

New customers are new users, most of the time, so you have to find a way to get them to see your products.

Existing customers are going to come back when you have a new product, otherwise they are going to go someplace new, and there are plenty of them. You have to have a way of telling them that you have something new, rather than expecting them to come back on the offchance.

I'm maybe unusual, in that I didn't go nuts buying outfits from the start (I was a girl on a budget) so I find myself shopping steadily, still, after nearly a year in-world.

Merchants: Why Your Sales Are Down



Let's see:
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Crappy items being sold. They don't care since they know they won't be held accountable for selling badly made items. Reason why complaints go unanswered.

Non mod items being sold- which many folks won't buy. This is becoming more and more common among customers.

Terrible customer service from seller to buyers. The same tiresome line of "my IM's are capped so I didn't or don't get messages" just doesn't work anymore.

Over-pricing in some shops. Mall near my land selling one shirt and one pr of pants $700L. Same goings on in other places, price gouging.

The same items from two years back still being sold.* Customers tend to remember what you've been selling and having the same things all the time isn't cutting it.

Nothing new being sold to customers. See above*

No incentives provided for customers to come buy. Always nice to have a reason for people to come by to shop. Be creative.

False advertising. Customer comes in and finds nothing as advertised. At times you not only don't find what's advertised but you don't find much of anything either.

All or a combination of these and or other reasons could be the answer to the the op's question of why.

Decreases in sales are not going to be due to one reason and one reason only. Numerous factors are going to come into play.

Some of those factors are going to be beyond the merchant's control. SL instability, RL economic downturns, increased competition, slowdown in the rate of new residents joining.

But it's certainly true that superior products with superior advertising are going to survive SL economy troubles better than other products.

Just about all consumer spending in SL is for luxury items. Clothing is a necessity in RL; in SL, it's a luxury (since you can cover up your basic nakedness for free). Housing is a necessity in RL; in SL, it's a big-time luxury. Just about the only consumer spending that could conceivably be considered non-luxury is spending by merchants for items to establish/improve their income. Though, I'd assume for most SL merchants, SL income is small, extra money, not compared on the same level as RL sources of income from RL employment.

When consumers decide they need to spend less, for whatever reason, the first items that they are going to stop buying are luxury items. Just about every item for sale in SL is truly a luxury item.

Consumers with smaller budgets are going to do less risk-taking with their money. They'll stick with brand names, or merchants with which they have previous good experiences, rather than trying someone new. They'll make more of an effort in researching items before they buy. They will make fewer impulse buys. They will delay buying items they really want.

So merchants who have done a good job promoting and protecting their brand names, and who have a history of customer satisfaction, are going to survive economic downturns better than others.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the merchants with lousy products are the only ones who suffer. New entrants into the market might produce some good products. However, to establish brand names, or prove their quality, they need a source of customers willing to take a risk on buying from less-established merchants. If the SL economy is in a general downturn, they are going to have touble getting established because few consumers are willing to take that initial risk.

That doesn't necessarily mean either that merchants who are surviving any SL economic downturn are doing so based solely upon superior products. Because consumer information is so hard to come by in SL, a few small factors not necessarily related to product quality could make the SL customer trust one merchant as opposed to another. Mere longevity, or a well-placed store, or a slick advertisement, can go a long way.

Of course, no matter how you look at it, the OP is correct insofar that a merchant will do better with quality products, and unique products, that with stale products or inferior quality. I would assume that most of the merchants still doing well in SL are doing it on the basis of providing good, unique products over the course of time. I just don't think that, because some merchants continue to do well, that the other possible reasons for general economic downturn in SL are disproven.

Let me add to the list if I may...

Creators--there are a lot of us out there that have spent literally thousands of lindens with you, but as a repeat customer we seem to be treated no differently then your one time only customers. We all get the same lame promotional note cards and group notices advertising your venue and products that has not changed in months. I would like to continue to do business with you. You have good products. But, I need some reasons why should I continue to buy from you? You do not seem to appreciate my business or my Lindens. What have you done for me, as a royal customer, to make me want to continue to spend my hard earned entertainment RL dollars with you?

An example was some of the recent Easter Egg Hunts held around SL. Two very large quality Vendors of products held these hunts and notified customers by group notice. I don't normal go to these functions, but went on a lark with another person. I went to both events on separate days. One of the vendors I have spent thousands of lindens with because of the quality of their product, and I refer a lot of people to them. The other I have not spent as much money with.

To make a long story short, the first vendor had the worst Easter Egg prizes I have ever seen from what looked like freebie bunny ears to freebie looking Easter Egg earrings. Nothing like the quality of items they sell. To me, it looked like the vendor had collected freebies to hand out instead of some of their fine creations as prizes. The second vendor gave away some of their premium items. They didn't stent on prizes as the first vendor did.

I have since went back to Vendor 2 and spent several thousand linden...and will be going back to spend more soon. Will I go back to Vendor 1 or refer people to them..probably not...will I refer then to Vendor 2...you bet with glowing recommendations.

If you want my business and my money, do something for me as a customer! Put the customer back in customer service

that is the same system I use at my fishing place and I love it!!

love those tiny scuba divers, asked if they will make them as avatars hehe

(they have the fairies that size as avatars for sale inside)

And I live in Florida and enjoy seeing a bit of fall leaves and snow.

OK. Here's my point of view as a would-be customer (I don't make stuff, I buy stuff). Don't you think the fact that I have L$13,000 in my in-world account, and a whole lot more banked in SLX waiting to be used, but SL won't let me buy anything anywhere, or pay anyone, because every transaction I've tried to make over the last few days "goes stale" might also have something to do with sales slumping?

hehe I bought one of those fishing systems for my tenants. I now walk around with a seahorse name Meko swimming around my head.

EXCELLENT POINT!

A hair designer has a special group for those customers who have purchased at least 7 (I think) of her products. In addition to wonderful gifts periodically, including a FABULOUS Christmas gift package, she has recently opened another store that is *only* open to her loyal, repeat customers.

Now that's what I call service!!

My favorite jeweler has a member shop that is stocked with discounted items that are unique and not for sale to the general public. She recently had a great promotional gig with another lovely dressmaker for St. Patrick's Day that involved great free gifts from both of them and the dressmaker had a treasure hunt for unique St. Pat's items. This was a great promotion and rewards those who are members. The jeweler also periodically closes membership to reward people with special member gifts that cannot be purchased at all. This is how you keep a loyal membership - you make new stuff, and you periodically reward folks for their loyalty.