GW’s New Webstore – What’s Really Going On…
Games Workshop launched their new webstore today and a quick glance will tell you what it’s really all about.
First of all congratulations to GW for putting up a nice modern site with a minimalist clean design. I like it much better than the clunky old one.
Now it is selling the same stuff that was there the day before yesterday, but there is a bit of re-emphasis on what you buy that gives away the website’s real purpose. Here are the big points:
1) The pictures are bigger. GW is all about the minis, and with the best in the industry (so far), they are of course showing them off. Lots of oversized images and 360s all over the place in an uncluttered website design really draws the consumer eye to the minis themselves
2) The Web Exclusives. Before you got little teensy text notes that a particular product was or wasn’t a web exclusive. Now it’s front and center. GW is going out of it’s way to tell you that they have over 1000 products that you can now only get from them (at full MSRP). If you look around the webstore you will notice that a large amount of these are out on prominent display for visitors.
3) Free Shipping/Delivery Options. Again, GW is now prominently telling you on each miniature page that you can get free shipping on almost all but the smallest of orders. Your order will be dispatched quickly and you even have options for pickup at any GW store.
4) No Quibble returns. If GW IS really is the king of something it is their eternal no-quibble return policy. Don’t like something – send it back. If your miniature or book is messed up, they will send another. They really do have a fantastic corporate policy in this area.
5) Sales 1st, Everything else 2nd. You will note by screen real-estate that it’s all about the latest products. Yes you can still find the daily blog, and wait a second… where are those FAQs!?
What does it mean?
It means this is direct pushback against all the FLGS and hobby etailors out there. GW has already locked down competitive internet retailing via their partner contracts for many years and now, they want to expand their share of the pie yet again.
Each of these selling points (exclusive products, no hassle shipping and returns) are aimed at the common complaints about shopping online. (trust, slow shipping, hard to do returns)
GW sells through a variety of channels, via FLGSs, via GW stores, and via their Webstore. The webstore sales are almost certainly the highest profit margin of the three as they charge full price with no brick and mortar overhead. In a world or ever shrinking margins and skittish investors – GW needs to always squeeze more blood from that rock.
The new webstore is the latest arrow in their quiver – and it’s a well-designed one.
Happy shopping!
