By: Shannon Mayerl, President of Top Promotions
At Top Promotions we offer 3 main types of webstores:
- Continuous store
- Cycling store
- Up/Down store
Each option offers pros and cons and each option is more appropriate for stores with specific needs.
A Continuous store means the store is open year-round, we process orders from the store daily and we ship orders out daily. The pro to a continuous store is that orders are processed and shipped quickly. The con is inventory liability. In order to process and ship orders daily, all product in the store must be kept on-hand, so the client has financial liability for this stock. It is more difficult to test offer new products or graphics because if the test falls flat, there is still inventory that needs to be paid for.
A Cycling store means that while the store is open year-round, orders are processed on a cycling basis (generally every 2 weeks). At the cycle point, all orders collected in the previous period are then produced and shipped while the new ordering cycle begins. The pro to a cycling store is there is no inventory liability. The con is a longer lead time between placing an order and receiving the product. A cycling store can easily offer new products or graphics because there is no stock, but a cycling store cannot offer any products that are not manufactured on site, because generally there are manufacturing minimums that must be met with off-site products.
An Up/Down store is very similar to a cycling store except that it is not up year-round. With an up/down store, orders are collected while the store is live, once the shut-down date arrives, the orders are produced and delivered. The store may re-open for another window at another time. Up/Down stores are very common with sport teams or schools or if a company wants to only offer merchandise a couple times a year.
Our team is skilled at evaluating the prospective program and offering the type of store that will best match your needs and risk tolerance.