Come along for the ride on SBJ’s traditional holiday shopping spree through sports cyberspace.
Two days after Black
Friday, and one day before Cyber Monday, SportsBusiness Journal started its
biennial online holiday shopping expedition to examine sports retailers and
their performance during the busiest time of the year.
Overall, while we found
most sites better looking, more functional and easier to navigate than in our
first online foray six years ago, it’s with some regret we report that while
sports properties’ e-commerce has come light years, it still trails some of the
pioneers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart when it comes to overall customer
satisfaction.
One
of the challenges now is differentiating the sites of the nation’s top sports
properties. GSI Commerce is close to cornering the market, it added fulfillment
of the NBA e-tail store this summer, and now operates sites for MLB, NFL,
NASCAR and the NHL. That should mean fairly even service across all those
sites, but that was not always the case.
We
started our buying exercise on Sunday, Nov. 25, stoked by an afternoon of NFL
tubing. By 5 p.m., with highlights coming in from the early games, I get an
e-mail showing 20 percent off tonight at NFLShop.com. Once there, I begin to
see the development of two trends that become apparent on every sports shopping
site this year: personalization and more holiday-themed merchandise than ever.
On
NFLShop.com, you can customize everything from a $16.99 T-shirt to a $315
authentic jersey. While browsing, I’m intrigued by the team-logoed SC Sports
Xmas tree skirts, though dissuaded by the $50 price and exasperated by the fact
there’s no measurement for something that certainly hasno uniform size. The same
licensee, SC Sports, also offers team-logoed tree ornaments ranging from $14 to
$30. Guess the tree in the league office on Park Avenue would need to have all
32 ornaments, right? It’s difficult, but I resist the $40 SC Sports team-logoed
16-inch fiber-optic snowman. The neighbors might complain.
Jerseys
were the original customized licensed sports item, and so I order a customized
Dallas Cowboys replica home jersey, promised for delivery within three to five
days; impressive, if true. While perusing, I see more interesting items — one
featured is a Reebok Chicago Bears Brian Urlacher Super Bowl XLI replica white
jersey for $49.97. On this chilly Sunday, the Bears are tied with the Broncos
late in the fourth quarter and another loss would be their seventh — so no
wonder it’s marked down. Even more deeply discounted is a Reebok Bears 2006 NFC
Champions long sleeve locker-room T-shirt, cut to $1.97. Shipping will exceed
the price.
I’m
looking longingly at some logoed tailgate chairs, but wait until 7 p.m. when
the 20 percent discount kicks in. I click on the chair, but am informed that it
will ship in four to six weeks. Will anyone ordering online have that much
patience? Let’s see how quickly the NFL can deliver a football. I order the
Wilson Duke, with former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s facsimile signature.
The
order is fairly easy to process, but it’s noteworthy that with all the millions
Visa has spent on its NFL sponsorship over the years, branding on the site is
almost invisible — it is less than the size of a postage stamp and not adjacent
to the spot on the page where you plug in your payment. It’s not even the
default payment mechanism.
By halftime of the “Sunday Night Football”
Eagles-Patriots game, I’ve received an e-mail confirmation. Not until then am I
told the football is on back-order. Hmm, I wouldn’t have ordered it if I’d
known that. How long will I have to wait? The site tells me “Delivery dependent
on shipping method.” A call gets me voice processing, with no better results.
An e-mail the next morning says “item(s) will be shipped when it is in stock.”
Wow. And the Pats’ opponents feel frustrated? A call to the number to order
(not the customer service number) finally finds a human voice. After she
pitches an NFL Extra Points Credit Card, I finally get the information. It’s
Monday, Nov. 26, and she says the ball will ship Tuesday at the earliest;
Friday at the latest. OK, I can live with that, but why couldn’t I have been
told that via e-mail? Around two weeks later, it still hasn’t arrived, though
e-mails assure me it has been back-ordered. The football order gets spiked.
Conversely,
jerseys are clearly something the NFL and GSI have been specializing in long
enough that they have that process down to a science. The customized Cowboys
white classic jersey is promised to leave the warehouse in two to three days
and ship in three to five. Five days later, it’s at my door — remarkable timing
for any custom piece. Still, isn’t it ironic that the NFL online shop can’t get
its act together when it comes to passing a football?
When
landing on MLB.com, I immediately notice prominent branding for corporate
sponsor DHL and a free shipping offer for purchases of $99 and above. The site
is relatively uncluttered. With their second championship in four years, some
Red Sox merchandise seems appropriate. With hopes of scoring an MLB jersey, I
look at the customized offerings, but two to three weeks is just too long. Can
an MLB jersey be that much more complex to letter?
Seeking
some San Francisco Giants merchandise in the outlet section, I find a long
sleeve/short sleeve T-shirt bundle reduced from $35 to $20, and throw it in the
cart along with some Red Sox, er, socks, a pennant and then I total it up.
Looking to test DHL, I pay $10 for second-day shipping, defined on the site as
two to three business days. With the speed of a line drive back to the box, the
package arrives in two days. I would like to have purchased a customized jersey
in time for the holidays, but it was still a positive overall experience from
GSI in terms of value and service.
When
I go to NHL.com, I first want to see how
they can service personalized jerseys. But I’m informed it will take seven to
10 business days, which will blow the story deadline. Ornaments seem like a
better deal, and there’s a “personalized laser-etched ornament” for $20. There
is a nice collection of Reebok apparel commemorating the New Year’s Day outdoor
game in Buffalo, but none of it is available until Dec. 15, and today is Nov.
30. Argh!
Crocs
has signed a license with nearly every sports property of note this year, so I
settle for a pair of Buffalo Sabres-logoed Crocs, the NHL’s top-selling team
last season. I dare anyone to wear those to the Jan. 1 game. After checkout,
there’s a bombardment of pop-ups, including a coupon selling discount magazine
subscriptions. Very cheesy. With third-day delivery for $10, the Crocs,
promised in a week at minimum, arrive in six days. The customized ornament is
promised within 10 business days at the outside, and takes 10 days.
Looking
for something outside the growing influence of GSI, I head over to Niketown.com, which has a gift-finding
feature on its opening page. I’m prompted to answer a few questions, but then
the site freezes. After three tries, it seems hopeless. Four hours later, I
return, only to get the same results. It could be a problem with Vista or
Firefox browsers, both of which I was using, but no customer is going to stick
around long enough to find out.
It’s
time to find a real retailer. Dick’s Sporting Goods has become the leading
marketer among sports specialty retailers over the past few years, taking that
honor from Foot Locker. The site seems familiar — of course — it’s another one
operated by GSI, which also manages e-commerce for sporting goods retailers The
Sports Authority and Modell’s. It’s far easier to run through than Nike’s. A
swooshed T-shirt is easy to find, and perhaps in retribution, I throw in a top
from competitor Under Armour. While the order is relatively small, I pay $17.50
for overnight shipping. The package arrives before 10 a.m. the next day. Even
before that, I’ve been sent an e-mail with a tracking link. That was easy.
Inspired
by a traditional retailer’s e-commerce prowess, I set up a race between
Wal-Mart, the ultimate brick-and-mortar store, and e-tail pioneer Amazon. Both
of those sites are the brightest and easiest to navigate among the ones visited
for this story. So what’s a widely available licensed sports product? How about
a copy of EA’s Madden NFL 08? Wal-Mart comes in 17 cents cheaper then Amazon at
$59.82. As always, Amazon gives free shipping for any purchase over $25.
Employing that method, the game is supposed to arrive Dec. 5; it arrives Dec. 1
by U.S. Postal Service. Wal-Mart charges a very reasonable $1.97 for shipping,
and unlike all the league sites, which offer separate time windows for clearing
the warehouse and shipping times, Walmart.com states flatly when to expect
delivery. The game from Walmart.com is two days late, having
taken from Nov. 27, when the order was placed, to Dec. 8. A tracking check on
USPS.com shows it was mailed in Carol Stream, Ill., on Nov. 28. Hmm, that was a
slow mail truck. Because of that, Amazon wins the Madden race, even with free
shipping. Still, despite being two days late, I give Walmart.com points for
price, selection and transparency.
Now
I’m looking to put Amazon to a stiffer test. Can it do something difficult —
like keep a good supply of championship apparel in stock, weeks after the title
was won? Most of the Red Sox merchandise is sold out, but Majestic’s “official
parade shirt” is not. It’s annoying that at $24.99, the item is missing the $25
free delivery minimum by the slimmest of margins. However, Amazon offers a range of
delivery from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, and the shirt arrives Dec. 3.
While
the NBA store also is administered by GSI, it does have a somewhat different
look and feel. I want to test out its jersey acumen. Navigating the site, it’s
not quite as cheery as Amazon and Wal-Mart, and the virtual aisles aren’t as
wide. With only a loss or two, the Celtics are the surprise of the new season and
as anyone in licensing knows, there’s no demand like pent-up demand. Sure
enough, there’s not a lot of product. The Celtics replica home jersey is only
available in XL. Are the Knicks jerseys marked down yet? No, so I’ll stick with
the C’s. Personalized with a name, the replica is $60 with a shipping upgrade
to standard ground. During checkout, only about a quarter of the page shows up
on the PC screen. It’s a problem with the Mozilla browser, so a switch to
Internet Explorer 7.0 and checkout at NBA.com runs smooth. The jersey
is promised in five to seven business days, and it arrives faithfully in five
days.
Time
to test drive a team site, and NASCAR seems like a natural. Surprisingly,
two-time Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson’s site is not easy to find. There
are a lot of fan sites, but no merchandise. Finally, I mouse over to the
Hendrick Motorsports team site. While there’s none of the personalization so
apparent elsewhere, there is a plethora of championship items, including a
replica championship car hood for $80. However, only by clicking on each
separate item can you find out — one at a time — that almost every item is sold
out. For a sport that prides itself on being fan friendly, this is not. There’s a WinCraft sign
that would look nice in any NASCAR fan’s driveway — reserved parking for the
back-to-back champion No. 48 Lowe’s car. The site tells me it is 11-by-17, but
it would have been nice to know what it is made of. Many clicks later, there’s
one style of a championship T-shirt still available. Checking out is simple; I
opt for two-day FedEx delivery, but the site and a subsequent e-mail doesn’t
tell me when I’m getting my order. “If the item you ordered is in stock and you
did not ask for express delivery, please allow 5-7 business days for delivery.”
How impersonal. Didn’t I already opt for two-day delivery? Why wasn’t that
recognized? Not counting the day it was ordered, Hendrick Motorsports delivers in two business
days.
Since
our first efforts on the e-commerce trail, selection and shipping at sports
properties’ sites has improved exponentially. The storefronts are still too
cluttered, relative to those from heavyweights Wal-Mart and Amazon. With all
the business being written in customized offerings, it’s striking that there is
isn’t much customization in terms of customer care. Too many form e-mails,
which easily could be personalized, and too many vague delivery promises, are
going to send consumers back to the brick-and-mortar experiences.
If an
item is late or back-ordered, wouldn’t a small discount be a great way to bind
that customer for life? Even after the order, how hard are thank-you notes?
Only Dick’s Sporting Goods had the touch to send a personal e-mail thank-you
note for shopping on their site.
Companies
such as GSI have helped immeasurably as retailers and properties have set up
storefronts. Now that they’ve got those processes set up, it’s time for a
better focus on the customer experience. There’s too much licensed sports
product available at too many competitors for them not to take better care of
their fans and customers.
