Imagine all the people...that a Web site now replaces
December 14, 2007

In Ned Randolph's story on Fanista, the new online DVD retailer from the folks at Amway, founder Dan Adler discusses the niche the start-up is hoping to fill.
"What we grew up on doesn't exist anymore," he says. "You used to be able to walk into a record store and find someone behind the counter who knew what they were talking about," he said.
I'm sure lots of independent retailers--and even some larger ones--out there will take issue with that.
All across the U.S., there are video stores that you can walk into and find someone who knows movies and is eager to talk about them--to help you find something you'll like. Or, at least, something they like.
"In many ways, what Fanista tries to become is that trusted individual for you to grab their hand and walk into a really big store," Adler says. said. "Let them guide you through their favorite genre. You know you love documentary films, but don't know what exactly you love. Now you realize there's a whole other world out there."
While Fanista's networking aspect may give it a different execution than other retail sites, its goal of replicating the knowledgeable-clerk-you-can-trust online is not unique. It's the same thing Netflix, Amazon and countless other sites do to capture and keep customers.
And it validates what flesh-and-blood shopkeepers do on a more personal level every day. 
The next time someone refers the corner video store as a dinosaur, just point to all the online retailers who are trying to do as good a job in customer relations. In that context, the good old clerk behind the counter looks as cutting edge as can be.

Posted by Marcy Magiera on December 14, 2007 | Comments (0)