Science fiction, fantasy, & horror - web design, graphic design, interactive media development by greententacles
Among the businesses that sell speculative fiction merchandise there exists a love-hate relationship between the mega-marts and the small specialty shops (comic, hobby, or other). It consists of a vicious cycle of small specialty shops taking chances on new products, hoping that the product will become the next craze, only to have the mega-marts begin stocking the item when it does become popular.
This becomes a double-edged sword for the specialty shops. The mega-marts increase the popularity of the range of products based around that item by promoting it to a greater number of people, but, by stocking the core items that specialty stores have traditionally sold, the mega-mart are cutting into the sales of the specialty shops.
Specialty shops have had to console themselves by offering the depth of products. The so-called fringe products that the mega-marts would not sell enough of for it to be a profitable item to stock. An example would be that a mega-mart may stock The Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook, but not any of the other Dungeons and Dragons products, such as Character Sheets, Adventure Modules, or Dice. You might find Pokemon Starter Decks, but perhaps not Pokemon Booster Packs.
This has been a precarious way for specialty shops to exist, and they have tried to make up for it by offering expertise that wouldn't be found at the typical mega-mart, as well as offering a greater number of niche products and maintaining a loyal customer base.
All in all, this was a pretty stable existence, with the mega-marts catering to the general populace (breadth), and the specialty stores attracting a smaller group of people specifically interested in what the specialty store had to offer (depth).
This was the way that the market was between five and ten years ago when certain mega-marts began a wave of expansion that changed the dynamic just enough to drive many specialty shops out of business. The mega-marts began arriving in small and not so small towns and out performed and under sold the local hardware, craft, and hobby stores, among others.
Eventually the market stabilized. The successful specialty shops (those that remained) focused on what made them different than the mega-marts. People became aware of the depth of products and services that the specialty shops offered, and the remaining specialty shops became just that much stronger.
Then came the World Wide Web. Initially it was a boon to forward thinking specialty shops who felt the presence of the mega-marts in their area. The web sites that were launched by the specialty shops helped to promote their stores and fend off immediate trouble. Now, however, online mega-retailers can offer both the breadth and the depth of products on the market.
A simple survey of the local resources, which includes local mega-marts and specialty shops as well as online mega-retailers, yeilded the results of the following table:
PRODUCT \ LOCATION | specialty shop-1 | specialty shop-2 | specialty shop-3 | mega-mart-1 | mega-mart-2 | online mega-retailer |
Superman comic | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N |
StarWars comic | Y | N | N | Y | N | N |
The Maxx comic | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
StarWars Trilogy video | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
The Matrix video | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
The Maxx video | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
PRODUCT \ LOCATION | specialty shop-1 | specialty shop-2 | specialty shop-3 | mega-mart-1 | mega-mart-2 | online mega-retailer |
Dungeons & Dragons: Player's Handbook | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y |
Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeonmaster's Guide | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
StarWars Roleplaying Game | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
Call of Cthulhu (complete game) | Y | N | Y | N | N | N |
Call of Cthulhu: Creature Companion | Y | N | N | N | N | Y |
Multifaceted Dice (for role-playing games) | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N |
PRODUCT \ LOCATION | specialty shop-1 | specialty shop-2 | specialty shop-3 | mega-mart-1 | mega-mart-2 | online mega-retailer |
Pokemon Starter Deck | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Pokemon Booster Pack | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
Magic: The Gathering Starter Deck | Y | N | N | N | N | Y |
Magic: The Gathering Booster Pack | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y |
Dragon Magazine | Y | N | Y | N | N | N |
Games Unplugged | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
20 years of Dragon Magazine CD set | N | Y | N | N | N | Y |
The competition is closing in, but there is one thing that still works in favor of the specialty shop. When someone thinks of a specialty product, they think of a specialty shop, and not mega-mart or online mega-retailer. The online mega-retailer carries the products listed, not because they are speculative fiction products, but for the simple reason that they are products. Return to the root of what kept specialty shops from dying out altogether when the mega-marts arrived:
There is no one, single, cure-all that will help a specialty shop to survive. It would be best to offer as many of the above services as you can. The mega-marts aren't willing to do this. They are still trying to capture the general market, leaving the niche markets to specialty shops.