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Online shop

Alsty

Alsty

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I thought I'd check out the official Alton Towers shop tonight and found it incredibly disappointing... when you think of some of the great merchandise they have, the stuff they're stocking online is fairly limited.

And the most incredible thing... after the park has been open for four weeks, why is there no Wicker Man merchandise available online? :confused: I find that an incredible oversight. They must be missing out on loads of potential sales
 
If this is bothering you then you could contact the Retail Product Enquiries team, but I imagine the Online Shop will eventually be sorted out. To be honest, I'd prefer it if they focused on sorting out the issues they have on park first before doing so.
 
JackFitzy said:
To be honest, I'd prefer it if they focused on sorting out the issues they have on park first before doing so.
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To be fair, so would I... it just struck me as a missed opportunity when every penny seems to count at the moment
 
I’ve never known the online shop to sell many items, to be honest. Only a handful. Compare it to the EP online shop where you can get practically everything!
 
I'd actually chuck Blackpool Pleasure Beach into the mix with that one, they seem to harbour an extensive array of products on their website.
 
How often is the shop replenished? I am sure there was a much larger selection around the time Smiler opened. I resisted the urge to buy something on park but now I really want a Wicker Man t-shirt :mad:
 
The online shop is an interesting proposition. I would suspect the volume/revenue you attract that you wouldn't sell without it is small.

It seems unlikely that someone would want to buy a Wicker Man tee if they haven't ridden and been through the shop. Cue a bunch of posts that tell me you're that person, obvs.
 
It has always appeared to be just general Towers lack of organisation when it comes to the online shop. They push it for a bit, put items up and then they run with little or no stock for a few months. Then someone remembers they have an online shop and puts some new stuff up and the cycle starts again.
 
Rick said:
The online shop is an interesting proposition. I would suspect the volume/revenue you attract that you wouldn't sell without it is small.

It seems unlikely that someone would want to buy a Wicker Man tee if they haven't ridden and been through the shop. Cue a bunch of posts that tell me you're that person, obvs.
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Not quite, I went earlier this season but didn't buy one at the park:)

Yes I know, I'm an annoying and awkward person
 
speedy said:
Yes I know, I'm an annoying and awkward person
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Maybe so, but I don't think you're typical in seeking out to buy merchandise post visit, if only because rides and attractions don't occupy many people's minds post visit.

It is odd that they have an online shop at all and seek not to exploit it, though. Perhaps it's Tree Top Quest syndrome.
 
I'm a little bemused though. Why can there be little choice and things out of stock? Surely they can just sell anything that's available on resort, and then if someone does buy something they can pilfer it from the real shop? Much like they do for Tesco or Sainsbury's home delivery.
 
Alsty said:
I'm a little bemused though. Why can there be little choice and things out of stock? Surely they can just sell anything that's available on resort, and then if someone does buy something they can pilfer it from the real shop? Much like they do for Tesco or Sainsbury's home delivery.
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Indeed. Surely there's not a big enough demand for the online shop that this is not possible!
 
Burbs said:
Indeed. Surely there's not a big enough demand for the online shop that this is not possible!
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Again, it comes down to if they will sell high volumes of stuff online vs in Towers Trading because the margin of the stuff you sell online will be lower due to the effort and infrastructure required to sell it on top of the fixed costs of the shop that are already in place.
 
Yup. Internet shopping gives extra rights that are a bit of a pain...return postage etc.
And it is tricky to compare it to supermarket online shopping, I'm pretty sure that all the stores make a loss on online, but they daren't back out as they would lose market share.
 
rob666 said:
Yup. Internet shopping gives extra rights that are a bit of a pain...return postage etc.
And it is tricky to compare it to supermarket online shopping, I'm pretty sure that all the stores make a loss on online, but they daren't back out as they would lose market share.
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Yeah that's a confusing one, since online shopping infrastructure costs money but so does keeping stores open. As for Alton Towers I can understand not selling some larger/more fragile items online but for a shirt/hoodie they could just take it off the shelf, slip it in a bubble mailer and post it.

All these costs can just be included in the cost of delivery. Which I can't find out because you need an account to check out. Why TF do I need to make an account to buy something, Merlin? :mad:

EDIT: One other reason for an online shop is when you buy the wrong thing. I bought woman's polo at Bobbejaanland last year by mistake :(
 
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speedy said:
All these costs can just be included in the cost of delivery. Which I can't find out because you need an account to check out. Why TF do I need to make an account to buy something, Merlin?:mad:
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£3.95 for P&P, when I ordered a pin badge last year, they charge me this to send it in a small envelope, no jiffy bag or bubble wrap and a second class stamp :mad::rolleyes:

Price of P&P can be found here under the T&C's

https://shop.altontowers.com/pages/terms-and-conditions

I'm sure once the park closes for the winter, they will put any clearance items onto the on line shop.
 
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speedy said:
As for Alton Towers I can understand not selling some larger/more fragile items online but for a shirt/hoodie they could just take it off the shelf, slip it in a bubble mailer and post it.
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And when someone buys something in the wrong size you have to have the ability and infrastructure to receive it back, process it, audit the return and send a replacement - if you have one, if you haven't you need to process a refund.

It's work - for such little return and chances are that purchaser will come to the park and can buy it from the shop that you have already funded & staffed. For the number of 'orders' that you miss, chances are the lost profit wouldn't have paid for the cost of executing the distance selling at volume in the first place.
 
Rick said:
And when someone buys something in the wrong size you have to have the ability and infrastructure to receive it back, process it, audit the return and send a replacement - if you have one, if you haven't you need to process a refund.

It's work - for such little return and chances are that purchaser will come to the park and can buy it from the shop that you have already funded & staffed. For the number of 'orders' that you miss, chances are the lost profit wouldn't have paid for the cost of executing the distance selling at volume in the first place.
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With a bit of planning I'm sure Towers (or Merlin as a whole) could do it. This isn't a small family business we're talking about. The shop staff could maybe process orders during quiet periods?
 
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