Problem Statement
How can 401 Games attract more customers through their next annual project?
Support
Over the past several years, 401 Games has had an annual project that resulted in attracting more customers and gaining a larger target market. 401 Games needs to have an effective annual project this year too, so they can continue to be the successful in the gaming industry. They can do this by staying up with the latest trends and knowing what is going on in the industry in Toronto. This is very important because of the increasing presence of competitors could affect business. If 401 Games does not keep up with the competition, they could lose a substantial amount of business or even have to close and go out of business.
Staying a
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Alternatives
401 Games could add online sales to their website to reach more customers.
401 Games could add another location to expand their business geographically.
401 Games could rent the 2nd and 3rd floor to add more gaming space and a cafe.
Analysis
Our first alternative states to have 401 Games add online sales to their website. 14 of the competitors already have online sales as shown in SWOT 1. This would be a major opportunity because online sales are increasing in this industry too (SWOT 1). 401 Games can still offer very competitive prices for their products offered online. Another big advantage of this option is that it can boost sales tremendously. When 401 Games doesn’t have a game in stock, they recommend the customer go to a competitor to buy it, with online sales, 401 Games can refer their customer to their website and have them order it online. Then, the customer would get the game as the same great price and it would be shipped directly to the customer without the hassle of them having to come into the store again.
A disadvantage to 401 Games adding online sales to their website is that customers won’t receive the expertise from employees as they would if going into the store. This might cause a lot of customers to purchase a game and end up returning it. Shipping costs would be another factor. Larger games are much more expensive to ship. 401 Games more than likely would have to take a loss on the cost of shipping.
However, GameStop is still at a disadvantage, because there are such a large number of competitors in the industry. Buyer’s bargaining power are high, since there is no brand loyalty in the industry. Customers are very well aware of the market price of a product and will look for the best deals they can find. Suppliers have high bargaining power since suppliers can choose to integrate forward and sell their products themselves. The success of the retail gaming industry is very dependent on the availability of supplier’s goods. Additionally, since there are low barriers of entrance, substitute products and new entrants often appear in the market. Since most competitors in the industry do not have a strong presence, the expected retaliation towards new entrants is low. An increasing popularity of smartphone games and social media games such as Farmville on Facebook, allows customers to play against friends. Although these social media games do not offer the same experience as a video game, the fact that virtually no switching cost is associated with switching to a competitor’s game and since they are so cheap compared to video game disk and consoles, can easily drive customers from video gaming to online gaming. (Exhibit 2)
The low cost product can also change customers buying behavior. Some customer who prefer to buy goods in the physical stores might decide to buy Amazon’s online product if they see it is in so low a price.
Competition within the internet sales industry is fierce and innovation is the way internet retailers are looking to grab the top spot. Internet retailers such as Walmart are following in the path of competitors and building fulfillment centers left and right to allow for faster delivery to customers. Many internet retailers have explored the possibilities of drone delivery, using customers to deliver products to other customers on their way home, and allowing customers to pick up products out of lockers in stores so they don’t have to wait in line; these competitive strategies internet retailers are seeking to implement illustrate how far firms are willing to go to gain the upper-hand on one another (Forbes, 2012).
Lastly, we picked individuals who prefer in-store shopping over online. At 401 Games, we hire individuals and train them to be the experts on all games. We want customers to come in and look at different games. Customers can ask our employees if they have questions, which is a benefit that is not online. Customers also have the ability to come in
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