Some local music store owners are fighting to preserve the intimate interaction they share with their customers as www dot competitors pressure owners to restructure their businesses.
Rob Wornold closed the CD Exchange on Rideau Street at the end of January because online sales have cut heavily into in-store traffic.
In the past two years, Ottawa’s downtown has seen four record stores close their doors due to a struggling market. These included Organised Sound, Record Runner and most recently CD Exchange, on Rideau Street. But CD Exchange owner Rob Wormald says he will continue to operate the business online.
A decrease in in-store traffic and an increase in online sales caused Wormald to shut down the store’s Rideau Street location and operate the business solely through the store’s website.
“Society is changing,” he says. “We turn to the computer for everything from talking to someone to buying something online.”
So Wormald has chosen to join the world of online retail and will sell his stock from an Almonte-based warehouse.
Though disappointed to have to close his shop, he says the growing shift towards online shopping is unstoppable.
“I believe this is going to be a trend with all retail. Any specialty item, the internet is going to be the way to buy that stuff.”
Three trends have resulted in the deterioration of the local music store, says Wormald. Big box stores, which sell CD’s and DVD’s at lower prices, people who download their music, and the increase of CD sales on websites, such as Amazon.com make it difficult for independent businesses to compete.
What Wormald says is most disappointing with selling his merchandise online is the lack of face-to-face interaction with his customers. “That sense of community, that sense of talking to someone, is lost.”
The exchange of music has changed according to Wormald. He says youths, especially, speak of music in terms of the quantity of their song collection.
“Now music is not tangible, but what is tangible is an iPod that has 5,000 songs on it. So now when people brag about their music collection, they brag about how many songs they have, not what albums they have.”
While Wormald’s drop in sales led him to restructure his business, other local music stores are battling their internet competition.
Sounds Unlikely, a tiny boutique tucked away on Arlington Avenue celebrated its first anniversary Feb. 1.
With steady sales and a loyal clientele, owner Tony Daye says the key to his store’s success is the connection he and his employees have with their customers.
“We’ve tried to establish a relationship where we know our customers and we get to know their tastes, so when they come in we can say, ‘Hey this CD came in – you might be interested in it.’ ”
He says customers come into his store in search of a face-to-face interaction.
“People certainly don’t get that in chain record stores and I don’t think they get that online," says Daye. "So I think that’s something independent record stores should offer and I think we do.”
The cozy shop plays Indie music faintly in the background, and the racks are full of unusualfinds.
Sounds Unlikely will keep its street-side presence says Ian Cooke, manager of the store. He says they have considered selling online, but that will not be happening in the near future.
"Because we have such a specialized selection, there’ll only be a handful of people in the city who are interested in certain items that we carry,” he says.
“So to stock enough to do online sales is, I don’t think that is realistic for us.”
Consumers might use the internet to download and purchase music digitally, Daye says, but many will still go out and buy the physical album.
“We just had a really busy weekend, and it’s very affirming of the business, there is still a good market of people.”