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DIGITAL PRODUCT CATALOGS, E-COMMERCE, AND E-ORDERING Footwear Retailers Rely on Connected Systems Staying competitive in today's business environment requires efficiencies like we have never experienced before. RICS Software directly integrates your product data, E-Commerce, and E-Ordering into the most robust Inventory Management and POS ecosystem available to footwear retailers. And, the efficiencies you gain from a truly connected technology stack will help you thrive as the retail environment continues to evolve. In addition, the RICS Mobile POS Apps facilitate real-time contactless checkout for a fast and safe customer experience. • BOPIS • Curbside service • Delivery • On the shop floor • Sit-n-fit New customers receive 50% Off by using code FI-EFFICIENCY. • 50% Off Setup. • 50% Off 1st Year of Monthly Service. • 50% Off 1st Year of Integrated Unified E-Commerce. Expires December 15th, 2020. Receive 50% Off Setup, 1st Year Service, and 1st Year E-Comm! Ringlein said Lincoln Running Co. would be bolstering its buys of headlamps and a limited supply of trail shoes and essentials, and will be bringing back in a new form a program that incentivizes customers to get outside and exercise every day. "People are going crazy inside, and I think everybody needs a push," she said. 4. Extremely Online For a number of shops, online business was a lifeline through shutdowns — even if getting it running was a scramble. Looking ahead, owners said, those new ways of serving customers will continue to grow. "The shutdowns accelerated the adoption of e-comm for run specialty," Metzdorff said. "It moved the channel forward three years in three months." Stores reported that sales have continued to remain robust through new channels — whether it was a site with Fitted or Shopify, selling through Instagram and social media accounts or even just taking additional orders over the phone — and that they've stayed elevated even as in- store business returned. "We've seen a huge jump in curbside orders for the holiday season," Brummit said. "We're glad it's something we were able to do, and it's a value-add now — those hard decisions are paying off." 5. Telling Stories With 2020 events, races and even entire seasons postponed or cancelled for the year on both the local (track and cross-country) and international levels (marathons and the Olym- pics), marketing and prod- uct launch calendars were thrown out the window. The upside, some stores said, is that some of those packages and stories can get picked right back up for 2021. The cancellation of the track season hit Anchorage, AK's Skinny Raven Sports particularly hard, buyer John Clark said, since the season is a major connec- tion point to high school runners and their families. Clark said the store will be making that category a priority for 2021, and will also tell stories about the product launches that got delayed or dialed back, like a speed-focused campaign highlighting the innovation of Nike's Alphafly family and the new competitors launched by New Balance, Saucony and Hoka One One, among others. "It was disappointing for us after we had made the in- vestment and been prepared to support those launches, so the goal will be in 2021 to talk about them in a more meaningful way," he said. While 2020 was a chal- lenge, retailers said they've emerged, in some ways, stronger than ever. "We're adjusting and living and doing what's possible," Gazelle's Brum- mit said. The new year she added, will "require those decision-making skills we all developed. We can make quick decisions and adjust on the fly, and that will serve us really well." With new opportunities on the horizon, in fact, stores said they're feeling bullish on the outlook. "The obstacles have been a beneficial stimulus for us," Angell said. "We're smarter, more nimble and a much stronger business as we come out the other side." l sportstylemag.com • sportstyle November 2020 • 9

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