Online shopping vs. on-site purchase: What you should consider when buying a bike

The difference is often very clear: products from the mail order company can be 20 per cent cheaper than the same product from the retailer next door. So should you just order? At least those who have no experience with this should first weigh up the pros and cons. Even if the main advantage of online shopping initially masks some of the disadvantages, a bicycle is a much more complex product than a packet of printer paper. And this difference provides some arguments for and against buying online.

Online shopping does not equal online shopping

Online retail grew strongly at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. However, a distinction must be made between traditional online retailers such as Bike Discount or Brüggelmann on the one hand and brick-and-mortar retailers on the other, who have - often quickly - decided to offer their goods online during the pandemic. You can order a bike or components with a click and then collect them from your local dealer. Here you usually also have the dealer's service in terms of bike adjustment and the like. In general, as we will see, online retailers can operate in very different ways.

In addition to online sales, some also offer a real centre where purchases can be made on site. Traditional online sellers often do not offer the opportunity to view or try out the bike or product in real life. If you order here, the goods are usually delivered by a logistics company. In the case of a bike, this also means that you have to assemble it yourself. However, online providers are now very well geared towards end customers.

The final assembly is usually precisely and clearly documented and often easy to carry out; the necessary tools are often even included. Direct mail order companies such as Canyon and Rose have been particularly successful in recent years. More and more direct mail order companies have one or more flagship stores - you could call them luxury branches: Shops of different sizes that present all or some of the models in a high-quality ambience and often have test bikes in stock. And of course there are also consultation appointments here. Supplier Rose currently has such stores in four major German cities.

Why online shopping is often cheaper

E-commerce saves on a number of costly items that bike dealers absolutely need: online, you can do without showrooms where the bikes are presented in an attractive and clearly organised way. Online retailers can also make significant savings on staff costs: Traditional salespeople no longer exist here; online advice is given differently, if at all. Often, general introductory advice is given via AI chat or chat, sometimes followed by customised telephone advice.

Online retailers and direct mail order companies often have a very wide range of products and can therefore purchase large quantities from the manufacturer or wholesaler, for example in the case of components. They then receive particularly favourable prices themselves, which they pass on in part and thus become cheaper again. Direct shippers, i.e. manufacturers who sell directly to the customer without a dealer stopover, such as Canyon, save on logistics costs and the dealer margin. They are effectively their own dealer.

Online shopping in figures

• According to statistics specialist Statista, googling and ordering online has been on the rise since around the turn of the millennium, even if there was a slump in 2022 following the previous coronavirus online boom: Over 40 per cent of internet users buy something online at least once a month.
• However, this dynamic does not apply to all retail sectors: In the bicycle and e-bike sector, the share of stationary specialist retailers remained the same in 2022, according to the German Bicycle Industry Association ZIV: Around 76 per cent bought from them (including three per cent online offers from specialist retailers). Pure online retail in the e-bike and bicycle sector increased by one percentage point to 21 per cent.
• Good news for quality and safety: fewer and fewer bikes are being sold at discounters and DIY stores (around two per cent).

Happy with a price limit

Carolin Beuster is also absolutely satisfied. She bought a racing bike from direct mail order company Rose in the spring. "I had set myself a limit of 3,000 euros," says the 44-year-old. And she wanted to make the most of this money. The quality also had to be impressive. But: "I wanted to sit on it beforehand," she explains. She therefore made an appointment at the main Rose shop in Bocholt - still under coronavirus restrictions - and was given a quarter of an hour's consultation, including a short test ride around the yard.

She is happy with the bike. She took it to an independent dealer for its first service. "The only annoying thing was that when a special spare part was missing some time ago, she had to wait several months for it." However, that was at the end of the pandemic, when the entire industry was waiting for components and spare parts - so it was probably not a problem specific to the shipping company."

Direct mail order companies: advantages through own brand

In addition to the price advantage of online shopping, Julian Öncü, Marketing Manager at direct mail order company Canyon, also sees the advantage that the product comes from the manufacturer itself: "We are the best point of contact for customer questions. What's more, if we as a manufacturer produce more cheaply than others, we can invest some of the savings in development - we have a huge development department."

However, Öncü also sees after-sales, i.e. everything that comes after the sale in terms of the relationship between the manufacturer or retailer and the customer, as a challenge for direct sellers. "Our product is developing more and more from analogue to electronic and digital. The future is digitalisation with data exchange." Smart engines and systems such as power meters on sports bikes are already ensuring this. And digitalisation makes it even more complex.

Canyon is working on being closer to its customers. This includes the new Canyon service app. Registered customers can access all the information about their bikes there - including instructions for minor repairs via videos or the identification of spare parts, which they can also order directly from the app. This does not necessarily replace personal contact. Secondly, Canyon is expanding its network with the ASP system (Affiliate Service Partner): There are currently 70 of these certified workshops in Germany that a customer can contact for service, repairs and the like.

"We are working on deepening the relationships between customers, manufacturers and partners in this network," says Öncü. This also means that the partner should eventually know as much about the customer's bike as the manufacturer itself. The example of Canyon shows that the direct mail order company also has opportunities to expand the personal level with the customer. However, potential customers can only get live advice on new purchases and test rides at the official Canyon site in Koblenz.

Advantage of on-site advice from the dealer

Babette Beck from Düsseldorf bought a compact e-bike from a dealer in Neuss in the spring. The 58-year-old likes to take her time when making major decisions and is well informed beforehand. After some basic research on the internet and a few tips from friends, she visited four dealers in her region. "At the end of the day, I need to be able to trust them. I didn't feel that I was in good hands with one of them, which was later underlined by the reviews on the internet." She finally found what she was looking for at a medium-sized dealer in Neuss-Gnadental, who understood her bike needs well and was also able to give her in-depth advice.

She test rode a few bikes before deciding on her twenty-inch bike with Bosch drive. "If the dealer I liked hadn't had the model I wanted, I might even have switched to a similar model so that I could buy from him," she explains. She is also happy to pay a little more for personal contact and good support. "Not 2,000 euros," she says, "but maybe around 1,000? It pays off after all!" In any case, she is happy with her bike and with the free first inspection she has already received.

Stationary retail: "Velosophen" with a mission

At the moment, all providers are struggling, regardless of their focus. However, medium-sized retailers seem to be feeling the decline in sales after the pandemic boom particularly keenly - partly due to staff shortages. Retailers unanimously tell us that there is a lack of people, particularly in service, the growing area in which they can set themselves apart from traditional online providers. And it's not just about repairs and maintenance: services such as low-cost or free hire bikes when your own bike is being serviced or is under repair, ergonomic measurements to help you find the perfect bike fit and much more are addressed here.

Some speciality bike dealers even lend out their products for up to a week so that customers can experience mobility at home. In general, stationary specialist bike shops were very reluctant to comment directly on the topic of online shopping. Too little time and too many current challenges on their minds, was the tenor.

Specialist dealer Peder Dedenbach from Cologne names "listening" as one of the skills that set the long-established stationary dealer apart from the ordering system. Listening, understanding the individual customer and then using your own experience as a bike dealer to provide advice is something that no online retailer can do - not even one that offers an extensive online advice programme. "Being open, that helps people enormously when giving advice," says the dealer, who is himself an old hand in the industry.

Online shopping vs. on-site shopping: an overview of the most important advantages and disadvantages

Online shopping

• Very good price-performance ratio
• Convenient purchase from home, open 24 hours a day
• Delivery
• Long returns policy (legally 14 days, many offer more)
• Special conditions for payment (e.g. payment by instalments, credit, purchase on account, etc.)

On-site purchase

• Advice on site and on the product
• Uncomplicated, detailed test drive
• Simple selection from stationary stock
• Emotional shopping experience
• Simple logistics
• Direct, personal contact for special requests
• Contact in the event of damage or questions

Conclusion: online or retailer?

Both systems have their justification. The stationary dealer is not only interesting for potential bike buyers who have little knowledge of the subject matter or do not want to deal with maintenance and repairs themselves later on - keyword: contact person for technical problems and an ear for bike needs. On the other hand, you can not only find good deals when shopping online, but also get some support, depending on the provider. It is important to check both: Do the promised services match my expectations? However, if you want to keep your local partner because you trust them and rely on them, the best way to support them is to simply shop there.