Put The “E” In E-Commerce
To Work For You

Fresh off navigating Y2K, Shooting Industry readers were already learning about the added benefits of a strong e-commerce presence nearly 24 years ago.

In the August 2001 issue, SI columnist Ray Hurley interviewed Phil Reed, the late co-founder of shooters.com, who saw the early value of a store having online inventory. (While researching this topic, I learned Reed was instrumental in helping SI’s sister publication GUNS Magazine secure its first website in the late ’90s.)

In the interview, Reed recounted what is now a ubiquitous scenario: “Say a customer comes in and wants to purchase a product you don’t carry in inventory. An unusual reloading die, for example. A dealer can say, ‘Let me check my online inventory for that.’

“With the customer beside him, he can pull the item up on his website, place it in the shopping cart and use the customer’s credit card to complete the transaction. Done. He has a customer and the profit.”

This approach to sales was groundbreaking at the time. Not so today — of course — with customers armed with their smartphones to check inventory and compare pricing. This makes having a responsive, user-friendly website with live inventory a must for storefront dealers.

Eric Wille, VP of business development for Gunstores.com, observed too many stores are missing out on sales because of a flawed website.

“Even when dealers have a website, they’re often not promoting it or optimizing it for SEO, so they’re not getting much traffic. And when they do get traffic, they don’t always know what to do with it,” he said.

We asked several providers and dealers to share their “best tips” to secure additional e-commerce sales. If your store checks all the boxes, that’s great! Look for new ways to expand the online component of your business. If you’re missing a couple, consider tweaking your approach. In today’s soft market, every sale matters.

1. The “Endless Aisle”

The “endless aisle” isn’t a new concept in the e-commerce space. It is still, however, a valuable one and can add to your store’s profits.

Michele Salerno, Celerant Technology’s chief growth officer, shared the intrinsic benefits of the endless aisle.

“Dealers can massively expand their product offerings without stocking more inventory by integrating distributor product feeds,” she said. “This enables drop-shipping directly to customers [or local FFLs], creating an ‘endless aisle’ of available products. More selection equals more sales.”

At Vandalia Range & Armory in Vandalia, Ohio, Co-Owner Alex Hague explained why his store has partnered with distributors to expand viewable inventory.

“Our website is integrated with our distributors, allowing it to function as an extension of our physical store,” he stated. “The inventory displayed includes everything available from our distributors, though it doesn’t always reflect what we have in stock at the store.”

As Hague noted, not every product included on the site is available in the store, but the listing alone will create opportunity.

“We can also add our own inventory, but the main goal is to expand product offerings and show customers what’s available to order beyond what we carry on-site,” he said. “Since demand is relatively steady, this setup makes it easy to fulfill customer orders efficiently.”

Drop-shipping — highlighted by Salerno above — represents another significant advantage for those stores with an integrated website.

“With this capability, we can ship certain products directly from the distributor to the customer, reducing costs and eliminating the need to hold extra inventory,” Hague said. “This approach worked well for us instead of making a large investment in a custom-built platform that only displays in-store stock.”

2. Merging The Online & In-Store Experience

Erin Crooks, the marketing director for Freedom Outdoors (which has four locations across two states), shared successful stores are able to blend the online and in-store experience.

“A simple system that connects online shopping with the in-store experience can drive more sales and keep customers coming back,” she said. “If your e-commerce site isn’t making it easy for customers, you’re leaving money on the table.”

With so much competition, “convenience” is often a determining factor in customer loyalty.

“Customers want convenience — like knowing what’s in stock, ordering online for quick pick up and knowing they can pick it up right away,” Crooks noted. 

Labeling the above as the “Target experience” (Target’s approach to omnichannel shopping), Crooks added an online chat is another useful feature for guests.

“They also want fast answers for their questions with an online live chat that would match their experience if they were speaking to a sales associate on the sales floor of your gun store,” she said.

Freedom Outdoors recently added its fourth location, acquiring Colonial Shooting Academy in Richmond, Va. Serving customers in four locations offers its own set of challenges, and Crooks shared how her team is meeting them.

“The new offering we’re building out right now is the ability for a customer to shop online at any of our stores in one experience, and being able to fill orders from any store in one order,” she said. “That way, if an item is out of stock in one location, but available in another, the customer can purchase it in one checkout experience.”

3. Consistency & Accuracy

Relating to the above point, another way to make the in-store vs. online experience seamless is consistency. To that end, Wille contends in-store prices and inventory should match what you’re displaying online.

“If a dealer’s website isn’t synched with their POS, customers see different prices online than in-store, which causes confusion and lost sales,” he said.

Instant gratification is central to a customer’s motivation to walk into a store for a particular product. Wille and his team work with dealers to ensure it’s clear to the customer whether or not a product is physically available in-store when they search for it.

“Customers want to know what’s actually in stock at the shop, not just what could be ordered,” Wille said. “That’s something we focus on heavily at Gunstores.com — giving dealers the tools to make their online presence work for them, all without having to build or manage a complex e-commerce site on their own.”

4. Access To A National Audience

To say GunBroker.com has “experience” as an online marketplace would be an understatement. Last year, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary. Several months before, it marked its one-billionth listing. 

Given its vast network of buyers and sellers, posting inventory on GunBroker.com provides instant access to a national audience. 

While this article is focused on e-commerce, it’s important to note: GunBroker is not an e-commerce platform; rather, it’s an online marketplace to give your store another way to reach customers. 

According to Jay Zwitter, GunBroker VP of sales and customer service, there are multiple ways to earn profits as a store that partners with GunBroker.

“We’re going to give you several ways to make money: list your product, sell your product, turn your inventory quickly. Or if you want to be an FFL transfer dealer, you can make a couple bucks doing a transfer and we have the marketplace for you to get some foot traffic coming in — which gives you the back end of that sale. You have the ability to sell accessories or whatever else you want in that world. And that’s GunBroker being your partner,” he said.

A number of prominent storefront dealers maintain robust “stores” on GunBroker.com, such as Fuquay Gun, Green Top, Dury’s Guns, Simmons Sporting Goods and Generational Guns. If they’re doing it, and having success, it’s certainly worth considering, too.

5. Personalization Counts

A variety of sources agree the average person, especially in a professional setting, receives 121 emails a day. There’s a challenge here for marketers: What can you do to have your email stand out amidst so much competition? 

Salerno advised a tailored approach — such as segmenting a mailing list — would yield better results than a one-size-fits-all email to every subscriber.

“Mass emails to your entire customer base just don’t work,” she said. “Personalized email marketing, triggered by POS and e-commerce data, can be six times more effective.”

A fully integrated system — such as those supplied by Celerant and other providers — offers built-in functions to compete with Constant Contact and Mailchimp. Salerno shared successful stores are good at sending automated emails based on customer behavior — such as upsells after a purchase, abandoned cart reminders and product review requests.

“No manual exports. No Excel. Just smarter marketing,” she added.

In a similar vein, Wille from Gunstores.com noted these follow-ups represent “easy wins” that dealers often don’t take advantage of.

“A lot of dealers aren’t using email or text marketing to engage customers, and abandoned cart follow-ups are practically nonexistent, even though they’re easy wins,” he said.

6. Order Notifications

Customers today are accustomed to receiving order notifications after a purchase. (Even for small purchases at my local Home Depot, I’ll receive an order confirmation, then another once it’s shipped and a third email once it arrives either at my house or in-store. That’s three “touch points” — and, as a consumer, I don’t think anything of it.)

This is common for many of your customers, and a very effective way to stay top of mind. Salerno shared some eye-popping statistics.

“Order confirmation and shipping update emails and texts get more than 80% open rates — higher than any other marketing message! Dealers who aren’t using this real estate to promote special offers or personalized messages are leaving easy revenue on the table,” she said.

Putting It All Together

Managing an FFL with a storefront today is a multi-faceted endeavor. Maximizing capability inside your store’s four walls, while also managing an e-commerce enterprise, is not for the faint of heart. 

If you have a member on your team who is tech-savvy, this would be a perfect opportunity for them to enhance their value — and getting their help to grow your e-commerce business would prove mutually beneficial. Creating an integrated platform, or partnering with an existing provider, is an excellent place to start.

“Every business is different, so it’s important to choose a system that fits your goals. If your focus is solely online sales or if e-commerce is a major part of your business, investing in a more customized platform may be the right move. It all depends on your specific needs and long-term strategy,” Hague advised.

Salerno shared her “bottom line” takeaway on why an integrated e-commerce system is beneficial.

“Firearms dealers can increase sales, reduce risk and streamline operations — without adding extra workload,” she concluded.

Read More of Shooting Industry’s April 2025 Issue Now