REI Boosts Web Sales

Obviously taking the concept of “Internet everywhere” very seriously, Recreational Equipment Inc., the Kent, Wash.-based cooperative that sells outdoor gear, next year plans to have all of its cash registers Internet-enabled.

REI, which has stores in Santa Ana, Mission Viejo, Carson, Northridge, San Diego and San Dimas, last summer finished installing kiosks in every store where customers could order from the full line of more than 10,000 products the company carries, as opposed to being limited to what the store has on hand.

But the kiosks, while popular, have proved to be slow, with graphics trickling onto the screens.

“In the physical world, it’s location, location, location,” said Matt Hyde, director of online sales. “On the Internet, it’s speed, speed, speed.”

To solve the problem, the company next year will rewire its stores, installing high-speed data networks not just for the kiosks but for the entire store, including the registers.

“It gives the power of information to everybody,” Hyde said.

Also, it’s that one last chance for that one last sale.

“Did you find everything OK?” the cashier says while ringing up your altimeter/barometer/thermometer watch.

“Yes, but I was really looking for a watch with a built-in compass as well,” you respond.

Click, click, click, and instead of buying the $119 Casio, you order the $199 Suunto.

REI plans to start installing the high-speed data networks in the first quarter of next year. The company has been selling products online, including through its Web site at https://www.rei.com, for more than two years, and about 10% of its traffic comes from the in-store kiosks, Hyde said.

While replacing hundreds of cash registers to have them Internet-enabled may seem a little extreme, Hyde said the company had to service them anyway because they were not Year 2000-compliant.

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Jonathan Gaw covers technology and electronic commerce for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7818 and at jonathan.gaw@latimes.com.