Graffiti Beach started five years ago as a pop-up concept to provide a platform for emerging creatives to meet the public. We would host temporary stores and galleries in empty retail spaces, art galleries and on college campuses.
Through the years the concept has evolved and now Graffiti Beach has a permanent boutique in South Park, San Diego and an e-commerce website through Shopify. We continue to offer unique products and specialize in selling new and innovative brands.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
Our store generates the most income but the website is becoming a very valuable resource. Many customers pick out the items they want to purchase before they set foot in the store.
We have a very fast turn around time on merchandise so this way our best customers can call and put things on hold before it sells out. The website is also great for continuing our relationship with customers that no longer live in San Diego or stopped by our store when they were traveling.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
We sync our inventory systems online and in-store by using our cloud based POS - VendHQ. Since everything is in real-time we can utilize all of our inventory in-store to fulfill online orders. This is a very efficient use of our stock and is one of the reasons we have such a quick turnaround time on merchandise. All our orders are shipped right out from the store on a daily basis.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
If you are offering e-commerce, make sure your systems sync up and you manage your inventory. Otherwise, it could turn into a fulfilling nightmare and even worst you will jeopardize your customer relationships if you cannot fulfill their order.