Embracing the cyberspace commerce that has been partly blamed for the demise of many mom-and-pop bookstores, some brick-and-mortar stores have converted to an online presence in order to stay in business.

Ben Kish--who opened The Master's Loft in Winston-Salem, N.C., in November 1996--"moved the store" to the Web beginning in February. Kish told Christian Retailing that the 10,000-square-foot store and a warehouse would concentrate on sales of church supplies and discipleship materials. The new enterprise now has six employees, down from 25 full- and part-time workers.

Kish said that while online sales grew November-January, his in-store revenues were down from the same period in 2007 and 2008. "Many of our customers are now using the Internet as a primary source for our products."

CBA, which estimates that there are around 40 serious Internet-only Christian retail stores at this point, offers a workshop on the topic during the International Christian Retail Show in Denver in July.

"How to Supercharge Your Web Site" will be presented by Bill Goodyear, president of DeeperCalling Media--which handles Internet retail sales for approximately 800 retailers, most of them Christian stores. DeeperCalling's clients' online sales grew 6% during last year's fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2007.

Read the full report in the June 6 issue of Christian Retailing.

• Prev
• Next