Scan the Yellow Pages and you’ll find most retail shops listed. Search the Internet and you’ll only find retailers who use the Web to reach customers. The holdouts, those retailers who haven’t gone online, usually say that taking their stores online is too complicated, an unaffordable investment, or unsuited for their kind of store. This may be true, but the increasing popularity of peer-to-peer social networking and file–transfer services, collectively called "Web 2.0," ought to prompt offline retailers to reconsider the Web.

"Web 2.0 is essentially a catchphrase that refers to next generation Web tools and Web sites that promote social networks and relationships and transform end users into publishers," says Toby Ward, President of Prescient Digital Media.

Strong personal relationships are the hallmark of Web 2.0. For retailers who specialize in building lasting relationships with customers, going online shouldn’t be a stretch, as it’s all about building and maintaining relationships. "Web 2.0 is especially advantageous for an independent retailer because it’s so cheap, so accessible and widely public. This is not the case in the offline world," says Ward.

In this article, you'll learn about:

• One online retailer’s experience
• Online sales vs. e–flyers: the pros and cons
• Tools to market your online store
• The risk with Web 2.0