Sweden’s largest operator of ski resorts is launching an online store for mountain sports products. SkiStar AB said its venture seeks to monetize traffic already hitting its site to shop holidays at its five Scandinavian ski resorts.
“With ten million annual visits at skistar.com and more than one million active customer contacts, SkiStar will have considerable scale the moment it activates its shopping cart,” the company said in a release. “The ecommerce site will be 100 percent integrated with the existing online booking flow at skistar.com.”
The company said Skistarshop.com will offer the strongest outdoor brands in the market starting this autumn. Skistar already operates bricks-and-mortar stores at its resorts, including a flagship store at the resort Sälen.
“We take one-stop shopping to the next level in that the guest, while making her or his holiday booking, can instantly add relevant products needed for the mountain holiday,” said Mats Årjes, CEO SkiStar AB. “The fact that the e-shop is totally integrated with our booking system means brand new opportunities for our guests.”
SkiStarShop.com will sell leisurewear and equipment suited for both summer and winter mountain activities, with the main focus on alpine skiing. Those booking accommodations at its resorts will be able to easily add the products they need for their trips to their booking and have them delivered straight to their condo, hotel room or house or pick them up in one of SkiStar’s 20 or so on-resort shops, where they can find help setting bindings or other services. Home deliveries will also be available.
SkiStar anticipates its captive audience will enable it to save on marketing costs which have inflated costs at many pure e-commerce sites, which must advertising heavily to drive traffic to their sites, said Mathias Lindström, Marketing and Sales Director SkiStar AB.
As another step in the multi-channel strategy, SkiStar is opening a flagship store this autumn at Sälfjällstorget in Sälen to complement the existing shops at SkiStar’s destinations in Sweden and Norway.
“In order to achieve the best presence in the market we are working simultaneously online and offline,” said Lindström.
SkiStar will integrate the online store into its recently launched MySkiStar loyalty program so that all purchases made at skistar.com generate points that can be used at skistarshop.com.
Through its five resorts, SkiStar estimates it controls 49 percent of the ski resort market in Sweden, 28 percent in Norway and 39 percent in Scandinavia. The group’s core businesses including alpine skiing, lodging reservations, ski schools and ski rentals.
