What? There's good news?
You really cannot turn on an economic or political news show today in the United States without the high gasoline prices being mentioned in some way. In many ways in this country, it represents a "crisis" of sorts because of our lifestyle choices over the past 50 years and our dependency on personal transportation (which consumes approximately 70% of our country's energy resources today).
The good news is two-fold. First, it could be worse. Gasoline remains relatively cheap in the U.S. compared to other industrialized countries. Having just been in Estonia for 10 days, gasoline there was 18 EEK (Kroons) per liter. At an approximate exchange rate of 10 EEK/$1 and considering 4 liters in a gallon, the cost of gas over there (and likely all over the European Union) would be $7.20 per gallon. Imagine the screaming on the television news shows if we were looking at $7 to $8 gas.
Second, the "crisis" is creating an opportunity for companies that are positioned to take advantage of the new environment. For example, discounters and club stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco are seeing sales increases during this time as consumers can buy in bulk at discounted prices; a benefit needed to reduce store trips and get a bigger bang out of consumers' reduced discretionary income with more of our hard earned dollars being spent at the pump. In fact, Wal-Mart is taking aggressive steps to build their brand during this economic season; highlighting the window of opportunity that the retail giant currently perceives to regain and retain customers.
The need to reduce gasoline usage can (and likely will) create huge opportunities for growth for eCommerce companies as shopping online becomes much more attractive. In fact, business models such as Peapod which were unsuccessful on a nation-wide scale during the "dot com boom" may potentially resurface if and when consumers realize that it is more economical to pull transportation resources through a service than to drive a 4,000 lb SUV 10 miles round trip to pick up $20 worth of groceries.
In addition, I believe every company that has a good eCommerce model and strategy has a chance to win in this new environment, as online shopping will gain traction if online merchants are successful in building as strong of a brand as their brick and mortar counterparts and incorporate the "save gas, shop at home" positioning into their brand. The better news for them is that the technologies and know-how necessary to execute on this strategy are in the marketplace and are improving. More to come on that.
That being said, time will tell about who will capitialize on the opportunities ahead and who will continue to struggle... potentially the real winners are the technology enablers that serve as catalysts for this eCommerce growth if it indeed occurs.
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