Creativity and Innovation

The website, www.steapandcheap.com is particularly creative and innovative. The tagline for Steep and Cheap is “One killer gear deal, one item at a time until it’s gone.” The website takes one outdoors-related item and sells it at a reduced price until the item is sold out. Once that item is sold, another item is up for sale. The sales are usually 40-80% off original prices for quality outdoors gear. Examples of gear up for sale are Marmot jackets, Costa Del Mar sunglasses, and top-of-the line camping gear. The site includes a picture of the item from different angles, a review, list of features, a sizing chart, some recommended uses, and the price (complete with the percentage off and the savings). It also shows the quantity remaining and an estimated countdown of when the site will be sold out. The user has the option of getting a live-feed of the items for sale and an alert system of favorite items.
I log onto Steep and Cheap almost every time that I get online, usually after I check my Facebook and before I check my email. I do it often so I do not miss out on a good deal. I have bought three jackets, a pair of sunglasses, and some shoes. The site has an excellent return policy in case the user is not satisfied with the item. I have been very satisfied with every purchase. One time, when I was at my boyfriend’s house, there were sunglasses offered at 70% off. He and three of his roommates immediately got on and ordered a pair.
This website is very innovative. Each sale creates value for the item because the buyer feels like he is getting a great deal. It becomes a game where the user wants to buy and hopes there is something he is interested in every time the site is accessed, a creative advantage to their competitors. Honestly, I do not even know if Steep and Cheap have any competitors because I am loyal to this site. The site has a niche of users, people who like upscale outdoor gear and are technologically inclined. This description describes, or partially describes a majority of people in Austin. The site has a big, loyal following. I have never seen a site offer such a specific group of things and be so successful. Steep and Cheap has found a better, more creative, and more innovative way to do online sales and has been very successful at it. By showing the sales price next to the countdown of when the site will be sold out, it puts pressure on the buyer to make a split second decision, a buyer who has already been interested enough to visit their site. When I bought my jackets, I probably only needed the first one. The other two are impulse buys. If I had seen the jackets in a store, I would not have purchased them, and I for sure would not have spent the time searching the internet for a good deal. Steep and Cheap brings everything to the buyer in a way that makes it seem like the buyer is winning by purchasing. The innovation of the website and the creative way the company is structured gives Steep and Cheap a huge advantage over other online realtors.
In the Wall Street Journal article, The New, Faster Face of Innovation, it discusses companies being able to try new things quickly. When a brand, like Patagonia, decides to sign up for this site, I imagine it is very beneficial. They no longer have to worry about finding a venue to sell their items that are not being sold, the venue comes to them. The website initially sold mostly outerwear. It would be very cost effective for them to test out new items. It would only take twenty minutes during prime sales time to decide that this item will sell well on the site or it will not. Even if the item is not sold, it gives the company insight into what their consumer wants. The company does not really lose out on much, and their tests are very cheap and easy. The amount of responses they get for an item is indicative of how much the consumer likes the item. This mirrors the article’s assertion that customer’s “likes and dislikes will have much more impact on companies’ decisions.” It is very easy for the company to try new things. Traditional practices, like forming a focus group make no sense because the focus group is brought to Steep and Cheap. The site can store data from the amount of hits received during each item’s presence to determine what should be put on the site.