How this Edmonton store is thriving amid online shopping growth

With many Canadians choosing to shop online, brick and mortar stores have been forced to adapt. CTV News Edmonton's Gates Guarin has the story.

With many Canadians choosing to shop online, brick and mortar stores have been forced to adapt.

But a local shop that’s grown over the years is offering toys, model kits and everything in between to bring people in.

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“There’s just such a diverse range of things to come and see and look at,” Hobby Wholesale owner Lyndon Kendrick told CTV News Edmonton.

Just like his offerings, he’s watched the retail industry transform over his 30 years in business.

“Thirty years ago, the internet didn’t really exist,” he said.

But now, more and more people are choosing to shop with the click of a button.

“With the accessibility to the internet, everybody can search everything, everywhere,” Kendrick said. “So we really try to increase the volume of sales so that we can keep our prices competitive.”

Statistics Canada data shows the pandemic fueled much of that growth.

“It went from about three per cent of total retail sales to six per cent, so that’s a huge shift,” YEG Digital CEO Paul Letourneau told CTV News Edmonton.

Convenience plays a big part in online shopping, he said, with sales doubling through the holidays.

“People are seeing that it’s really easy to buy online,” Letourneau said. “I can be anywhere and buy something and have it delivered a couple of days later.”

And stores like Hobby Wholesale have been working to adapt.

“There’s a fair bit of technical integration to make that work properly with your online and your store and your inventories and everything, but we feel like we’ve managed pretty well at it,” Kendrick said.

Even with the move online, Kendrick said nothing beats visiting in person.

“It’s different picking it up and seeing it, rather than just shopping on the computer, so there’s still an advantage to that.”