I'm not talking about how they should compete against the e-tailers but rather how useful is the internet as a tool for running their business. We asked a number of retailers how they used computers within their business. We asked a number of retailers how they used computers within their business.

I use the internet a lot
Claire Mills at Babyco

I use the internet for buying personal things and I think it's wonderful. I use the internet a fair amount in the shop. I can access the shop accounts from home on my laptop and we also use it to find out about products. No longer do I have to phone up and wait for a brochure to arrive in the post. I can access the information I need and make a decision there and then. We also email orders; we get a read receipt so we know that they have received it.

I didn't set up the system myself but when I've had something explained I can use it and I have back up from my husband and son. The shop has a presence on the internet, and customers can order on line but the majority of our trade is still done face to face. On the whole, our customers like to be nurtured. However, we do find that customers have already done their homework on the internet, knowing the colours and the models and that they are finding us by looking at supplier websites.

I'd be lost without it
Grainne Henson of the Old Treehouse

I'd be lost without the internet. I use the laptop in work and often download images for use in the shop. A lot of companies have their brochures on line which is important. The shop currently has a presence on line but as yet we cannot take orders. We are looking at introducing e-commerce next year.

We use it as an online brochure
Sue Whitehead of Nursery World in Stockport

We have a website for the shop and use it as an on-line brochure. It's a very useful tool to promote yourself and the services you provide. There is a need to explain the differences between an independent shop and everyone else. We are connected in the shop and we use it to look at new products etc. It helps us keep abreast of what is happening.

We wouldn't be without it!
Sally Scobie of Whites Farm Baby Barn

We have the internet in the store and find it most useful for checking car seat lists on fit finder at Britax, the Dorel car seat list and also the Cheeky Rascal information regarding their buggyboard. We also find it useful to check when a customer says they have found it cheaper on the internet! We do occasionally refer to it to see what the competition are up to but do not find we have much time to trawl! We seldom use it to look at new products; these we see at the trade fairs or suppliers keep us informed. We have a working knowledge of computers so try to sort out technical hitches ourselves but we have someone who comes in when we are out of our depth!

Computers are the main hub of our business
Jonathan Greer of Baby Warehouse

We're lost without computers. We know that for a fact because we've just been flooded out! We lost stock and all of our computers and it has seriously affected our business. We did have back up but now we upload everything to an external site every night; we can't afford to lose it again. We are still not running properly. In the business we have six computers and a server with three hard drives. The tills are all EPOS and we use the Nursery Connect system from Retail Intelligence. We have access to the internet and can check there and then when a customer says she saw it on the internet….

We also use the internet to find out about products. We look at our competitors' websites and we also look at Mum's forums. It is useful to see what mums are talking about. Unfortunately they usually talk about the bad things - the missed delivery dates etc. It has taught us the need to communicate better with our customers and we have made a number of improvements.

It's an invaluable tool
James Webber from Cyril Webber

We use computers on the administrative side as well as for emails and for on-line ordering. We have them on the till points so we can generate invoices for customers. We can access the internet there so if a customer wants us to price match we can look it up immediately. I use it to find new products. It's an invaluable tool. It's so easy, the resources are just there!

Computers run our business
Nigel Bignell of That's My Baby

We have been computer run for the last 21/2 to three years. We use Sage. Everything that comes in is bar coded and we have EPOS at the till so we know what is selling. Inputting all the data takes time. It is a fallacy that computers give you more time! However, the computer can give us information on trends and what is giving the most profit. Knowing your profit and loss each month is very important. I am not a technophobe but there is only limited time to learn so I am reliant on other people. We will have an internet presence this week if everything goes according to plan! Integrating the whole of our computer systems will be the next stage.

I use the internet for looking for products but generally that's only if a customer has mentioned something. You need to have a handle on what to look for or you could spend all day every day surfing. We do need our trade shows and our trade magazines!

We are heavily dependent on computers
Jan Richards of Baby2000 and Baby2K.com

We are heavily dependent on computers. One is specifically designed to run the "back end" of our web site, another is specifically designed to edit and produce our demo DVDs, another is to run the "front end" of our web site admin system (pretty much everything is automatic right down to the printing of labels for goods going out to our customers) and the other computers are used for general and "on line" tasks etc.

We run the business in two distinct ways. The traditional shop (Baby 2000) is pretty much like any other nursery shop but we do have a computer in store which does everything from going to our (and our competitor's) web sites to producing internal things like reports. A second computer is used for graphics such as price tickets.

The web side of the business (Baby2k.com) is run completely differently but we aim to give exactly the same standard of service, the difference being that the services offered are "different" to the traditional shop. We still offer product demonstrations but this is done via DVDs produced 'in house'. To date we have produced five DVDs and by the end of the year we hope to have another 10 products on DVD.

Perhaps surprisingly, we do not use an EPOS system. We did try one but found it was very hard work to keep it up to date so we developed a semi manual system (still computer based) which we found both easier and far more informative in relation to reports etc. As far as we are concerned the computer is 'king' taking second place only to our customers and staff. It is used for pretty much for everything except making the tea!

Web sales are vital to our business overall. We were very late in getting a web site and were originally one of the "moaners". When it became apparent suppliers (with the exception of iCandy & Bugaboo) were not going to help, we concluded that if we could not beat them we had to join them. Looking back we were wrong to moan; we should have launched our web site far earlier. Some consumers want to shop from home and we were not servicing their demand.

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