Sacramento Businesses Turning To E-Commerce Model To Stay Competitive

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - It's known as the second biggest day after Black Friday -- Amazon Prime Day.

Economists are expecting almost half-a-billion dollars to be generated in sales, but financial experts in Sacramento say more people are turning to online retailers to do their shopping.

Mac the Antique Plumber in East Sacramento has been feeling the competition with online shopping for a while, and after almost 40 years of doing business; he's making the move into the cyber world.

The countdown is on for Bryan McIntyre and his Victorian-era bathroom fixtures.

"I've been doing this for the last 35 years," said McIntyre.

For the last four year, Mcintyre has felt the heat from the online shopping craze.

"They can sit around in their pajamas and take orders online and run a business," McIntyre added and said he should do the same thing, and take his business to the internet.

Local economy experts like Peter Tateishi say in the last year, more than 600 small businesses in the Sacramento area reached out to consultants for business advice to include expanding online.

"If we don't engage in that market we will lose out and those businesses may not be able to compete or survive on days like today – Amazon Prime Day," Tateishi said.

July 12-th is nationally known as Amazon Prime Day. Amazon Prime members can take advantage of online deals that many retail experts say beat Black Friday prices. The online shopping trend isn't just hurting McIntyre's business, it's forcing Krazy Mary's Boutique in East Sacramento to venture out of the traditional brick-and-mortar business model.

"We have definitely been putting emphasis on our Instagram and Facebook pages and taking orders that way," said Emily Schubert, a stylist at Krazy Mary's.

McIntyre believes making the move into the cyber world will bring a new stream of revenue to his antique shop. It's a bittersweet end to the only way McIntyre envisioned doing business.

"I'm going to miss all the people," she said.

Mac the Antique Plumber will close its doors by the end of the summer; McIntyre says it's the right thing to do, especially in a world where technology is expanding quickly.