ODAT

ODAT stands for one deal at a time. ODAT, a term coined by Backcountry.com, is a web-based business model that puts one product for sale at a time, until it’s gone. The ODAT business model is based on back-to-back deals and impulsive shopping.
Sports One Source reported: “The ODAT stores employ shopping features that make them the easiest and most addictive way to score gear for cheap. There are detailed, oversized pictures of the current deal, concise gear descriptions and call outs, sizing charts, and insider sizing tips. Since each deal is only featured for a limited time, the stores' dashboard lets you track the current number of people considering the deal, the remaining availability, and the sell-through rate in real time.”
Boardistan, the Independent Republic of Surf, Snow, Skate News said ODAT “kind of goes back to the old art as business adage: do one thing and do it well, over and over and over again.”
History
ODAT evolved from Woot.com’s business model, “one deal a day”. Woot.com is an internet retailer based out of Dallas, founded by Matt Rutledge. Woot.com sells electronic gadgets and pioneered the ODAD, “one deal a day” model in 2004. One Deal a Day Web Sites Roundup, ProBargainHunter, 2006, ProBarginHunters</ref>
In an article in Pinnacle News titled “Who Gives a Woot,” Woot.com’s Matt Rutledge states his vision was for a store and blog combined. Woot.com invites the community to post their opinions, negative or positive on products in posts and forums. Rutledge calls Woot, the brainchild of electronic wholesale. Woot.com sells one item until that item is sold out or replaced at midnight.
The Birth of ODAT
In January of 2005, Backcountry.com, a top 50 online retailer specializing in premium outdoor recreation gear launched a sister site, steepandcheap.com. Steepandcheap.com originally functioned like on an ODAD business model . Products were launched at midnight and would be replaced the following day. In Transworld Business, Luke Cudney, former Content/Communications Manager at Backcountry.com said “Before we launched these two sites, we didn’t see anything else, besides Woot!, like them out there.”
Steepandcheap.com creators quickly had to re-think the deal-a-day model as products were being sold-out and there was constant dead time on the site. Eventually, Steepandcheap.com transformed to offer one deal at a time (ODAT) on outdoor products until the product sold out and then kicked back another deal.
Backcountry.com’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dustin Robertson, said in the article “Deal of the Day,” in Sports Guide Magazine that Steep and Cheap used a QVC business model and that QVC has been doing it for a long time. Robertson said Woot.com and others actually pioneered the QVC model. The sole difference with ODAT from ODAD is that new products are constantly launched as one sells out.
Backcountry’s Success—other sites to follow
Upon the success of Steep and Cheap, Backcountry.com embraced the ODAT business model, creating other ODAT sites focused on other outdoor sports. Backcountry.com’s current lineup of ODAT stores includes: Steepandcheap.com, selling premium outdoor gear; WhiskeyMilitia.com, selling surf and skate gear; Chainlove.com, selling mountain bike gear; Bonktown.com, selling road bike gear; Tramdock.com, selling ski-specific gear; and Brociety.com, selling snowboard gear.
Robertson said in the article, “Deal of the Day,” in Sports Guide magazine that “the ODAT business model doesn’t necessarily turn an impressive profit, but that isn’t the point. The ODAT business model strives to build a pure viral site, building a community solely by word-of-mouth rather than traditional marketing.”
ODAT Community
The ODAT business model serves a different customer than retail stores. In Sportsguide Magazine Holt and Robertson cite studies that 95 percent of outdoor gear is purchased in a retail store. Retail stores seem to retain customer loyalty, but also acknowledge the benefits of ODAT sites. Because ODAT sites offer such remarkable deals on products people might be attracted to try a new product where they might not have done so before. ODAT and ODAD sites success is due to their entertainment value and drive for impulsive shopping.
Affiliate Programs
Often ODAT sites have affiliate programs set up where third-party websites can receive compensation for directing traffic to the ODAT sites. Backcountry.com’s ODAT sites launched an affiliate program as well as Redtagcrazy.com.
Sports One Source and SNEWS reported that Backcountry.com has created an affiliate program where programmers can receive $5 bounty for each new customer delivered. These widgets and alert tools can help save marketing costs for owners by recruiting customers through automatically updated html banners on new deals. <ref name="odat" />
In Snews.net Backcountry’s ODAT Affiliate manager Porter Haney, stated that people have been building alert tools that backcountry.com didn’t have and added the widgets to their sites in hopes of driving traffic to our sites and getting pay-back later. The affiliate program was created to give them a nod and encourage others to get involved in marketing our sites. Affiliates receive constantly updated banners and RSS feed to drive traffic to the ODAT sites. <ref name="odat" />

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu