REI Plans Store Blogs

Posted on July 11, 2005

REI, a retailer of camping, hiking and outdoor sports gear, is planning to use blogs to provide communication from individual REI stores. InternetRetailer.com reports that REI will use blogs to allow store employees to post local information like store events and schedules. However, the blogs will have a company focus and will not focus on an individual store employee or REI blogger.

Blogging software developed by Seattle e-mail technology developer What Counts will, in effect, make bloggers out of store personnel who use the tool to post local events and schedules. While that content will reflect the personality of REI as a company to the extent that it supports company values and mission, it's not, at this point, intended as an extended platform for the personal attitudes of the individual blogger.

"We're using blogging technology, but it really will not be presented as a blog," says Reynolds. �We are not educating the 50 or so users that they are going to be blogging. We're simply creating a new user interface that makes it incredibly simple to post content."

Internet Retailer said the blogs will start sometime this month.

---

---

---