Online-only retailers didn’t exist 15 years ago, but today there are more than 100,000 e-commerce retailers active in the United States. While e-commerce is growing by leaps and bounds, online transactions only represent 6 percent of total retail sales, according to the JLL’s Retail Group based in Atlanta. While that number is set to double by 2020, brick-and-mortar stores will remain a key driver to growth.
Online-only sales strategies represent the ultimate in flexibility and cost-cutting, but the recent report by JLL, titled “Clicks to Bricks: Why Online Retailers Are Opening Stores,” concluded that an increasing number ofweb-only retailers are planting a stake in old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar storefronts to maximize their sales.
“The virtual shopping game is changing. Even the most tech-savvy shoppers sometimes need to touch and feel the products they’re buying,” says Lew Kornberg, national practice leader of retail tenant representation at JLL.
“It isn’t enough to have a purely bricks-and-mortar location, and we’re quickly finding out the same goes for a digital-only platform,” continues Kornberg. “To get the best of both worlds, e-tailers are reevaluating their current sales strategy to include physical locations because the more touch points retailers can offer to shoppers, the better.”
While retailers are expanding their web and mobile sites, and building strong logistics systems, e-tailers are now clamoring for physical space. There are benefits to physical retail space that can’t be imitated online with current technology, and these stores have unique qualities to capture consumers’ attention.
Online-offline stores typically showcase goods and offer consumers a unique experience that’s difficult to replicate by using sensory appeal and high-tech gadgets. Many retailers are doing it the right way. What follows are a few examples.
Warby Parker’s Great Experiment
Originally an online-only eyewear company, Warby Parker began to experiment with physical spaces by opening small showrooms and pop-ups across the country, going so far as to retrofit an old school bus into a traveling store.
The retailer opened a 2,000-square-foot flagship store in New York City's SoHo neighborhood that has the look and feel of a classic library. Shoppers can schedule an eye exam with an in-house optometrist, receive their glasses by mail or pick them up at the store, and even browse through a selection of books from small independent publishers.
Gem of an Idea
The online jeweler, Gemvara, recently opened a temporary store on Newbury Street in Boston to test the market. The highly interactive store allows consumers to configure jewelry using tablets and computers, and to have their purchases shipped directly to their homes. While in the store, shoppers receive expert advice from jewelry consultants, get a tutorial on gemstones, trends and jewelry care, and even receive a free set of stud earnings with any purchase.
No One-Size-Fits-All Approach at Bonobos
Bonobos.comwas founded in 2007 to provide men with better-fitting clothes and make shopping an easy and hassle-free experience. While the company found online-only suited some of its customers’ needs, the company launched the “Guideshop” concept, a one-on-one shopping environment designed to serve as highly personalized extensions of Bonobos' online store.
Guideshop “guides” work with each customer during appointments, which take fewer than 45 minutes, depending on a shopper's needs.
The store accepts walk-ins, but suggests shoppers book appointments in advance. The space is inventory-free, but offers a full display of merchandise and sizes to try on. The absence of inventory combined with an intimate setting shifts the focus at Guideshop to the customer instead of the product.
— Staff reports