The Truth About Stores
Warren Shoulberg -- Gifts and Dec, 11/1/2011 2:00:00 AM
Warren Shoulberg
HAVE YOU NOTICED A CERTAIN SENSE OF IRONY IN THE NEWS COMING OUT OF THE ONLINE AND DIRECT SALES WORLD RECENTLY? FOR ANYONE WHO SUCCUMBED TO THE "END-OF-STORES-ASWE-KNOW-THEM" DOOMSDAY PREDICTIONS WE ALL HAVE HEARD FOR THE PAST DECADE, IT CERTAINLY IS MORE THAN A LITTLE AMUSING.
There are all kinds of rumors that Amazon is looking at some sort of a real-store extension to its online presence. They might be pop-ups, they might be specialized category outlets or even just seasonal, but there does seem to be something going on that keeps feeding all this frenzy.
Or look at PayPal, the online payment system that has become almost a defacto currency for Internet purchases. Those folks recently said they want to be more like an American Express, which presumably means they would start functioning as a payment vehicle for in-store purchases too.
And then there's L.L. Bean, one of the cornerstones of the direct-to-consumer sales business, first through its ubiquitous catalog and then online. The company always had its flagship store in Maine, but more recently it has started to open additional locations in various spots around the country. The most recent opening was in the suburban capital of the retail universe, Paramus, NJ.
All of these businesses are arriving at prett y much the same conclusion: People like to shop in person. They enjoy the process of looking at products, touching them, trying them out and playing with them.
They may eventually order it online. Or through a catalog. Or on the phone. But the experience of in-person shopping can still not be quite duplicated in the virtual world.
Make no mistake about it: Online's share of market is going to continue to grow and any retailer - no matt er what their size or product classification - that does not have a strategy in place to sell through the Internet will eventually be an out-of-business business. There is no question about that.
But all of those dire forecasts about the demise of conventional retailing - be it the most massive mass merchant or the most specialized specialty store - are just wrong.
The rules of retailing have changed, but not the underlying principle behind the business model.
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