Sep 7, 2017

Ecommerce brands going towards brick & mortar

Posted by Wendy Weber

Great piece by Ilyse Liffreing of Digiday on a  trend that nobody expected….online brands are opening brick and mortar stores at an increasing rate.

“These efforts may seem counterintuitive. After all, it seems like every day a Fortune 500 company, a Macy’s or a JCPenney, for instance, announces they are closing another set of stores and concentrating on e-commerce. And malls across the nation are shuttering rapidly. ..”

So why are the likes of Allbirds, Away, ModCloth, Glossier and Madison Reed joining the ranks of Warby Parker, Zappos and Bonobos in the transition from pureplay ecommerce to retail shops?

According to Liffreing, regardless of how convenient online shopping is, consumers still like to visualize, try-on and feel products before purchasing them.

“If a brand can afford it, there’s a lot of benefits to occupying a retail location. Not only do physical stores cater to digital generations attracted to experiences, but conversion rates in stores are also higher than online.”

To read the piece in its entirety, click here.

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