Brick and Mortar retail stores have been said to be a dying. Sadly, with modern technology people are using the internet to do all kinds of things especially online shopping. People use their mobile phones with functions like one click of a button checkout and a package can be arriving in two days or less. We are living in an age where people want everything in the moment. So why don’t we go to stores anymore? Is it that we are too lazy to park and walk into a store or deal with other people? We are turning into hermits.
Here is why I think they will survive.
People still need to try stuff on…right? Or are people just buying two of everything and paying for returns. What about customer experience? The feeling you get when you walk into a retail space and you feel the brand presence instantly. Can you get that feeling online as well?
There is a certain feeling you get that you can’t get anywhere else. An example is trying on a wedding dress. What about that moment when all your friends and mom are watching you and its that exact moment you find the perfect silhouette and everyone starts crying. It’s a feeling that cannot be replicated in an online experience. A person to person moment – a real customer experience.
Would you rather go to a live concert or watch one on television?
To stay in the brick and mortar retail space the future will need to be an omni channel approach with many different areas of the business through eCommerce and in store marketing. It can’t just be a retail space.
The future for retail store will be tied to their ability to take a multi-faceted approach to selling, tying all channels into an attractive customer experience, whether its eCommerce or on the sales floor. Social media will help in this. Hosting events in stores and sharing it with followers showing them a real experience.
Recently, I read an article in Forbes that drones are the future. Purchases will be at your door within hours. Do you think we will be looking back on a time where there were stores and say “wow remember when we went shopping in stores.” I just can’t imagine that.
What about digital dressing rooms?
I don’t know about you but I think this sounds crazy. Can you imagine trying something on virtually? What about going to a store and getting the full brand experience and trying on different sizes, feeling the fabric, listening to the music in the store. Digital dressing rooms sounds lazy. There is something to be said about going into a store and someone asking “Can I help you find something?” Retail jobs in general would change. Forbes even mentioned robots.
In conclusion, there is no way that retail stores will be vanish in the future. Technology cannot take over the feeling and customer ‘real’ experience you get when shopping in a real brick and mortar retail space.
Well done.
This is a good perspective to take as someone interested in online retail.
You can continue to work on your language. Your sentences are still passive or awkwardly constructed at times. They show hesitation. I rewrote your opening paragraph to make it more direct. Now you can better decide if it’s really what you want to say:
“Brick and mortar retail stores are dead. Today, consumers use the Internet to shop. Their mobile phones offer simple technologies like checkout with a click of one button or cheap and fast shipping. Consumers are too complacent to find parking, search through a store, and interact with staff members and other customers, so they turn into hermits.” They learn to want…
Hi Maureen,
Interesting read! I am definitely an online shopper, sometimes I just don’t have the time to spend at the mall and with the new deals on shipping its not really a hassle.
I agree with the others that proof reading is important. Read and re-read to make sure everything sounds correct. Taking a break from your writing to clear your head and then re-read may help too!
There are a lot of great ideas in this piece, but I would suggest looking again at the layout of them. For instance you write, “Here is why I think they will survive,” and then follow with a paragraph of questions. It might flow better if you have the questions first…
Hi Maureen,
I like the sensory information you provided (i.e. "...getting the full brand experience and trying on different sizes, feeling the fabric, listening to the music in the store").
However, I'd recommend reading this through out loud at least one time to see where you can add the appropriate punctuation and pauses. There are parts where it sounds a bit awkward.
Good work!
Maureen -
I agree with the sentiment of this argument! I think there will be a place for both on line and brick and mortar, though I'm not sure it will remain the 'traditional' shopping experience.
I love the wedding dress visual. Great way to make your point.
In terms of the writing, I would just suggest proofreading again. There is some punctuation needed and there are a few places where words are missing, like the very first sentence:
Brick and Mortar retail stores have been said to be a dying (a dying what? or maybe eliminate the 'a' before dying). Also - I don't think mortar should be capitalized.
Here's another:
'there is no way that retail stores will…