Online stores still haven’t figured out how to replace the in-store experience. That’s why there’s a trend among Internet-only retailers to open their own physical stores, according to an article in the New York Times.
Andy Dunn, founder of the Internet clothier Bonobos, admits that he scorned the brick-and-mortar concept early on. But he told the New York Times he’s recently had a change of heart, opening a Bonobos store in Manhattan so that customers could feel the fabrics, try on the clothes, and get advice from salesclerks.
Yet the stores being opened by online retailers such as Piperlime and Warby Parker feel nothing like a traditional retail store. The new breed of brick-and-mortar store fully embraces “the store as a showroom.”
Even though e-commerce is where the growth is occurring, “that doesn’t mean the offline world is going away—it just means it’s changing,” Dunn told the newspaper.
You can read more about online retailers opening brick-and-mortar stores at nyt.com.
