Online Retail Goes Old School
April 15, 2013
You’ve probably heard the theory that the world is cyclical. What happens once is bound to happen again and so on. However, we didn’t expect online retail to follow this path so quickly. We discovered more from a recent SLI Systems story, “Online Retail Goes…Brick and Mortar?”
According to the story:
“According to the New York Times, companies like Etsy, eBay, Piperlime and Bonobos, which have typically had an online-only presence, are now testing small showrooms in large cities across the country. These smaller stores, with smaller square footage than standard “big box” retailers, allow these online retailers to customers interact with products physically before they buy. These stores are not meant to house all products, but rather serve as a showroom for new or popular items. Because they carry limited stock, they are able to afford more expensive, high-visibility locations in major cities.”
Surprisingly, this isn’t the only instance of an online stalwart entering the physical world. eBay, the online auction behemoth, is also tinkering with the idea according to Internet Retailer. Is this the end of online commerce? Of course not. But what we are excited about is how some real world experience will shape the way online businesses interact with customers. Ideally, this will be a blend of shopping experiences.
Patrick Roland, April 15, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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