The advantages of physical retail stores continue to stack up
Online shopping has its advantages. You get to shop from your couch, maybe wearing your softest sweatshirt. You get to browse many different brands side-by-side, allowing you to compare benefits and features quickly.
Incredibly, almost anything can be ordered and delivered to your doorstep. The convenience is unmatched. Any product from Pepsi to prom dresses can be ordered from the comfort of your home. All you have to do is wait with your feet up for the item to be dropped off.
My husband even ordered a grill online, and then the delivery guys had the misfortune of carrying it up a flight of stairs (sorry, guys!).
E-commerce will always have a place in our lives, but shopping in stores lives in our hearts.
Retail stores are not just stores. It’s not the simple exchange of currency for goods like it is online. Retail stores provide an experience that online shopping never will.
There is no substitute for shopping in person.
Each store is its own mini world. Each store has a unique smell. Some stores smell like jasmine and leather. Other stores smell like salty sea air and citrus.
Our noses awaken, a memory is triggered, and we are guided on a small journey through each store. The merchandising and color scheme is different in each one — some are bright, and others are muted. We get to see how sales associates style their outfits. We gain inspiration for our own style or are reminded of an old friend.
Retail stores provide immense value to customers and brands alike.
E-commerce will never compete with a store’s ability to assemble a community or its capacity to stand tall as a brand ambassador, allowing customers to fall in love with the brand.
Community
Stores can become the social center of a neighborhood. Co-workers bump into each other, kids get to meet their friends, and teenagers run into teachers. It’s not only a retail store; it’s a meeting place. When the employees remember your kids’ names, the store is no longer just a store.
It becomes a landmark within society.
This leisurely social time is vitally important. Interacting with others and sharing information shows our kids how society works. It may seem like you’re simply chatting with a cashier, but your kids are watching how you interact, and they will model that behavior, too.
These social connections are what strengthen our cities and schools. These interactions can act as mood boosters and can help combat loneliness.
Physical retail stores provide a place where communities can thrive. They also show customers that brands care enough to offer a welcoming space.
Brand Ambassador
Stores act as ambassadors for the brand, live and in-person, almost 365 days a year. When companies have a strong brand identity and equip their salespeople with training and product knowledge, they show customers they care about their experience. They are giving customers the opportunity to fall in love with what they do.
It’s unfathomable that companies open stores only to let them operate with barely enough staff or payroll to keep them open. Why would you cut resources from the one place your customers can walk into? Why would you set your guest up for a mediocre experience?
When you slash those resources, you tell your customers you don’t care without saying a word.
Fully staffed stores with employees who have product knowledge and cannot wait to share it with customers are the ones with longevity. They are sparking loyalty in people daily.
When retail stores operate like they are in love with what they do, customers will fall in love, too.
Stores are Here to Stay
A few years ago, the general public was unsure retail stores would last. The convenience of e-commerce rose like a wave, and the thrill of buying whatever, whenever, was intoxicating.
It took a global pandemic to remind us that we need each other.
Once stores reopened, customers waited in long lines just to get inside. They couldn’t wait to shop in person. They couldn’t wait to touch the fabrics, see the color palettes, and meet their friends at the coffee shop next door.
Shopping in a store is a social endeavor, and we, as humans, are social creatures. The community that arises from the shopping experience is unmatched — no other social activity like it exists.
The opportunity that brands have within their stores is immense.
Retail stores are not going away. Neither is shopping in person as a social activity. People need it. The companies that get it right will win a customer for life.
Written by Kit Campoy, a former retail leader turned freelance writer. She covers Retail, Leadership, and Business.
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