What Will the Store of the Future Look Like?

With Internet retailers, websites, and smartphone apps that provide a shopping experience to consumers from practically anywhere, stores like Amazon.com are putting many retailers out of business.  So the question remains: in the new era of online shopping, how will the retail industry and brick-and-mortar stores not only survive – but also thrive?  

This is the question on the minds of real estate professionals across the nation, but good news is here.  According to new research by Deloitte, there is hope for the brick-and-mortar retail sector but it will only come if executives realize that the shopping experience will have to change somewhat from what it is today.  

Retailers will need to start thinking of their brick-and-mortar stores as places of brand promotion as much as places in which to conduct sales.  Additionally, they will need to provide shoppers with experiences that cannot be enjoyed with online shopping, such as the ability to see, feel, and experience a product first-hand – to test products and interact with them before buying.    

This sensory experience will need to be the focus of retailers, as they shift their focus from in-store sales to creating into a new way to do business.  It will be the advantage brick-and-mortar stores have over online retailers, and will bring the human element back into the shopping experience.  

Consumers want to know details about the product they are purchasing, and as online reviews become increasingly untrustworthy, shoppers will return to what they know works: trying the product in the store and talking with a knowledgeable sales staff who can answer all of their questions. 

Who should attend on the Retail Bus Tour?