With online shopping being cheaper, faster and more convenient, it is little wonder that retail profits have been shrinking steadily, while more brick-and-mortar stores are closing. That said, conventional stores have at least one advantage over their online counterparts: they give shoppers opportunity to physically interact with the products. But will that be enough to effectively compete against e-commerce?

One thing is certain: brick-and-mortar stores must adapt to the changing circumstances in the retail world, including a strong presence of online rivals. It is a question of survival. Bearing in mind that the stakes are high, conventional stores have been coming up with many ideas in a bid to make in-store experience more attractive to shoppers.

Adapt or die

Rapid growth of the e-commerce sector has a huge impact on the contemporary retail landscape, including shopping malls. Unless they adapt to a new reality marked by a fast rise of online shopping, they will be pushed out of the market. That said, we cannot ignore a key factor that attracts crowds to the shopping malls, namely the opportunity to physically experience the product. Tactile experience coupled with the sound and smell cannot (at least not yet) be replicated in the virtual world of online shopping. This physical interaction with in-store goods as well as a smartly crafted ambiance of the surroundings can have a very emotional dimension for shoppers, triggering behaviours that retailers hope for.

More than a store

Bent on re-inventing themselves, shopping malls of the future will turn into showrooms and entertainment centres. Traditional shopping will be just one of many things consumers can do in a shopping centre. A mall will also play the role of a leisure and entertainment venue, providing shoppers with a wide choice of exciting non-retail activities. Its outer appearance is also bound to change. Blank and boring walls will be replaced with large-format displays, while VR becomes a widely adopted technology. After shoppers have been provided with virtual try-on and product visualisation solutions, they will be able to see and interact with a selected product’s physical representation. In this model, a shop assistant will have to also play the role of a consultant and stylist.

Source: www.forbes.pl