How Online Brands Are Winning In The Offline World

With 6,300 stores shutting down this year, shopping appears to have moved from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to digital channels like ecommerce. But, perhaps things aren’t changing as drastically as they seem. While traditional retailers undergo mass store closures, digital-first brands are starting to enter brick-and-mortar retail. Amazon, the company that almost single-handedly put bookstores out of business, is opening physical bookstores all over the country. Brands like Warby Parker, Bonobos and Rent the Runway, who started online, began growing their physical footprints in ways traditional retailers couldn’t imagine. And, other digital-first brands, like Casper and BARK, started offering their products in multi-brand retailers like Target. So, what will retail look like in the next few years? How can digital-first brands establish a physical presence while traditional retailers close dozens of locations? I sat down with two digital-first brands, Rent the Runway (RTR) and BARK, to understand their journey from online to offline, and find out how other brands and retailers can stay competitive in this tumultuous landscape. Read more at Forbes.