Physical Retail Isn’t Dead: It’s Working With Tech To Be More Human-Focused

The industry conflict is too often framed as physical retail versus online retail. Statistical analyses of the growth of e-commerce almost always get coupled with a story surrounding the decline of physical retail, with a heavy focus on the closure of malls. These two things are undoubtedly linked, but experts often communicate this as a zero-sum game. This ignores a fundamental human truth: People now and into the future will continue to leave the house and shop in physical retail. In fact, over 75–80 percent of purchases made today are still through physical retail channels. Then why are people panicking? The root of this anxiety is due to a fundamental shift in the economy that underlies rental spaces in which retailers operate. Vacant stores on the high street and empty car parks at malls represent a seemingly shocking change in the nature of human behavior. The resulting impact on retail appears severe and dramatic right now, but in reality, it represents a transition to a hybridized vision for retail experiences. Read more at Adweek.