Consider Pike Place Market or other marquee retail destinations. You don t always want that experience to acquire a product, but sometimes you do. A mother and daughter are not gonna get the same experience on a computer as they do walking in Bellevue Square. There s a social aspect to it that e-commerce doesn t provide. E-tailers face other obstacles.
Customer loyalty is harder to win, and there are still a few bugs in the system.
Atmosphere trumps convenience when consumers want entertainment. Retailers in the drugstore category are competing for the territory in between. But if you re gonna buy something that s not so generic, like cosmetics, like gifts, like cards - you want choice. Other retailers are already falling in line with the forecasts of real estate industry observers, who envision a future of marketplace hybrids, combining traditional and online services. New outlets are opening this year in Denver and Japan, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Lind.