The death of the bricks-and-mortar retail store has been predicted for years now. But instead of reaching its expiry date, the physical store continues to have a lot of life left in it, even as the role it plays in the customer journey changes.
Here we take a look at the latest consumer shopping behaviours, how stores fit into those behaviours and how retailers need to think about the future of their stores to make sure they’re keeping pace with evolving shopping patterns.
How are customers shopping, today?
There’s no doubt that growth in online channels has been the dominant story in retail in recent years, and that growth is set to continue. Still, it remains the case that most sales take place in person. In the US alone, where the retail market is projected to reach US$7.4 trillion in annual sales this year, ecommerce made up only 16.4% of total sales in Q4 2024, with the rest coming from physical stores.
A similar picture applies globally. A recent EY survey of 20,000 consumers across 27 countries found that although the overall percentage of offline retail spend is predicted to drop from 77% in 2025 to 73% in 2028, stores are likely to remain the dominant channel for shoppers who value trusted advice, social engagement, instant gratification and tactile product discovery.
At the same time, consumers are turning to digital channels for competitive pricing and convenience. But as EY say, even as they experiment across digital channels, shoppers keep coming back to the store, with 94% of consumers browsing across channels before buying in-store.
For retailers, this points to a need to harmonise online and physical offerings. As the EY survey finds, “Rather than digital being the anthesis of the store, successful retailers should look to find the right blend, and balance, between the two, shaping shopping behaviors and enhancing experience, loyalty and trust in the process.”
The store of the future
So what form might that balancing take? What do increasing online sales balanced against a desire for tactile experience and personal service mean for the future of the store?
One option is to treat stores as experiential hubs where shoppers can explore and experiment before buying. Retailers with existing physical spaces can offer interactive zones and curated events that bring product offerings to life and provide the tactile experiences that shoppers crave.
As Forbes recently pointed out, this showroom model has been standard in the car industry for a long time, and it has also been adopted by leading brands such as Apple. Brand-specific showrooms like these “allow brands to maintain unique identities, create immersive bespoke experiences, control customer journeys, test innovative technologies and build stronger emotional connections with consumers.”
While this model might not work for low-margin retailers, those able to transform retail spaces into experiential zones have the opportunity to engage their customers on a deeper emotional level while building new revenue streams.
Laying the groundwork
Implementing this type of showroom model requires two things: experienced, knowledgeable staff, and sound data analytics.
As Forbes says, “a new breed of retail professionals will emerge: experienced concierges guiding customers through showrooms, product specialists offering unbiased expertise, personal shoppers creating digital collections and brand ambassadors prioritizing memorable interactions over immediate transactions.”
Understanding customers and how they engage with showrooms will also require robust data. Data analysis will allow retailers to gain insight into customer movement and interaction with displays and products, and it will empower them to make the most of retail space. Among other things, they will be able to discern how much space is required, how to lay out the floorplan and where to place products for best advantage.
As with other aspects of retail, quality data is the bedrock on which all innovation is built. Shaping a customer experience that conforms to their changing behaviours and meets their needs means understanding how they interact with you. And that needs data that gives you a clear understanding of the way they move across channels and why.
Brick-and-mortar isn’t dead, but over time it will evolve into a more immersive experience that relies on knowledge, insight and expertise.
Want help to deliver the in-store experiences that meets shoppers where they are today and where they’re heading in the future?
If you’re looking to build a future-proof bricks-and-mortar offering, get in touch. We’d love to show you how Infinity can help you offer seamless, unified, profitable customer experiences.
