Interesting … Brian and I are working through some data on retail growth strategies and we’re finding that retailers who are doing well see a valuable and valid future for stores along with digital channels. Those who are not doing as well in overall sales are betting their futures on digital channels.

Since Mr. Johnson didn’t exactly set the world on fire at J.C. Penney, it’s no wonder he thinks digital is the future. Hudson’s Bay is doing a bit better, I think.

Separately, I think it’s really important that we stop quoting the “10 percent” number as gospel. When Neiman Marcus is consummating 26 percent of its sales online, Nordstrom 19 percent, Macy’s 12 percent and Walmart 3 percent, it’s clear that the “average” is pretty meaningless.

Ron Johnson would have to say that after the damage he inflicted on brick-and-mortar retailer J.C. Penney. Retail offers a variety of ways to sell right now. I think the amount of online retail is understated and the potential upside of brick-and-mortar is also understated. And no, I don’t look to Ron Johnson as the oracle, he’s human like the rest of us.

It makes sense that brick-and-mortar store sales decline. Online is taking those sales away. It is important to note that overall sales aren’t declining. Just where the purchase is made (in-store or online) is changing. The best retailers will strike the balance between brick-and-mortar and digital. Some are already doing it.

Stores will not “soar” unless some new paradigm shift takes place. Stores will share their loot with commerce. An equilibrium will be reached in which there will be fewer physical units doing well and there will be a larger e-commerce business for omnichannel retailers.

As I have said before, for any one retailer, sales in an omnichannel model are a zero-sum game. The stores will lose sales to their e-commerce brothers and sisters and there will be fewer of them. I think Ron Johnson has it wrong. As to HBC, that strategy may backfire. There are fewer prime real estate locations and even fewer for a department store format. Unless HBC has a real estate secret sauce, increasing real estate assets won’t work.

Creating a great shopping experience that draws the customer into the channel is what all retailer should strive to accomplish. The retailers that devise vibrant shopping paths that engage shoppers across channels in a manner that is consistent with their brand, their unique charm and that fits with their product offerings will be the ones that get more out of each channel, be it store or online vehicle. Experiment with that combination of stores, online and connected properties, pop-ups, et al. that drive retail sales. This is when retail gets fun.

Human beings are still tactile and as long as that remains, there will be a place for stores. Are the stores poised for it? Absolutely not, for most. There are a few brands out there who are getting it right.

I tend to lean in the direction that staple goods, which we buy regularly and don’t really need to touch or interact with, will be consumed digitally. But we still need a way to discover new products and services as well as those that require more pondering of the senses. Stores need to learn how to do this.

Just as an example, and I get no payola from them, have you ever been to PIRCH? They get it!

For my 2 cents.

The answer is YES — stores are flying AND dying. There’s no getting around the fact that online stores have way less chance of out-of-stocks and improve the customer’s ability to compare products. And it’s indisputable that customers will want to see items in person, try them on and try them out. The smart strategy will be to nurture commerce in every way that consumers want it.

Stores will ALWAYS serve a place in society. They are social outlets for people, as well as therapeutic, let alone a shopping tool. These aspects won’t go away. More and more pure digital retailers are opening stores. Long live the stores!

This is a good contrast of differing views on stores, but as was duly noted, retail stores are required for their physical presence and eventual consumer decision making. Amazon only has a few percentages of the entire market, but that doesn’t change their impact on the importance of omnichannel marketing and the online presence in the consumer decision making model. Stores are here to stay, but their importance is changing as our retail models continue to evolve.

Bricks self-service retailers are largely NOT SALESMEN. They are merchant warehousemen, leveraging grossly inefficient unpaid stock pickers, also known as shoppers. Online merchants, tend to be good salesmen — Jeff Bezos perhaps the best in the world. I believe that it is POSSIBLE for bricks self-service retailers to be very competent salesmen, but mostly the thought never occurs to them. That’s because they have 100 year old practice engrained in their minds. Costco is the ONLY major bricks self-service retailer who does exhibit significant selling skills. See: “Selling Like Amazon… in Bricks & Mortar Stores!“However, they do this by chopping off the long tail — only 4000 SKUs in a giant shopping warehouse, built for SUPER EFFICIENT shopping. Amazon is following the Apple model for sales in their bricks stores — TOTALLY inappropriate for high volume, low margin self-service sales. If Amazon was making a serious move on bricks retail, they would have learned from COSTCO, not APPLE. Doesn’t mean the Amazon Apple-ish move is not a good one — especially for image, and their… Read more »

This is not a black and white issue of in-store vs. online. It is very complicated, as both online and in-store transactions depend on each other and neither would be as successful if they were standing alone. Consumers have a complex purchase journey that involves research, transactions and delivery that often involves stores, web and mobile touchpoints. What makes this even more complicated is how retailers credit transactions when there is a webrooming or showrooming aspect to the sale. If a consumer spends an hour with an in-store associate to select the right product and then goes home and purchases the product online, the credit goes to e-commerce, but the sale may not have happened without the store. Conversely, if a consumer shops product info, prices and product reviews online and makes their decision online and then goes to the store to try the right size and purchase the product, the total sale credit goes to the store. And how about the products purchased online and picked-up in the store? The credit goes to online,… Read more »

While tried my best to pose this question even-handedly, I suppose I can now reveal that I side more with the digi-bricks camp than the pure virtual camp. Of course for digital merchandise like music, video and software, online distribution is by far the lower-friction option. In-person services, like Mr. Johnson’s Enjoy also fit this mode, with a dollop of Uber-ish thrown into the mix. Tangible goods, on the other hand, require a more complex matrix of shopper interactions. Mr. Storch is counting on his shoppers’ desire to feel and try on their clothing at least much of the time. At the same time, he recognizes that digital channels help extend that store experience into his shoppers’ private worlds. Hudson’s Bay’s acquisition of Gilt in January confirms he understands that some fashion experiences work better remotely. Vive la difference! One final thought – Amazon’s Dash Buttons exemplify how some frequent-replenishment purchases can behave more like digital goods and less like high-consideration goods, extending the store all the way into the pantry. This option is not… Read more »