Are Retail Locations Dead? Nah!

Back in the days of serious internet hype – ’98, ’99, and early 2000… some of the “brave and foolhardy” might have predicted the end of retailing as we know. Back then, the internet was going to change “Everything” including having to have a viable business model.

It was a surprise to see a recent article on MediaPost about The Obsolescence of Brick and Mortar. I was just gearing up to rebutt it, when Greg Sterling at Screenwerk did a better job.

The intertubes is a delivery mechanism. It is very flexible and ever evolving, but I don’t see how in the next 10-20 years a screen interface can replace the physical world. There are limits to the sensory involvement of the delivery mechanism.

Humans process information and make decisions in many ways. Some people need visuals, some need audio or audio and visual, and some must have some tactile input in order to gather and make sense of the input they are getting through their senses. For Kinesthetic biased people – visuals, even persuasive video does not contain enough useful information to make decisions.

Not everyone is wired to be able gather info online. Not everyone enjoys reading or info gathering on a small screen. There are limits to how far the experience on the internet can mimic the physical world. I think we are some ways away from direct link neural input that might create immersive full-on, enhanced reality experiences that rival physicality.

So retailers are not going anywhere. The internet will remain a marketing channel of interesting use, rapidly evolving and growing while being the most trackable channel to measure results.