Amazon.com is planning to open bookstores across the country, even though it was Amazon that killed the storefront book store.
Large and small Internet retailers have found success reaching shoppers with their storefronts and kiosks.
Amazon will use the stores to showcase its electronics and attract customers who do not shop online. A Seattle bookstore already sells devices such as the Amazon Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers.
Clothing and jewelry sellers are focusing on the biggest disadvantage of online shopping. Their showroom stores allow customers to touch, feel and try on goods before buying them online. Clothing boutique stores, such as men's clothing company Bonobos, Inc, say shoppers who visit a physical store tend to buy 50 percent more than those who shop online. In its 20 stores, customers can try on clothing before ordering it over their website, says Bloomberg Businessweek.
Executives at Warby Parker, Inc., a seller of glasses and sunglasses, say the company has been blown away by the economics of their stores. The company has opened stores in about two dozen U.S. locations since 2013. Customers can try on their glasses and sunglasses before ordering them online.
Even after years of strong growth, web retailers find that about 90 percent of shopping is still done in physical stores, according to Fortune. Many customers prefer the intimacy of shopping at a physical store.
At the same time, traditional retailers are dealing with the opposite problem: too much retail space. Giants like Wal-Mart, the Gap, and Sears Holdings are subleasing parts of their stores to others or are closing stores.
