• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

ZB Group

  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Debbie
  • Services
  • Clients
  • Sample Case Studies
    • Natural Skin Care Company
    • Historic Bed and Breakfast
    • Technology Startup
    • Author, Publisher and Radio Host
    • Fortune 100 Consumer Products Company
    • Corporate Training Company
    • Cross-Cultural Communications Company
    • Dental Health Association
    • Health and Wellness Expert
    • International Nonprofit
    • National U.S. Homebuilder
  • Blog
  • Contact

shopping habits

February 14, 2013 By Debbie Bayes

Is Brick-and-Mortar Yesterday’s Retailing Model? Obviously not.

People shopping in a retail mallBefore you know it spring will arrive and along with colorful flowers new stores will sprout welcoming customers who want to shop in person. For a myriad of reasons shopping offline hasn’t lost its appeal among today’s consumers. When referring to the increase of Web retailers opening stores, Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research says in The New York Times:

“Well over 90 percent of sales still happen in physical stores, so there is a huge, compelling reason to think about the physical store as a driver of sales.”

The word has evidently gotten out!

Those that have been selling their wares exclusively online like the Gap’s Piperlime, men’s apparel brand Bonobos (which starting selling at select Nordstrom’s last year) and the eyeglass company Warby Parker, have already or soon will open their own bricks-and-mortar locations. Bonobos’ decision to build physical stores and their Guideshops are explained in the New York Times story cited above.

A retail partnership will bloom in March when the Canadian apparel brand Joe Fresh opens nearly 700 shops within JC Penney department stores across the U.S. Known for its brightly colored clothing at affordable prices for men, women and children, Joe Fresh already operates six stand-alone stores in New York and New Jersey.

Retailing has become a multi-faceted business where it’s necessary to interact with customers face-to-face in addition to doing so via e-commerce websites to build strong brand loyalty and repeat business. This is clearly evident in our neighborhood.

We are located equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia, where the Quaker Bridge Mall has undergone a major transformation. It added 25 new retailers last year, four new ones (Bachrach, Vans, Lush and Bebe) will open by this summer and others are expected to be announced this year. One new addition is the high-end retailer Michael Kors which plans to open about 40 stores in North America this year. The Princeton MarketFair mall located a few miles away has also been adding stores and new restaurants.

Airport terminals now feature a variety of shops beyond fast-food restaurants in their food courts or kiosks selling souvenirs. A businessman can conveniently pick up a suit or tie he may have forgotten to pack for a meeting and a working parent can return home with a birthday gift she bought while waiting for her flight to board.

This is an exciting time for retailers and consumers alike as companies are reinventing themselves by forming partnerships, opening in unlikely locations and entering new markets to meet the needs of consumers wherever and whenever they have the urge to shop.

Filed Under: Consumers, Marketing, Retailing Tagged With: Bricks-and-Mortar Stores, Driving Retail Sales, Forrester, Joe Fresh, Michael Kors, New York Times, Offline Shopping, Quaker Bridge Mall, shopping habits, Times of Trenton, Wall Street Journal, WWD

August 7, 2012 By Debbie Bayes

Shopping Online, at Stores or Both

A retail store is open for business.You can’t beat shopping online for the convenience it offers busy consumers. However, savvy retailers are now finding ways to integrate their online operations with their brick-and-mortar outlets. The opposite is also true with some online businesses opening physical stores. These changes are giving consumers more opportunities to save time and money along with the advantage of buying exactly what they need.

A recent article by Stephanie Clifford of The New York Times, discussed the growing integration of the online and offline experience offered by retailers so they are profitable while remaining relevant for shoppers. Since the Internet has become an integral part of everyday life it has increased our desire for immediacy. Realizing this fact, Walmart, the Container Store, Sears, Apple, and Nordstrom, allow items purchased online to be picked up at their local outlets. With this option, customers avoid shipping fees and the time incurred between making a purchase and redeeming it.

Transformations affecting retail businesses abound to keep up with consumers’ desires. Those which were online-only for years have augmented their operations with physical outlets and other brands found in mass retail outlets are introducing company-owned stores.

An example of each is below:

The popular Greek-style yogurt, Chobani, which is sold at grocers in the U.S., just opened its first retail location in New York City’s trendy Soho area, stocking items in addition to yogurt and giving the brand its own unique presence.

Athleta, Gap Inc.’s line of stylish athletic wear catering to active time-pressed women, began as a catalogue and online business in 1998. Its first retail store opened in San Francisco last year and then added 20 outlets where classes in yoga, Pilates, running, plus others are offered. Athleta plans to double the number of stores in the near future expanding along with the increasing desire for active woman to remain fit and embrace sports as discussed in this Wall Street Journal story.

Retailers are fulfilling consumers’ desires whenever possible. Whether it’s during a 2 a.m. online search for a little black dress or while browsing at the mall for an espresso machine, factors such as the online and offline shopping experience, the buyers’ values and the products’ features, are all important considerations for today’s marketers.

{Image by londoneye, iStockphoto}

Filed Under: Consumers, Marketing, Retailing Tagged With: Athleta, brands, brick-and-mortar stores, Chobani, Inc., online shopping, retailers, shopping habits, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal

Footer

Connect with Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
Email

(609) 514-0966

Copyright © 2025 ZB Group Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Website by Blue Kite Web Solutions LLC.