The look of retailing’s future — less like a shop, more like a gallery

While there is still a place for the physical store in the post-Covid world, analysts expect there may no longer need to be so many of them. The role of bricks and mortar will become more of a showroom, rather than the place where the transaction occurs, they say.

Marc Moore, co-founder of jewellery brand Stolen Girlfriends Club, agrees. He believes the classic store layout will get a revamp once New Zealand reopens.

“Layout is going to be really important. There’s going to be new methods of practices,” Moore tells the Weekend Herald. “Imagine really beautiful stores, sparsely laid out, not a whole bunch of product, almost like a gallery.

“Bricks and mortar retail will eventually become a gallery almost.” The Tesla store on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd is an example of where retail is heading, he says. “You go to that store and you cannot walk out with a Tesla

. . . you go in there to interact with the staff, they tell you about the whole brand, story and show you online; you basically learn about the product . . . and then you order it on their computer system and then it is delivered to your house at a later date.”

Moore says that as click and collect continues to grow in popularity, the store will be the showroom where consumers can touch and feel product. Covid-19 will fast-track changes that retailing needs to make “bricks and mortar more inspiring” and encourage retailers to improve their e-commerce business, he says.

Stolen Girlfriends Club will look to change its systems when its Auckland stores reopen, and aim to implement personal shopping to increase the level of service.

“The service aspect of retail is really going to have to lift its game.

Everyone is wanting a personalised service and want to feel special,” Moore says, adding that he expects retail to be slow for the next three months.

He also believes consumers will increasingly choose to buy from New Zealand companies as opposed to those based offshore: “I think being a New Zealand business will definitely work in our favour, especially for our domestic sales.” Aimee Shaw