Will brick-and-mortar stores still thrive?

Most retailers in and outside the country are rethinking their business strategies, often venturing into the e-commerce platform to boost their brand. But would online shops really cause the death of brick-and-mortar stores now that the Internet offers shopping convenience to consumers?

The digital age has encouraged more shoppers to browse products and services through their personal computers and their smartphones. According to Mark Chim, managing director of Primer International Management Limited, online shops offer more than just convenience that’s why customers prefer them on top of the other.

“In a fast-moving world, the time factor is so important to many. This is the easiest way to book flights, buy goods or services and request information over the Internet. This eliminates the need to go to a shop, talk to a staff, queue in line, or be brainwashed by unpleasant sales people. The delivery is confirmed, timing is fixed and the price can be compared when buying what you need in one space,” Chim said.

“Through online shopping, power is in the hands of the consumer, all which cannot be done all at the same time inside a physical store. However, many still prefer stores that can give them the benefit of seeing the actual item before purchasing them, Chim said.”

While some of the consumers enjoy purchasing their goods online, most of them still prefer physical stores as a primary shopping destination. In fact, a Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) report found that 73 percent of its 19,000 global respondents only use the Internet to browse products only to purchase them in-store.

“This only makes actual stores an integral part of any consumer’s buying experience, more particularly to Asian shoppers. Physical stores provide human interaction from a human being there and then. This is where they get product demonstrations, instructions and trial which online stores cannot replicate, Chim said.”

Meanwhile, Leah Sanchez — consulting architect for Prime — remphasized that both brickand-mortar stores and their digital counterparts can complement each other in attracting more customers.

“Online stores can provide all the information that buyers need, or maybe for busy shoppers, it helps narrow down their choices. This already informs them that what they are looking for is currently available in a particular shop,” Sanchez said. “Online stores can already introduce the concept or design philosophy behind a particular product, which is then reinforced by the physical store.”

According to Sanchez, the rise of omni-channel retail strategies can be beneficial to companies who want to widen their reach to different markets. However, she noted that different considerations had to be factored out in order to unleash the full potential of the brand using new platform.

“The marketing strategies for your physical store might need a whole new twist when you’re tapping the functions of the Internet,” Sanchez said.

She added, “But I think the greatest challenge to retail businesses in the Philippines is the need to provide a shopping experience that is unique to their brand. Whether it’s online or physical, it’s not enough to just display the products and their descriptions. It is more important to immerse customers in the whole ‘lifestyle’ that the product is espousing. With so many other competitors selling the same thing and thriving in the online platform to outpace competitors, it all boils down to really isolating their niche market and providing an environment that they feel is ‘theirs.’”

With this, many retailers recognize that a web-based store is one of their company’s assets, on top of its actual shop. This is why Primer Group of Companies, the company known for the retail and distribution of premium consumer brands in outdoor, urban lifestyle and travel, considers continuous in-store and website renovation as well as product innovation to keep up with its customers’ demands.

“Stores, websites…everything changes. Everything needs to change to evolve with the always-evolving generation. If you will stay where you are—the current theme of the company and product roster—retailers will get left behind,” said Robert Alejandro, consulting artist and space designer for Primer. “Retailers who have actual stores need not fear about the mushrooming online ones in the country as long as they create something new and have something that people will need to experience and enjoy.”