Gene Detroyer

The Shopping Experience Gets a Tech-Up

August 27, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Consumers don't like shopping in stores as much as they once did and that's a problem for retailers with most of their dollars invested in brick and mortar outlets. What do you think are the biggest factors leading to consumers' unhappiness shopping in stores?      [more...]

"Consumers don't like shopping in stores as much as they once did and that's a problem for retailers with most of their dollars invested in brick and mortar outlets." How about if we changed that to a decision in a question from the 1040s?

People don't like traveling on trains as much as they once did and that's a problem for railroads with most of their dollars invested in engines, railcars and tracks.

Did that stop railroads from investing in airlines? Do existing brick and mortar commitments stop retailers from maximizing the online future?

Ben Ball hits the nail on the head. We are asking the wrong questions. "Perhaps consumers aren't really 'enjoying shopping in stores less than they used to'. Perhaps they have simply found a way to shop that they prefer more than stores, period."

Retailers, don't be asking yourself how to get shoppers to come to your stores. First ask yourself WHY a shopper should come to your store. The reality is, in most buying instances, there is NO NEED for a store. And this will become more apparent every day as the tech savvy generations become the primary buying demographic.