That notion is coming from the founders and leaders of cutting-edge retail concepts like Showfields, Area15, Enjoy and Neighborhood Goods as well as from the likes of Nordstrom, which opened a flagship department store and two merchandise-free Local stores, all in New York, in just the last few months.
When it comes to customer acquisition, "physical retail is more effective than a billboard," Matt Alexander, co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Goods, a brick-and-mortar curator of brands (with locations in Plano, Texas and New York), that is often billed as a "new kind of department store.
It was invoked by both Dan Pelson, chief operating officer of AREA15, (a mall-like "retailtainment" complex opening in Las Vegas in April), and Tal Zvi Nathanel, (co-founder of and CEO Showfields, a four-story, 14,707-square-foot experiential space in New York that works with emerging online brands), speaking at a featured session on the future of shopping (moderated by Retail Dive).
Nathanel, Pelson, Alexander, Stephens and Kevin McKenzie, (a partner at CrowdedSpaces, which derives analytics and measurements from physical retail), all emphasized the importance of creating compelling spaces, providing good customer service, flexibility in how space is used, and assessing the utility of brick and mortar, often with analytics technologies to measure in-store activity.
