Selling smarter - UHY Global Issue 22
- 15 hours ago
- 1 min read
Bricks and mortar retail appeared to be in terminal decline, the victim of e-commerce convenience and Covid lockdowns. But forward-thinking brands are fighting back by embracing digitalisation and curating experiences.
Gymshark started as an online only retailer, based out of a garage in Birmingham, UK in 2012. A decade or so later, the activewear brand boasts physical retail locations in London, Manchester and New York, with more openings planned. It still makes most of its sales online, but Gymshark now sees competitive advantage in opening bricks and mortar spaces as immersive marketing assets and places to try and buy.
The ‘clicks-to-bricks’ trend has gained momentum in recent years. Retailers that reduced their physical footprint in the wake of the pandemic are opening stores again in select locations. Brands that started life online are using physical shops to drive loyalty and cement their appeal.
Even online retail giant Amazon now operates a number of physical grocery chains and stores. Alibaba, China’s dominant e-commerce platform, has expanded into hundreds of physical retail outlets in its home country. As online markets become saturated, physical retail is getting a much-needed boost – but only in some markets and some locations.
Global high streets are still littered with shuttered stores that no longer attract enough footfall to keep cash registers ringing. In the rest of this article, we will explore the new age of bricks and mortar retail and explain why it is not simply a return to the way things were.
Read the full article in UHY Global Issue 22 to explore how retailers are rethinking physical stores and creating new opportunities through digitalisation and customer experience.
