Excessive-Tech Product Retailing Nonetheless Has A Brick-and-Mortar Presence
For many individuals, ordering merchandise corresponding to electronics, family items, and even clothes has develop into a point-and-click expertise from a pc or smartphone, moderately than schlepping to the close by retailer or mall. Many tech-savvy shoppers examine product specs, options, and costs from on-line websites with out the pressures of a retailer salesperson. That comfort, coupled with well being issues over the previous few years as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, has endangered the survival of many brick-and-mortar shops. More and more, metropolis planners are attempting to determine different makes use of for deserted areas in buying malls.
However for some high-tech product retailers, there’s nonetheless some worth in brick-and-mortar retailing, not a lot for direct gross sales quantity, however extra from an informational and model advertising perspective.
Meta, the originators of Fb, stated not too long ago it might open a bodily retailer in Burlingame, California, that may allow clients to check out its varied metaverse merchandise. The corporate is adamant {that a} bodily retailer would help its metaverse product growth and advertising efforts.
For years, shopper electronics large Apple has operated bodily shops which can be a showcase for its varied merchandise. Apple’s rival Samsung has a extra restricted variety of “Expertise” shops to exhibit its expertise. Main cell phone distributors corresponding to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Cell proceed to take care of brick-and-mortar places. The revolutionary automotive firm Tesla operates retail places that allow clients to view its automobiles and ask questions.
Sadly, the king of on-line commerce, Amazon, has had combined experiences with brick-and-mortar retailing. In March, Amazon stated it might shut 68 bodily shops within the U.S. and U.Okay which bought books, digital units corresponding to Kindles, and different well-liked merchandise. Nonetheless, Amazon maintains a brick-and-mortar retailing presence by means of its Amazon Go meals and snack retailers and its Amazon Contemporary grocery shops. The corporate additionally plans to open a bodily clothes retailer in Los Angeles.
The next gallery exhibits some examples of expertise firms which have or will quickly have a brick-and-mortar retail presence.
Spencer Chin is a Senior Editor for Design Information overlaying the electronics beat. He has a few years of expertise overlaying developments in elements, semiconductors, subsystems, energy, and different aspects of electronics from each a enterprise/supply-chain and expertise perspective. He could be reached at [email protected]