E-commerce needs real store locations now more than ever

In One Chart wrote a column · Nov 26, 2021 00:51

After losing ground to e-commerce, bricks-and-mortar stores are back in style.

Retailers this year are expected to open more stores than they close for the first time since 2017, according to an analysis of more than 900 chains by IHL Group, a research and advisory company. Most of the growth is coming from mass merchants, food, drugs and convenience chains.

E-commerce needs real store locations now more than ever

The stores that retailers are opening today are different. Some are smaller, and more of them offer experiences beyond browsing. $Dick's Sporting Goods(DKS.US)$ is adding to its fleet of more than 800 stores by opening newer concepts that include House of Sport, Public Lands and Golf Galaxy stores.

$Levi Strauss & Co.(LEVI.US)$ plans to open 100 of what it calls "next-generation" stores in the U.S. in the next three to five years that are smaller than existing full-price locations and have tailor shops where consumers can customize T-shirts or add patches, embroidery, or colored rivets to their jeans.