Department Stores Will Not Disappear. There Will Be Opportunities For Shopping In The Future.

　　 Macro view

First of all, let's take a quick look at the macro picture.

Last month, Amazon Co celebrated the 20th anniversary anniversary. Now that e-commerce looks both new and indispensable, it's a little bit weird to think about Amazon's establishment for so long. Anyway, the whole world has enough time to digest this trend.

Then the pace of growth in e-commerce and the slowdown in emerging markets will be able to make sense. I should point out that the slowdown in e-commerce development in emerging markets means that China's year-on-year growth rate dropped from 94% in 2012 to 64% in 2014. These figures are still not to be underestimated, and there are still many markets that can be taken, but the growth peaks seem to be fading away.

The growth rate of e-commerce in the United States is 14%, which is much more stable. The industry attracted a lot of venture capital, according to sources from the American Venture Capital Association (NVCA). In the first quarter of this year, the US e-commerce industry attracted nearly $1 billion of venture capital funds.

But all these advantages do not mean the future. Shopping That is, everything is so simple to buy online. Let's take a look at our first trend.

　　 Location technology

For online retailers, collecting customer related data is always relatively easy. If you run a network company, you can easily track all kinds of information about your website visitors -- where they are, how to enter your website, what to see in the shopping process, and where they will encounter obstacles. This helps e-commerce companies quickly adjust strategies to maximize sales.

For physical stores, such data is much more difficult to obtain. Positioning technology is expected to bridge the gap in data. Apple Corp (Apple) recently released the iBeacon device, which is a set of small sensors that can be placed around the shop to track and communicate with customers' iPhone phones. At the same time, start-ups such as Estimote, Nomi and inMarket also sell similar technologies to retailers.

What kind of scene would this be? For example, these sensors tracked the flow of swimsuits on the shelves of an expensive department store. But this change in passenger traffic has not brought about corresponding sales growth. Is it because although customers are interested in styles, when the price prohibits them from doing so? With such an assumption, the store can send messages to customers approaching the area and offer them a ten percent off discount on bathing suits. If this assumption is established, swimsuit sales will increase now, and then the company can reduce the price of swimsuit to promote sales.

This technology helps retailers optimize the layout and pricing of goods, and improve advertising. The technology is also integrated into the next trend.

　　 Full channel retail

Since the beginning of e-commerce in the 90s of last century, almost all the physical store brands in the United States have launched an online sales strategy. But from a traditional perspective, no one is going to reverse it. Amazon (Amazon), electronic port (eBay), jewellery online retailer Blue Nile and other e-commerce pioneers have never opened an entity display shop.

As more and more business companies begin to value the benefits of physical stores, this is starting to change. Warby Parker, founded in 2010, has opened six stores since it opened its first store in SoHo District in Manhattan last year.

　　 Why?

Facts have proved that customers can buy more if they can see and feel the goods and try them on themselves. Andy Dunn Dunn, Bonobos, who was founded in 2007, told an interview with Bloomberg (Andy) that only 5% of the visitors on the company's website would place a final order. In its 10 stores, 83% of customers will not return empty handed.

Others, such as Etsy, Everlane, Birchbox and Harry s, have begun to set foot in the establishment of physical stores. They often do experiments in temporary locations or temporary shops, and then invest more resources.

At the same time, traditional physical store brands are becoming more and more smart in integrating online and offline businesses. Nordstrom, a high-end retailer, has a unified pace in department stores. In 2011, Nordstrom bought a flash buying website HauteLook for $180 million and invested $16 million in Bonobos brand. Last quarter, the company's network sales increased by 33%. It will use physical stores as distribution centers for quick shipment.