Saturday, May 2, 2009

Which Physical Stores Will Stay and Which Will Evolve?

I heard a story about the closure of a once popular sheet music store in NY on NPR yesterday. The reporter and store owner said that most sheet music purchasers presently do most of their business on the internet.

I began to muse how many other types of specialty stores will follow and if there will be a niche market for internet shoppers?

A picture in my head began to develop;

  • a storefront in a busy part of town with round tables set-up for laptops next to rentable laptops,
  • a catalog browsing area,
  • a snack and coffee window
  • a dressing room to see if the clothes you bought fit,
  • and finally - a window to pick-up your packages to prevent city dwellers from worrying about packages left on doorsteps or having to make a stop at the local mail depot.

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