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While discussing retailing in my marketing classes, we often end up with the following key principles- convenience, experience, excitement and delight. Or I simply invoke the god of technology
Apple stores are intended not just to move boxes, but to enrich lives- Steve Jobs
So, when online platforms get sentimental about offline presence , they can go either horribly wrong by positioning the stores as just another distribution channel or simply letting it be a glorified hole in the wall.
So, for what it’s worth in real life (FWIW IRL), physical presence can do wonders for online platforms especially in high touch cultures like ours.
DTW
During the Week, Meta announced that it would open physical store for products related to its MetaVerse.
Now, as far as the stores go, it is really tiny at 1500 square feet but it is a start for Meta. Of course the master at physical retailing is Apple which has hundreds of iconic stores across US and other countries.
For more on Zuckerberg’s struggle, I would like to point to my earlier pieces about
Now, Meta is facing an existential threat from both existing rivals as well as the new ones and it seems to have only one play left- MetaVerse.
Question arises as to why invest in physical stores for companies like Meta/Facebook. It makes sense for a product company like Apple though when Steve Jobs first broached the topic to his board he was hounded out of the meeting. He did not let go and got funding for first few stores and then never looked back. This was during the times when other electronics makers like Dell, Nokia and Sony were struggling to find the right retail formula and Apple under Steve seemed to have perfected it. Through his unique insights and design, Jobs made sure that stores felt like gathering places. For many customers, the bright lights and equally bright acoustics at the Apple Stores made them feel more like they are at an event than a retail store.
Zuckerberg needs the stores because he has made a huge bet on MetaVerse and may be worried about the experiences in real world. For example,
While 26% of teens own a VR device, just 5% use it daily. 48% of teens are either unsure or not interested in the Metaverse.
“The Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens” survey results
Meta needs the stores to make sure the still-undecided , sitting on the fence customers try its hardware which is the gateway to its metaverse future. These stores would allow the shoppers to try its various product offering , including:
The Meta Quest 2 VR headset
Ray-Ban Stories, Meta’s AR glasses
Portal, Meta’s smart video calling device
This transition from Online2Offline is being followed by other platforms including Google which has opened stores to demonstrate living rooms for trying Nest devices, and rooms for testing its Pixel smartphone camera’s low-light options.
Similarly, Amazon introduced Amazon Go in 2018 and has since than expanded to about 30 stores including introducing a new concept store with Starbucks, combining the retailer's Go shopping tech with Starbucks Pickup to let consumers shop cashier-free. They have now started operating larger than 5000-square-foot locations in suburban parts of USA.
To conclude, Digital Platform brands would like to convert their physical locations to places where the brand meets the customer and they share their stories.
OTW
Over the Weekend, we had an interactive session about the forthcoming Whitathon Run on 8th May 2022. Whitathon Run is L V Prasad Eye Institute’s annual cause-related event focusing on raising awareness and funds for early diagnosis and treatment of Retinoblastoma – a Life and Vision-threatening Eye Cancer in Children. I am fortunate to be an ambassador for the cause and planning to run 10K at the event on next Sunday, 8th May 2022 at People’s Plaza, Necklace Road, Hyderabad.
I would also like to encourage you to register for #LVPEI #Whitathon being on 𝟴 𝗠𝗮𝘆 at 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗮, Hyderabad. This is also a 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲. #Register and #Run to raise awareness & funds for children with #retinoblastoma #eyecancer.
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝟮 𝗠𝗮𝘆. Please register at- https://www.ifinish.in/event_details/_Whitathon_Hyderabad_2022?
If you are unable to participate in run, you could still donate for the cause through the following link- https://pages.razorpay.com/pl_JBfcDBiCYmNW2L/view?
Stay Safe.See you soon.
I Love You
Shailendra
OTM
Opportunities through MountainSpeak are available through the Digital Street Project.
The Centre of Excellence for Digital Transformation (CEDT) at IFHE, Hyderabad is proposing to work on a project titled “Digital Street” in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). This action research project focusing on digital transformation of street vendors in the tourism industry is proposed to be conducted between May 1, 2022, and November 30,2022. Please let us know if you would like to contribute to the project.
The likely participants may have experience in digital transformation, informal sector, travel technologies, Tourism, street vendor issues amongst others. They may come from government, academics, consulting, corporate, policy making, start ups, non-profit and advocacy groups. I would also request you to also recommend experts and stakeholders for the project.
Please reply to this email with a copy to your recommended guests OR alternatively, fill in the Google Form to help us to contact them directly.
FWIW IRL
Online platform companies moving to brick & mortar stores shows that, both online & offline stores are not threat to each other, but they are compliments for the betterment of the company.