News

Brick-and-mortar retailers fighting back

May 22, 2012

Brick-and-mortar retailers hoping to compete with mobile devices, the Internet and daily deals are getting creative when it comes to in-store offers, according to a story on CNBC.com.

Instead of expanding, more retailers are putting money and time into their existing stores by adding technology to improve the customer experience or by offering products and services that customers can only get inside the stores, according to the National Retail Federation, which found that only 31 percent of the retailers surveyed planned to increase their number of locations.

For example, PetSmart has added pet hotels to more of its stores, Macy's is using a virtual concierge to assist shoppers, and Coach is catering not only to women but also to men, using more store space for men's accessories.

"People are trying to think up stuff you can't download," Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand said in the story.

Read more about customer experience.