Physical retail's edge is sensory: stores that only sell are stores people skip
StatTrends
86% of people say the great thing about physical stores is that they can engage all the senses, 74% say stores need to offer more than products - they should entertain - and 76% still prefer shopping in person. Physical retail's defensible ground is sensory, not transactional.
Source
VML, The Future 100: 2026 (2026)
VML Intelligence (Emma Chiu, Marie Stafford)
VML Intelligence SONAR, The Future 100: 2026, s. 189 and 196
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