MIT Sloan Management Review Article on The Brand Advantage That Will Lure Shoppers Back to Stores

Retail stores are in dramatic decline, undercut by e-commerce giants like Amazon and the convenience of online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this shift, with e-commerce now accounting for more than 1 in 5 retail purchases — a significant jump from online sales in 2019.

Is there a future for physical stores and experiential retail when e-commerce has become so convenient and is gaining in popularity? If physical stores do offer customer value, is this more important for some kinds of brands than others? Amid the heightened uncertainty about the future of in-person retail channels, I investigated what brand attributes affect customer preferences for shopping online versus in stores.

About the Author

Jonathan Z. Zhang is an associate professor of marketing at Colorado State University, where he researches digital transformation and omnichannel retail. He holds a doctorate in marketing from Columbia University.

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