The storefront retail tsunami is birthing exciting new concepts.
Some stores, including Apple and Nordstrom, are focusing on non-core offerings rather than traditional product displays and sales.
Go to Nordstrom’s newest store to pick up online orders and drop off returns, and you will find a personal stylist, a manicurist, a tailor, and wine! And no merchandise.
Apple stores will become “town squares.” They will double as public spaces, with outdoor plazas, indoor forums, and boardrooms for local entrepreneurs. Apple says that they will be spaces where you can “relax, meet up with friends, or just listen to a local artist on the weekends.” Inside the store, there will be coding courses for all ages, and instruction in taking better photos, making movies, and developing apps. Customer service areas will become “genius groves”.