Herb Weitzman: The Internet's Boon to Brick & Mortar
The Internet is not replacing traditional retailing, it's making it better, says The Weitzman Group CEO and chairman Herb Weitzman, at TWG’s Shopping Center Survey & Forecast Breakfast last week. Many concepts are now putting more capital toward digital retailing than to their actual physical stores, Herb says. Staples, Petco, and Best Buy are rolling out smaller stores. These small locations offer a full selection through online access with a strategy called endless aisles. Everyone from Gap to Walgreens is rolling out click and pick-up programs, Herb says.
Even fast-serve restaurants are testing mobile to address long lines by using an app to order and pay, then you grab your order at a pick-up counter. (We volunteer to test this for you... several times.) Even sit-down concepts like Applebee’s and Chili’s are rolling out tablets at the table. Customers make their selections and order with the tablets and the chains are reporting that the tablets lead to more spending on appetizers and desserts because items are ordered at the beginning of the meal. So, mobile is helping to improve brick-and-mortar dining.
