A decade or so ago, many exuberant e-experts were predicting the death of bricks-and-mortar stores due to the rapid emergence of online stores and e-tail. It didn’t happen. Instead the Internet has complimented physical stores and given customers the choice of how and where they shop. The Internet has also fundamentally changed consumer behaviour because it has shifted power in the form of information from the retailer to the customer. Shoppers are now increasingly well-informed and increasingly impatient thanks to the speed of the Internet and the control it gives them. However, while convenience is important, it’s not the only factor. Customers also like physical stores because they are sensory and in some instances highly personal. As a result, physical stores are investing in the best of both worlds, which means superfast information access and superfast delivery. For example, Bloom Supermarkets in the US (owned by Food Lion) has installed scanning technology that allows customers to scan items as they pick them up, thus allowing them to keep a tab on their final bill, but also speeding up the final checkout. In a similar vein, Circuit City (US) is promising that any item ordered over the Internet will be available in-store within 24 minutes or the customer will get a US$24 gift card to soothe their lack of instant gratification. Interestingly, Circuit City reports that 50% of online orders are now picked up from one of their stores. Meanwhile, Best-Buy (US) is investing in staff training so that its staff know at least as much about the products they are selling as their customers, many of whom are using cell phones in-store to search the Internet for product information or to compare prices via sites like frucall.com. Bloomingdale’s have gone one step further by installing technology that allows customers to try on clothing in front of an interactive mirror and then email images to their friends for comments and suggestions. A final example of the merger between bricks and clicks is Barnes & Noble. The bookseller is installing kiosks that allow customers to search for obscure and out-of-stock items. So what are the takeaways for retailers here? First, customers want more information and control.Second, they want delivery and payment to speed up, and third, they want more service. The latter obviously clashes with the need for low prices but the modern customer is nothing if not demanding and contradictory.

Social shopping or ‘crowdsumption’ is what happens when social networking principles meet the vagaries of fashion. It’s what happens when the fickle facebook crowd meets the faddish fashion industry. There is even a new word for this – shopcasting – that describes people that look at what other people are looking at or wearing right now. Narcissism? More like Narcissism 2.0. Sites like Osoyou.com and ThisNext.com connect people with similar interests and tastes and represent what some observers are calling a new ‘referral economy’. There is definitely something interesting going on here, especially sites like Nethaggler that tap into the purchasing power of large groups of individuals. Also interesting are sites that represent a merger or hybrid between media and retail. However, we shouldn’t get too carried away with the wisdom of the masses, because all to often the wisdom of crowds seems to think very short-term and often exaggerates the importance of the new.

One of the hottest trends in US retail over the 2007 Christmas season was the little list. Wish lists have been around for ages but thanks to the Internet they have now gone high-tech. Stores like Searle, a US chain of luxury clothing boutiques, sent messages to husbands telling them what their loved ones wanted for Christmas. And if you think that’s a bit invasive, consider Net-a-Porter.com who went one step further by allowing women to send videos to husbands and boyfriends showing them exactly what they wanted. What you think of these wish lists obviously depends on a number of factors. Some – especially women – are fed up with men who buy the wrong present or, worse, buy something dreadful from the local gas station at the very last minute. True, some people are clueless and need a little help and many are also very busy so every little time saving idea helps. Of course, outsourcing the entire present buying experience to a ‘Gift Guru’ at Selfridges is another possibility, and completely removed from buying and wrapping the present yourself.