Retailing: Confronting the challenges that face bricks-and-mortar stores

What does cyberspace mean for physical retail space! Has on-line shopping c hanged the fundamentals of retailing! And how should managers evaluate new in-store technologies? In this article, the heads of Marks and Spencer, Nei man Marcus, and Karstadt join two distinguished academics to look at what's in store for the bricks-and-mortar store. There's no doubt that new technologies have made retailing more complicated and more competitive. Using the Web, for example, consumers can conceivabl y sidestep their corner store and patronize shops across the country or aro und the world. Eventually, they might forsake retailers altogether, shoppin g directly from manufacturers. By the same token, though, managers can use technology to magnify the benefits of their location - using Web sites to s how, for example, the retail topography of a local town and to highlight wh en stores that sell particular products will be open. And new in-store tech nologies promise managers-and customers-increased efficiency and more knowl edgeable service. It's too early to predict how these new technologies will play out. But the contributors suggest that the fundamentals of retailing really haven't cha nged. Whether they know it or not, consumers still weigh the same factors w hen determining where to shop: scope of product assortment, price, convenie nce, service, and ambiance. The Internet has just added another layer of ur gency to an already established agenda -forcing managers to examine their p riorities in newly creative ways.