What: An ode to a somehow forgotten perk of physical commerce: its capability to create bonds.

Why it is important: Building communities is strategic today, as what is done in the physical world reverberates on what happens online, especially when it comes to loyalty to a store and its e-commerce offer.

Inside Retail pleads for a return of the social side of shopping, which has been somehow forgotten on the way of its evolution, as all retailers focused on functionality and transactions over the possibility to engage with friends, families and communities. It is all about engaging customers around shared values and interests.

The example of the new REI store in New Hampshire for instance shows a new approach, by being located not where customers live and work, but where they go for leisure. As such, it allows the outdoor products retailer to supply customers with what they need at the right moment, plus also contribute to the animation of the site that they visit, by facilitating tours and activities.

Inside Retail also mentions the Australian example of WeMake in Sydney: a creative studio, built as a workshop where everyone can build objects. The specificity of this workshop is its location, under a mall, and the fact that any retailer from the mall can use it at their guise, even for commercial animations with their customers. It is all about proposing new experiences and building bonds between customers and brands. As Inside Retail puts it, “the successful retailers will be the ones that can create the social experience and keep it real”.

Why it's time to bring back the social side of shopping