What: the opening of more brick-and-mortar location for the online resale platform

Why it is important: while online shopping is soaring, physical shopping is not dead yet as demonstrated with the RealReal’s expansion into the physical business. After opening smaller neighborhood stores in California and in NYC, the label plans on opening ten more before the summer

The RealReal realised that consignors are more responsive when dealing with a physical space and tend to consign more items, which ultimately offers more choices for customers. And buyers who purchase offline and online spent more a year than online-only buyers. CEO Julie Wainwright said: There are favorable terms for driving those smaller neighborhood stores to faster profitability than they were before Covid.”

The success for the physical expansion lies in the fact that, even though online shopping can be convenient, it will not overcome the in-person desire to touch and feel. The RealReal also bets on its core value ‘resale’ to continue attracting customers who are more and more committing to a sustainable consumption, through ‘re-commerce’ for example.

The RealReal’s Results Are Another Sign That Brick-And-Mortar Stores Won’t Go Out Of Fashion