Physical Retail through acknowledgements and developments

The important Luxury brands are investing once again in commercial real estate, while new versions of the physical store are popping up.

The most important names in international luxury have started investing again in physical Retail, both in Italy and abroad. At the same time, we are witnessing the birth of new store formats: from the launch of the “brick-and-mortar” of e-commerce giants to the experimentation of very original stores.

The recovery in the commercial real estate market

In 2021, an overwhelming 36,984 store properties were sold, a number representing an increase of +36.9% over 2020 and +17.3% over 2019. This significant growth is reported by the “Report dedicated to real estate for the service, commercial and production industries”: a report by the Real Estate Market Observatory of the Italian Revenue Agency, in collaboration with Assilea (the Italian Leasing Association), and presented in late May.

This is a trend we are observing also abroad. According to an analysis of the real estate services company, Savills, in 2022, the main international luxury brands continue to bet on physical Retail. The “Retailer Attractionness City Ranking” names New York, Paris and London as favorite cities; the Middle East and Asia are nonetheless not to be overlooked, with plenty of opportunities to inaugurate luxury stores.

Amazon and the opening of its first fashion store

The renewed attraction for the “real world” finds significant confirmation beyond the studies we have just seen. Also in late May, Amazon opened its first fashion store in Los Angeles. A space of almost 2,800 square meters where the physical experience comes together with typical interactions of an App, in a real omnichannel approach.

Fitting rooms with touch screens that immediately show new styles or options, QR-codes that can be scanned through the store aisles and a contactless checkout based on none other than palm print recognition are just some of the characteristics of the innovative store. To use the words of director, Simoina Vasen, Amazon Style (this is the name of the store) has three main goals: making shopping more stimulating, personalized and practical for each customer.

The interesting development of hyperphysical stores

And on the subject of new, very interesting innovations: the hyperphysical store. This term is to mean a space that stimulates consumers’ senses through exclusive experiences, including tactile materials, robotic automation and particular settings. An example: recently, a store in London, to celebrate a line of handbags, covered all its interiors with soft fur in a pink “bubble gum” color, from the walls to the chairs, from the shelves to the floors.

Whether from a technological or aesthetic point of view, physical Retail is, therefore, in deep evolution, as well as in growth. Custom solutions, innovative, flexible and omnichannel, will always be the right choice to accompany these changes.