Retail Stores: Do Online Brands Really Need Bricks and Mortar?

It's so easy to shop online. So why would anyone spend their precious time coming to see you in a shop?

Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com

Last week I asked whether bricks-and-mortar shops need a website. This week I'm turning the question around: do online brands need a physical store? Your customer doesn't think in channels. She finds you on Instagram, pops in on a Saturday, orders another colour on her phone that evening and brings something back the following week. Shopify's research shows 41% of UK shoppers plan to split their shopping evenly between online and in-store, which leaves every online brand with the same awkward question. If the website always wins on convenience, what is a shop actually for? And once you've added up the rent, rates, staff, fit-out and stock, can it ever pay its way?

To find out, I spoke to Dessislava Bell, who co-founded the womenswear brand Saint + Sofia with her husband Malcolm. They sold online only for almost five years and reached more than 800,000 customers around the world before opening their first shop on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden in November 2024. Dessi is the spreadsheet lover in their partnership, so I wanted to know exactly how she judges whether the shop is working. You'll also hear from Sally Hughes Daniels, CEO of the activewear brand TALA, which opened its first shop on Carnaby Street last year, and from Emilie Benoit-Vernay, Shopify's Director of Revenue for EMEA.

By the end of this episode you'll know the jobs a shop can do for an online brand beyond the takings, how to choose the one you want yours to do, and how to find out whether your customers want to meet you before you sign a lease. You'll also hear the one thing that changed how Dessi sees physical retail. And if you already run a shop, stay with me, because what happens when someone walks through Saint + Sofia's door is something you could copy tomorrow.

Chapters

00:00 Why would anyone visit an online brand's shop?

03:06 What a shop can do that a website can't

07:26 Service, community and the social side of shopping

10:48 Does the shop pay its way?

Resources and links