Physical Retail Resurgence

Contrary to death of retail narratives, physical store openings in the US outpaced closures in 2023 for the second consecutive year. Net new store openings reached 5,000 as digital-native brands like Warby Parker, Allbirds, and Amazon itself expanded their brick-and-mortar footprint.

Omnichannel Integration

The blurring of online and offline commerce is creating new formats. Buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) represented 21% of all US online orders in Q4 2023. Same-day delivery, available from 62% of US retailers up from 38% in 2021, is eroding pure-play online advantage.