Within the past year, online retailers Amazon and Birchbox have each opened their first brick-and-mortar stores. This move is a sign that online retailers are acknowledging that many shoppers, at least for now, still prefer some sort of in-person buying experience. But it also points to another trend..
![](https://www.birchbox.com/images/uploads/July_StoreAnnouncement_01_700x400.jpg)
Warby Parker, as called out by Advertising Age last week, uses one location to create an entirely new brand experience. The Company's store in Soho, New York, looks like a library. Not at all like a store. Why? Because Warby executives think it's a turn off "to be sold to." In a store? Yes. The way they see it: physical stores are just a part of the marketing channel to promote the brand. They are not always just a location to actually SELL. So Soho strollers can come in, take a load off, crack open a book and relax a little. That's it.
![](http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/image/x-large/warbyparker-theliterarylivewelllived213.jpg?1376421244)
Amazon, Birchbox and Warby Parker have all been moving in a similar direction, the opposite of conventional marketing wisdom: rather than creating digital campaigns to drive customers to stores, stores are being built to drive buyers online. The in-person experiences are meant to draw people in and to create real ambassadors. Then they can go on to shop, pin, text and post on their own time.
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