Once dismissed as retail relics, physical storefronts are making a surprising comeback – this time, powered by digital-first brands. From pop-ups to permanent flagships, online-native companies are opening brick-and-mortar locations not out of necessity but by design.
Amazon Style offers shoppers curated fashion based on browsing history. Warby Parker’s clean, minimalist stores blend seamlessly into upscale neighbourhoods, offering eye exams alongside Instagrammable interiors. In Bangkok, Pomelo Fashion invites customers to try on app-selected items in sleek fitting rooms before completing purchases from their phones.
It’s a reversal that reflects more than a retail pivot. While digital advertising remains cheaper in terms of pure reach, online CPMs average between $3 and $10, compared to $22 or more for traditional media, customer acquisition online is becoming less efficient. As competition intensifies and privacy changes limit ad targeting, many direct-to-consumer brands see digital acquisition costs climb, sometimes exceeding average order values. In this landscape, storefronts are emerging as strategic complements: part showroom, part service centre, part brand theatre. For these brands, it’s not just about footfall. It’s about reducing digital dependency and building loyalty through real-world engagement.
Why Physical Retail Now
For years, e-commerce promised a frictionless future – one-click checkouts, fast shipping, and endless inventory. But as digital storefronts multiplied, so did the challenges: skyrocketing customer acquisition costs, rising return rates, and a sea of sameness. Today, even the most digitally fluent brands are discovering that a website alone can’t deliver emotional connection or tactile trust.
Physical stores are filling the gap. A well‑designed storefront gives customers something the digital shelf can’t: the ability to touch, try, and experience. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e‑commerce accounted for 15.3 % of total U.S. retail sales in 2023—a share that continues to rise quarter by quarter. While physical stores still drive the bulk of retail activity, the steady growth of online shopping, especially during major events like Black Friday, signals a lasting shift in consumer behaviour.
Still, not all categories follow the same trajectory. Furniture and home‑furnishing purchases increasingly migrate online; nearly 31 % of home furnishing sales occurred digitally in 2023. Consumer electronics remains split, with value and convenience driving online growth, but big‑ticket purchases often favour in‑store confidence. And goods like plants, outdoor supplies, garden products, and decorative home items, where touch, size, and immediacy matter, have stubbornly resisted complete digital takeover. Big‑box outlets continue to dominate these segments, with traditional furniture and outdoor‑living stores capturing the lion’s share of consumer spending.
In other words, the price tag and physicality of the item strongly influence where consumers choose to shop. You can order a lamp or phone online, but the comfort of a store still wins when it comes to the feel of a sofa, the freshness of a plant, or the scale of a patio set.
But these new retail spaces aren’t built for volume. They’re designed for impact. Brands are leaning into high-touch service, curated displays, and neighbourhood-specific assortments. Instead of acting as isolated outposts, these stores function as real-world extensions of the brand, driving online traffic, deepening engagement, and turning one-time buyers into repeat customers.
The playbook is shifting: Stores aren’t just about sales – they’re about staying top of mind in a distracted, digital-first world.
Pomelo Fashion’s Omnichannel Evolution
Founded in 2013 by David Jou and Casey Liang, Pomelo Fashion has emerged as a leading omnichannel fashion brand in Southeast Asia. Initially operating solely online, the company has expanded its presence with physical stores in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Central to Pomelo’s strategy is its “Tap.Try.Buy” service, which allows customers to order items online, try them on at a designated store, and pay only for what they choose to keep. This approach enhances the shopping experience by integrating the convenience of online browsing with the assurance of in-store fitting.
In May 2025, LeadIQ reported that Pomelo Fashion achieved $750 million in annual revenue, marking a substantial leap from the $38 million recorded in 2022
Pomelo’s expansion efforts have included entering new markets, such as Cambodia, where it partnered with Zando Group to establish a retail presence. Additionally, the company has focused on enhancing supply chain efficiency by implementing unified inventory systems and streamlining return processes.
By seamlessly blending online and offline experiences, Pomelo Fashion continues to adapt to the evolving retail landscape, aiming to meet the diverse preferences of its customer base.
Why online brands are opening stores
For digital-first companies, opening a physical store isn’t about replicating traditional retail – it’s about amplifying what already works. With online customer acquisition costs climbing and attention spans shrinking, many brands view stores as a channel for deeper engagement rather than just sales.
Stores offer what websites can’t: human connection, hands-on product trials, and immediate service. They create environments where discovery feels organic and tactile, and shoppers can linger, ask questions, and build trust. That trust often carries over into digital behaviour. According to Warby Parker’s most recent earnings report, customers who engage with online and retail touchpoints tend to have higher lifetime value.
For brands like Pomelo, stores also provide critical feedback loops. Each in-person interaction offers insights into fit, preferences, and regional trends – data that helps refine everything from product design to inventory allocation. Physical locations are no longer separate from e-commerce platforms – they’re extensions of them, working in sync to personalise the experience and drive loyalty.
The result is a more resilient retail model, one that spans screens and sidewalks.
The evolving role of the website
While physical spaces gain momentum, the brand website remains the nerve centre of the modern retail ecosystem. But its role is shifting – from being the sole point of sale to becoming a connective platform that bridges discovery, transaction, and service.
Today’s websites aren’t just digital catalogues. They power appointments for in-store try-ons, host loyalty programs, manage returns, and sync with physical inventory in real-time. At Pomelo, the app and website are critical to the “Tap.Try.Buy” model, allowing customers to browse, reserve, and purchase without friction. Warby Parker’s platform does the same, letting users schedule eye exams, browse local store stock, or complete an in-store purchase online.
For brands blending offline and online, the website is no longer the endpoint – it’s the interface. It carries the brand’s identity, handles the logistics, and learns from each customer interaction. As stores become more experiential, the website does the heavy lifting behind the scenes, ensuring a seamless handoff between channels.
The digital shelf might not be enough on its own anymore, but it’s more important than ever in making the entire system work.
What shopping will look like in 2050
If you walk into a store in 2050, you might not walk out with a bag. Instead, your personalised selections – curated by AI, informed by biometric data, and filtered through your sustainability preferences – could arrive at your door within hours, if not minutes.
Retail futurists envision spaces that act less like inventory warehouses and more like interactive brand labs. Physical stores may shrink in size but grow in sophistication, equipped with augmented reality mirrors, smart shelves, and real-time language translation for global shoppers. Facial recognition could trigger dynamic pricing based on loyalty status or previous purchases if consumers opt in.
Sustainability will likely shape store formats, too. Modular, low-waste layouts, carbon-neutral delivery options, and locally sourced assortments could become table stakes. Data from online and in-store behaviour will sync seamlessly, creating a “phygital” loop where discovery, trial, and purchase span both worlds.
But some things won’t change. Shoppers will still crave connection, story, and the confidence that comes from seeing and touching a product before committing. The brands that win in 2050 may look futuristic – but at their core, they’ll understand something timeless: trust is built person-to-person, even when powered by pixels.
Retail’s Quiet Reinvention
What began as a tactical move to lower return rates or offer fitting rooms has turned into something more fundamental: a rethinking of what retail means. Digital-first brands aren’t just entering physical spaces; they’re redesigning them on their terms.
These aren’t legacy department stores or big-box chains. They’re focused, frictionless, and hyper-intentional. Every square foot has a purpose, whether to host an eye exam, facilitate same-day pickup, or serve as a live feedback loop for product development.
The quiet reinvention underway isn’t about going back – it’s about moving forward with the tools, data, and expectations of a new era. The lines between online and offline are no longer blurred. They’re gone entirely.
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