Interesting article on the shift of the retail environment.

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20111115/brand-new-world

Brand New World

Our retail roundup includes kiosks, pop-ups, hidden shops, and a virtual experience activated by QR codes. All of this raises the intriguing question: What is a store today anyway?

By Martin C. Pedersen

Like just about everything else today, retail design is in a state of flux. We’re now living in a world where most items for sale in a store are also available online. Which raises a couple of important questions: What’s the role of traditional retail in an increasingly virtual world? And how will stores compete in the digital future? The reassuring news is that we still need physical transactions. The brick-and-mortar store will not disappear. Instead, it’s adapting to new realities, changing demographics, and perhaps a smaller budget. The retail roundup presented here is a snapshot of a fluid industry, with global brands attempting to put on a local face, big-box retailers mastering the art of crowdsourcing, and secret stores that are tucked away like Prohibition-era speakeasies. For designers, the shift is a subtle one, from places of transaction to spaces for human interaction and shared experience.