Behaviors of Mobile-Enabled Consumers Complicate the Meaning of “Going to the Store”

When card-not-present makes the customer-not-present, what is the function of a store?

Consumers armed with smartphones first disrupted brick-and-mortar retail by comparison shopping while in-store. Now nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults who comparison shop in-store end up purchasing elsewhere. Buy-online-pickup-in-store services shorten shoppers’ store visits to fleeting appearances. From electronic price tags to “dark stores,” retailers seek the right store capabilities to retain and serve their mobilized customers.