Joining a growing number of ecommerce sites building brick and mortar spaces, secondhand clothing store thredUP recently announced they will be opening physical retail locations. This demonstrates, despite growing numbers of companies being online only or mobile-focused, there is still a need to connect with consumers face to face.
thredUP hopes to have five physical retail locations open for business by the end of the year. The first soft-opened today in San Marco, Texas (in between San Antonio and Austin), where the online thrift store already has a high density of existing customers. The thinking behind this move, according to TechCrunch, is "the startup has a ton of customer data that it can use to improve the old-school shopping experience."
Physical Online Thrift Shops
eCommerce Startup thredUP is Opening Physical Retail Locations
Trend Themes
1. Brick-and-mortar Expansion - eCommerce companies like thredUP are opening physical retail locations to connect with consumers face to face, showing a trend of expanding into brick-and-mortar spaces.
2. Omnichannel Strategies - The move towards physical retail locations by online thrift store thredUP highlights the trend of eCommerce sites adopting omnichannel strategies to enhance customer experience.
3. Data-driven Shopping - thredUP's use of customer data to improve the in-store shopping experience demonstrates the trend of leveraging data-driven strategies to enhance traditional retail practices.
Industry Implications
1. Ecommerce - The growth of physical retail locations by thredUP signals an opportunity for eCommerce companies to expand into brick-and-mortar spaces and connect with customers in new ways.
2. Thrift Retail - The foray of online thrift store thredUP into physical retail locations opens up opportunities for the thrift retail industry to modernize and offer a blended online and offline experience to customers.
3. Retail Technology - thredUP's utilization of customer data for improving the shopping experience emphasizes the need for innovative retail technology solutions that leverage data analytics and customer insights.