Inside Outdoor Winter 2018

Of course, specialty retailers no longer can rely on assumptions that “if you build it, they will come.” There is no denying that consumer behavior and expectations have changed significantly with the rise of broadband connectivity, e-commerce and connected smart- phones. Shoppers are more informed, more distracted, sometimes more impatient, and more empowered to look elsewhere if you don’t have or do what they want. Channel transparency and accessibility make it all but impossible to differentiate on just product or price. Ultimately, retailers must consider not only the customers coming through the door; they also must consider the devices in customers’ pockets. “Retailers are under pressure to un- derstand which innovations will attract and retain customers today and what will shape the commerce of tomorrow,” say analysts at the National Retail Fed- eration in its Fall 2017 Consumer View. Even so, one could argue the im- pacts of online and mobile commerce have been the most damaging to the biggest box retail experience, while small retail has maintained traditional if not better-than-average trajectories of growth. Consider the recent “retail apocalypse” of store closures in 2017, say researchers at FitSmallBusiness. Large chains and big box brands bore the brunt of the abuse. “A closer look at the list of retailers shuttering their doors [in 2017] reveals that big box stores are responsible for roughly half of the liquidations,” said Krista Fabregas, e-commerce editor at FitSmallBusiness. Of the 8,600 or so estimated retail unit closings last year, just 11 store brands, all household names, accounted for more than 3,000 of the doors closed. “While many large chain retailers are collapsing and filing for bank- ruptcy, smaller brick and mortar shops are actually doing better than ever,” continues Fabregas, who points to a 2015 MasterCard Advisors report that showed small business retail ac- counted for 72.4 percent of total retail sales growth during a period of 20 months. Even industries such as small independent bookstores, which are often pointed to as the quintessential victims of the rise of e-commerce, are doing pretty well, says The American Booksellers Association, which esti- mates that the number of independent bookstores has risen 27 percent since 2009, rebounding from the recession. “Small businesses are actually thriv- ing, even as online and mobile shop- ping continue to grow,” says Fabregas. Perhaps it’s not surprising. After all, the experience of walking into a mas- sive store, grabbing a box off a 20-foot shelf or scanning a code and picking up a product on the way out the door shares much more in common with the winter 2018 | Inside Outdoor 29