Where I get frustrated, though, is the binary debate I see in business, boardrooms, and books declaring that the ruthless efficiency of Amazon or Shopify has finally won out over the romance of life and that retail is dead. Retail is not dead, but utilitarian retail is dead because there's now a much faster, cheaper, and more convenient way to acquire cheap commodities online if that's all you're looking to purchase. Human beings, however, want more than commodities and have desires greater than their possessions.
The debates between function versus emotion, literal versus imagination, and rock-bottom prices versus high-fidelity curation have been going on for generations in retail and will continue long into the future. Fortunately, there's enough room in the market for many players and positions to win.
-Kevin Ervin Kelley, Irreplaceable: How to Create Extraordinary Places That Bring People Together
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