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Scoping out the retail landscape of the future

Online and offline retailers at a congress on the industry agree that some form of a mix of the physical shop and its digital cousin will prevail

Published Fri, Mar 20, 2015 · 09:50 PM

Retail

Singapore

GONE are the days when online retail is viewed as a disruptive trespass on a landscape dominated by large brick-and-mortar retailers.

The physical and digital twain can - and should - meet in a happy "phygital" medium, retail players now seem to agree. However, the forms the marriage might take continue to dominate discussions at the annual World Retail Congress Asia-Pacific held in Singapore this week.

Online fashion retailer Zalora, for example, pioneered a digitally enhanced, stockless pop-up store in Ion Orchard last October.

Mic…