"the primary role of the store will not be to sell product"

Um texto excelente em "The Store Is Media And Media Is The Store" a merecer a reflexão por quem é responsável por uma loja física:

"There’s a dramatic and strangely under-editorialized reality taking shape in retail.  One that seems to be eluding even some of the industry’s most sophisticated retailers and brands.
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It’s that until very recently the primary function, form and purpose of retail stores was to distribute products. Stores were the principle and in many cases the only means of availing distribution of products to a given market.
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Consequently, the entire retail industry framework has been based on product sales from the store to the consumer, and the revenue it generates.
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It’s all about the sale of product.
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In a post-Internet, post-mobile world of one click access, the distribution of products has all but ceased to be the issue. When one of something can be efficiently shipped to anyone, anywhere, the question of where the sale takes place is rapidly becoming moot.  In other words, in the long-term, sales of product simply can’t be the primary strategic purpose or metric for the store.
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Some of the world’s largest retailers are struggling with this jarring reality already. “Stack it high and watch it fly” has abruptly turned into “stack it low and hope it goes” as big box stores scramble to lower inventories in the face of flat or declining sales.  The knee-jerk reaction among some is to simply downsize and marginalize the role of the store.  Others are adopting the buzzword of omni-channel – resigning to the idea that all channels now act as one – which I would argue risks oversimplifying what’s really happening.
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What used to be a distribution channel is becoming a media channel and likewise, media channels (television, magazines, radio, print advertising, social media etc.) are increasingly becoming the “store”.  Virtual storefronts are cropping up in all forms of media.
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So increasingly, the primary role of the store will not be to sell product but rather to deliver the most powerful, and emotionally galvanizing experience possible, to create an essential level brand affinity, trust and allegiance – none of which necessarily results in immediate, or location-specific revenue recognition.
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Of course, many will.  But unlike today, where retail is a product-first, experience-second business, the reverse will increasingly be true.  Product sales will simply ride on the back of remarkable experiences.  Consequently, sales in general will steadily become a less meaningful or accurate measure of true store contribution and productivity."

IMHO, parece-me que a Farfetch está a apontar ao lado "Farfetch: da compra à sua porta em 90 minutos" ao concentrar-se demasiado na tecnologia como a salvação da loja física.