There is a tendency to worry about online retailers opening physical stores. But is there anything that more traditional retailers can do to compete?

The future of online is offline, according to Derek Thompson of American magazine The Atlantic, and it’s hard to disagree.

Increasingly, the most innovative retailers seem to be the handiwork of online operations or brands, whether it’s Missguided, Bonobos or even Amazon.

All of them can do things a little differently, largely because each started from nothing.

Going physical is fine if a successful logistical backdrop is already in place, and you don’t have to worry too much if your sparkly new store doesn’t work out.

Thompson, however, makes the point that outfits such as eyewear purveyor Warby Parker – which started life as an online merchant – are becoming more traditional by having a large profitable estate of stores.

Pick your battles

All of this suggests that if etailers can make a decent profit from going offline, what’s wrong with those already offline approaching sales from the other direction and creating a greater online presence?

The answer, we are told, is that they are hidebound. They have reached a critical size where any kind of rollout means heavy investment and a logistical nightmare.

But is it impossible for large retailers with stores across the country to battle the seemingly fleet-of-foot etailers that are dipping their toes into the world of physical stores?

The answer is yes. But if you want to put the fizz back into physical, don’t think big – or at least not big bucks. This should be the age of the visual merchandiser, as that’s where innovative stores can excel.

“Is it impossible for large retailers with stores across the country to battle the seemingly fleet of foot etailers who are dipping their toes into the world of physical stores? The answer is yes”

The thing about good visual merchandising is that it can be extremely successful when kept simple, and has often already been done before.

Debenhams did this at its recently launched Stevenage branch when chief executive Sergio Bucher challenged the store design team to do something different, but on a tight budget.

The result was a series of neon tubes that had already been used for a Christmas display in its Oxford Street store, which was turned into a light sculpture in Stevenage. The outcome was special – and low-cost.

The same could, and should, be true of any physical retailer looking at how to improve sales without hitting the budget too hard.

It is entirely possible to make an impact at a low cost, but direction needs to come from the top, and limited funds are usually the problem. It is what the best independent retailers have known for years.