Pro Direct’s first physical store shows that the barrier between the real and virtual retail worlds may be higher than many imagine.

Pro Direct’s first physical store shows that the barrier between the real and virtual retail worlds may be higher than many imagine.

Pro Direct has opened a shop in central London. Pro who? Pro Direct, “The World’s Largest Online Soccer Store”, according to its website. If this really is the case, why is it opening a physical store and what should shoppers expect?

For the answer, head to Fouberts Place, off Carnaby Street, where the etailer has become a store-based vendor of, predominantly, football boots. Staring through the window, there is certainly plenty of stock, but most of it appears to be virtual, shown on perimeter screens and freestanding mid-shop kiosks. Head inside descend into the store’s basement and there are mannequins, but they are virtual, modelling the product offer on more screens.

To be fair, the basement also allows shoppers time to sit down and try on a pair of boots. But for the most part the bulk of what’s on view is either digital or displayed in a manner that might make the reticent cautious about touching, feeling and enjoying the stock.

Or put anther way, this is a store where the virtual meets the physical head on. Each draws upon the strengths of the other to create a point of difference. Sounds good, but is this what shoppers want?

That this is an experiential interior is beyond doubt. That it is different from other sellers of sporting goods is also the case. But does it equate to the sort of place that is going to make the shopper dig deep? Little in here is ‘cheap’. There seems to be two divergent trends in new stores currently. On the one hand are retailers who have said ‘Technology? Enough already.’ This camp is adopting a back to basics approach to store design and layout, relying on old-fashioned visual merchandising and service to do the job. On the other side are retailers such as Pro Direct, which are working towards hybrid stores where most of the attention will be focussed on things that you can’t actually handle.

The latter tendency will be more restricted as it is expensive to set up. It also smacks of marketing rather than selling, although the under 30s might find it perfectly acceptable (if they can afford the prices). Etailers seem to want to enter the  ‘real’ world currently, but are reluctant to let go of where they have come from. They may yet need to do so, or at least do more.