Experimental Nordstrom Store Will Have No Clothing for Sale

A California Nordstrom store will stock no clothing for customers to buy. Instead, it will let shoppers try on clothes in a curated environment and order anything they like to be sent to their homes.

1 minute read

September 14, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Nordstrom

Mike Kalasnik / Flickr

A new Hollywood Nordstrom will have clothing available to try on, but it will not provide any merchandise for sale.

This idea is the latest attempt by a brick-and-mortar retailer to compete with the online shopping experience. "Stylists will be on hand to guide shoppers to a personalized wardrobe, which customers can then order online to be delivered to the store that same day," Travis M. Andrews reports in the Washington Post. While there are no clothes for sale on the premises, there are other services on offer. "If shoppers want to wait for the clothing to arrive, they can have another drink or indulge in a manicure," Andrews writes.

Nordstrom executives say that shoppers can be overwhelmed by choice, and they hope this kind of shopping experience will be attractive to people who like having the help of an "expert." 

As some reports have it, brick-and mortar's immanent demise has been greatly exaggerated. But that isn't stopping chains like Nordstrom and Walmart from experimenting with Amazon-competitive models. 

Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in The Washington Post

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