Thursday, January 15, 2026
Physical retail: why the store is once again becoming a place of solutions
For years, commerce has been structured by a simple promise: to make products available everywhere and all the time.
E-commerce has taken this logic to its extreme, offering immediate accessibility, an almost infinite depth of supply and a purchase process reduced to a few clicks.
But this promise is now showing its limitations.
Faced with a constant barrage of choices, comparisons, and marketing pressures, consumers are experiencing market saturation, product standardization, and genuine decision fatigue. In this context, brick-and-mortar retail regains a unique and differentiating value: that of the here and now.
E-commerce excels when it comes to meeting a need that has already been expressed. It is efficient, fast, and rational.
The physical store, on the other hand, responds to a different expectation: that of understanding a still vague need, putting a project into perspective, contextualizing a purchase, reassuring, explaining, and adjusting.
Where digital offers an infinite number of choices, the store offers a moment. An interaction. A reading of reality.
It does not eliminate complexity: it accompanies it.
This evolution is reflected in a gradual shift from product to solution. Consumers no longer go to stores simply to buy an item. They come looking for a solution to a specific situation: adding greenery to a south-facing balcony, saving water without sacrificing a thriving garden, improving their living environment, or taking care of their pet in the long term.
In this context, the product becomes a means. Value shifts towards usage, advice, and support.
This is precisely where physical retail regains its full meaning. Unlike digital platforms, the store allows for a human, embodied, and localized interaction. It offers immediate learning, tailored to the customer's level and context. It makes it possible to experience the product firsthand through its layout, demonstrations, and guided journey. Above all, it establishes a relationship of trust built over time.
In the world of gardening, this dimension is essential. It's not just about selling products, but about living things, seasonality, long-term commitment, and dedication. These are all elements that the "everywhere and all the time" approach struggles to fully address.
Gradually, the store is evolving towards a broader role. It is becoming a place of understanding, a space for advice, a source of inspiration, and a hub for local and responsible solutions. A useful place, capable of helping consumers make informed choices, learn, and take action. A space where the act of buying is part of a project, not just a simple transaction.
This transformation also offers a way out of another impasse in contemporary commerce: the race to the bottom in terms of price. In a context of strained consumption, the temptation is strong to reduce value to the sole variable of price. While this logic responds to immediate trade-offs, it also leads to a commoditization of the product offering and an impoverishment of the shopping experience.
In-store activities help break this cycle. Workshops, demonstrations, educational sessions, seasonal events, and personalized advice restore value to the store that price alone cannot capture. They transform the act of buying into an experiential moment, building trust, differentiation, and loyalty.
In the gardening sector, this type of event takes on a special significance. It allows for the explanation of living things, the transmission of know-how, the support of plant use, and the recognition of staff expertise. By reintroducing meaning, exchange, and experience, the store transcends mere price comparison to become a true place of value once again.