实体零售业江河日下，技术并非唯一祸首

我们很多人已经被训练出了一种惯性思维，觉得在影响商业的每个积极和消极的因素背后，都是科技在作祟。比如数字化转型使部分衰退行业出现了一批超大规模的企业（如Facebook对于出版行业），另外连一些变化脚步太慢的知名科技企业也被扫进了历史的垃圾堆（比如苹果对于诺基亚、黑莓、摩托罗拉等。）

所以当我看到菲尔·沃赫拜为新一期《财富》杂志撰写的一篇关于百货商场的末日的文章《一件不留》（Everything Must Go）时，我还以为文章的主旨是在说亚马逊等电商对各大零售业巨头的影响。不过我在这里需要剧透一下：亚马逊等电商对零售业的影响早已是个老生常谈的话题。但很多人可能没有注意到，像梅西百货、西尔斯百货、科尔士百货以及J.C. Penny等大型实体零售企业其实也在做电商生意，而且还做得相当不错。因此，沃赫拜在他的文章中指出，实体零售业江河日下的原因远远不只是由于电商的冲击，它还受到很多其它因素的影响，比如过度折扣导致的利润低下（这种现象是由于各大商场千人一面的商品结构导致的），以及由于过于依赖服饰销售而忽视了对新项目的追求，此外甚至还包括供货商的反弹，因为他们担心把自己商品放在这些行将就木的百货商场里卖，甚至可能会连累到自己的品牌。

顺便说一句，实体零售业的萎缩并不是一个新问题。沃赫拜指出，早从20世纪30年代起，百货商场就已经“奄奄一息”了。零售行业的专家们认为，有一种方法可以让百货商场起死回生，那就是要做到“体验为王”，给购物者一个到这家商场逛街上的理由——比如经常举办一些活动或有趣的展览，或是摆出一些不常见的商品。

这种方法之所以能吸引顾客回流，主要是因为两个原因。首先，体验恰恰是百货商场起初的长项，我有生之年永远也不会忘记第一次去芝加哥市中心的马歇尔菲尔德商场旗舰店时，它那旧世界的魅力留给我的奇妙印象——而且那里的那种感觉并非只有在圣诞节前后才有。另外，作为我们这个时代最优秀的零售商之一，苹果公司也深晓用户在实体店里获得的美妙体验对于公司的价值。苹果虽然是一家卖技术的公司，但它却是在以一种极为个性化的方式卖技术。

技术既不是能够解决所有问题的万灵药，也不是会吞噬所有企业的魔鬼。有时，人的因素才是重要的。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎

We’ve been trained to think that technology is behind every positive and negative factor affecting business. Digital transformation creates mega-cap businesses in decaying industries (Facebook in publishing) and zaps even established technology players that move too slowly (see Apple vs. Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola, etc.)

And so when I started reading Phil Wahba’s important feature in the upcoming issue of Fortune, “Everything Must Go,” about the demise of the department store, I assumed the storyline would be about the damage Amazon has inflicted on retail behemoths. Spoiler alert: What Amazon has wrought is old news. The department stores—Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, and others—are doing a rather brisk business in e-commerce. No, their true problems, writes Wahba, go far deeper. These include excessive discounting; a phenomenon retailers call “an ocean of sameness” in product offerings; an overreliance on apparel at the expense of novelty items; and even a revolt by their own vendors, panicked that pushing their wares in dying emporiums will drag them down too.

It’s not a new problem, by the way. Wahba notes that department stores have been “dying” since the 1930s. Retail experts suggest that one way to revive the stores is to focus on experiences, to give shoppers a reason to visit, like events or interesting displays or unusual merchandise.

This is amusing for two reasons. First, it’s what department stores were really good at in their prime. I’ll never forget visiting the flagship Marshall Field’s store in downtown Chicago for its wondrous old-world charm—and not just at Christmastime. This also resonates because one of the great retailers of our time, Apple, understands perfectly well the value of a magical experience in its stores. Indeed, though Apple is selling technology, it has done it in an exceedingly personal way.

Technology is neither the solution to all problems nor the ogre that will eat all businesses. Sometimes the human element is what matters most.