The trend analyzed in JLL’s report reflects Gartner L2 analysts’ prediction a couple of years ago that physical stores are an inevitable tactic in any startup’s growth strategy.
The study also demonstrates the value of pop-ups. Nearly 62% of permanent stores opened in the same city where an e-commerce venture opened their first pop-up shop. Popular cities for that trajectory are New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Last year the greatest number of permanent stores were opened by formerly online-only retailers, including Everlane, Allbirds, Away and MM.LaFleur.