The RealReal’s Results Are Another Sign That Brick-And-Mortar Stores Won’t Go Out Of Fashion

Consumers may be shopping online more than ever, but don’t underestimate their need for physical stores.

Luxury resale marketplace The RealReal’s results offered the latest proof of that. The company, which has opened smaller neighborhood stores in Palo Alto and Newport Beach in California and in New York’s Brooklyn since the holiday fourth quarter, said it plans to open about 10 of these stores by the end of the second quarter.

Why? In December, when the gross merchandise value sold on its platform increased for the first time after coronavirus upended demand last year, about 30% of The RealReal’s new consignors came from its 13 retail locations, the company said late Monday.

Consignors who interact with a physical retail location consign more than 1.5 times in goods’ retail value compared to others, the company said. Buyers who shop in stores and online spend three times more a year versus online-only buyers.

Read More at https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2021/02/23/the-realreals-results-are-another-sign-brick-and-mortar-stores-wont-go-out-of-fashion