E-tailing can only appeal to the consumer’s senses of sight and hearing. The power of sensory experience belongs to the bricks-&-mortar world; the shopping experience, the ability to touch, feel, smell and taste products, the potential to be entertained is the domain of the offline retailer. But how can retailers and e-tailers establish a perfect split between our 5 senses?

Great companies are created through a Darwinian competitive process: the fittest survive. What we have seen on the Net so far is the first stage of this evolutionary process. The second stage will see the resurgence of offline retailers. They have lower costs, purchase in larger quantities, have longer standing relationships with suppliers, and have developed highly tuned supply chains.

A key contributor to the steady dominance of offline brands is the trust factor. Consumers don’t yet trust the Internet, but they trust brands, especially offline brands that they know, can relate to and with which they identify.