A bad online experience will deter a large proportion of Net customers from returning to online shopping and 6% of users who have bad online shopping experiences also stop patronizing the retailers physical store.

Virtual and real-world retailers enjoy mutually exclusive assets. The trick of establishing a clicks-&-mortar partnership is to capitalize on these and minimize each side’s unique disadvantages.

A crucially advantageous role for retailers lies in supplying soft values that recognize the consumer’s human condition: sensory, experimental values which can only be met with in the physical world. The principle of real contact is central to retailer’s real-world advantage.