If You Can't Beat Apple...

Join together in a mass state of confusion!

When you feel you've lost the battle I suppose absurd alliances are the next step?

How long will it be before we begin seeing capitulation in retail? How long before retailers begin giving away their customers to the online retailers in a desperate attempt to remain relevant? Oh, it's already happening?

Retailers: Don't give away the only valuable asset you have remaining. Your customers ARE loyal to your brand but if you don't provide them with useful product knowledge on the retail floor, at the point of decision, you are ignoring shopper demands and you will lose them. Forever.

In-store networks are inevitable but if retailers wait these networks and the corresponding shopper experience will be directed (and dictated) by the purveyors of the shopper's mobile device rather than the brands and retailers. If I could learn everything I want to know about a product on a screen in a store I wouldn't even remove my mobile device from my pocket but as it is now I'm forced to spec check, price check, app check etc all on my smartphone because NONE of this comparative information is available in the store.

You have the real estate. You have the customer. You'd better inject a new shopping experience or prepare for tumbleweeds...