If We Can Buy Everything Online, Why Are Brands Still Opening Stores?

A person finds a pair of eyeglasses online, reads the reviews and compares several frames without leaving home. The website offers photographs from every angle, a virtual try-on and a discount. Yet, before placing the order, the person looks for a nearby showroom. Why make the trip when almost the entire purchase can be completed on a phone?

It is a question many businesses are answering with actual store openings. India's online retail market is growing rapidly. According to Deloitte and FICCI, online retail accounted for about 7% of Indian retail in 2024 and is projected to reach 14% by 2030. At the same time, CBRE reported that direct-to-consumer brands, many of which built their customer base online, accounted for around 28% of retail leasing in its surveyed Indian markets during the first half of 2026.

So, while online shopping continues to grow, brands also increasingly want to invest in stores where customers can meet them in person. What explains this seemingly contradictory behaviour?

The Sale May Begin on a Screen, but Does It Have to End There?

Online shopping has removed several inconveniences from buying. Customers can compare products after office hours, search for an exact size and check whether an item is available without travelling across the city. For routine purchases, home delivery may be the easiest option. None of these advantages has disappeared.

However, shoppers do not necessarily follow one fixed route from discovering a product to purchasing it. Someone may first notice a clothing brand on social media, browse its collection online and visit the store to check the fabric. Another customer may see a product in a showroom and order it later through an app because a particular colour is unavailable that day.

Consumer habits consistently mirror this crossover. Purely online or purely offline journeys are now the exception. Most shoppers move fluidly between screens and storefronts, making both channels integral to the final purchase.

The reason is straightforward. Reviews cannot answer every question for every shopper. A photograph shows the colour of a jacket, but its fabric may feel different in person. A mattress has detailed specifications, yet testing one can offer another kind of reassurance. Sometimes the store helps complete a decision that began on a screen.

For brands, the consequence is important. An online presence may help people discover a product across India, while a physical store can make that brand easier to encounter and evaluate within a particular city or neighbourhood.

The Store Has Changed Its Job

For a long time, the purpose of a shop seemed straightforward: keep products on the shelves and sell them to visiting customers. That function continues, but it no longer explains every store a modern brand chooses to open.

Consider beauty retail. A customer can learn about a lipstick shade online and watch several demonstrations, yet still prefer to see how it looks against their own skin. A store allows the person to compare options under actual lighting and ask an advisor for help. The visit is valuable even if the customer does not purchase everything immediately.

Nykaa illustrates this approach. Although it established its business through digital commerce, the company has rapidly scaled its physical presence, operating roughly 200 beauty stores across dozens of Indian cities. Its physical formats increasingly emphasise consultations and product experiences, complementing rather than replacing its digital platform.

Eyewear offers another example. At Lenskart, stores help people get eye tests and try frames, while a wider supply network fulfills orders. The premises provide a service, rather than simply a place to hold stock.

This helps explain the interest in compact outlets and experience-led formats. A store can introduce a product and offer customers a familiar local point of contact, especially when the purchase requires personal fit or careful consideration.

Also Read: How Smart Investors Choose Commercial Property in Jaipur

The better question, therefore, is which brands have a reason to open a physical store, and where that store can operate successfully.

The Bigger Question Is Where the Store Should Be

Two stores selling similar products can have very different results because their surroundings are different. One may sit along a route used every day by its intended customers. Another may have an impressive entrance but be inconvenient to reach. The distinction matters to the retailer paying rent and to the person who owns the commercial property.

A business must begin by understanding its customers. Would they travel specifically to visit the store, or would they prefer to stop while returning from work? Would the shop depend on weekend browsing or repeat visits from nearby households? These questions influence the ideal retail catchment area, the amount of frontage needed and even the opening hours.

This helps explain why high streets remain relevant. In October 2026, Cushman & Wakefield reported that main streets accounted for 67.9% of retail leasing across India's eight major cities in the third quarter.

Jaipur offers its own evidence. CIRIL's H2 2025 market report recorded approximately 2.8 lakh sq. ft. of retail absorption during 2025. Its documented transactions included GIVA leasing 900 sq. ft. on Ajmer Road and Nicobar House taking 1,500 sq. ft. in C-Scheme. Each business selected a location to serve a particular market.

Also Read: A Retail Opportunity on Jaipur's SEZ Road

For anyone examining commercial shops in Jaipur, this is not a promise of rental income. An investment in a shop depends on what a tenant can do with it. The business needs enough customers to cover its costs and remain viable. If it struggles, the property's rental prospects can suffer too.

That changes how we assess retail property investment in Jaipur. Instead of beginning with advertised returns, a buyer can examine the likely occupier. Can visitors reach the shop easily? Does its layout suit the intended use? Are utilities and permissions appropriate? What are the maintenance costs, and how long might it stay vacant between tenants?

Someone comparing a shop for sale in Jaipur should also examine nearby homes and employment centres. They create different patterns of customer activity, although proximity never guarantees footfall. The most useful commercial addresses fit into the everyday routines of people who already spend time in the area.

This is the thinking behind Shubhashish High Street Plaza, the premium retail and commercial development within Shubhashish Forest at One SEZ Road, Jaipur. Located near the Mahindra SEZ business corridor and surrounding residential communities, it is planned for businesses that value visibility and accessibility. The project brings Chapman Taylor's design involvement together with a distinctive façade, high-height retail spaces and flexible commercial layouts. For a business owner, these are practical factors to examine alongside the specific unit plan and its permitted use.

For those considering commercial property investment in Jaipur, High Street Plaza is an opportunity to evaluate a planned commercial address and its surrounding catchment. As with any property, the choice should rest on unit specifications, purchase costs and realistic leasing assumptions.

The Future of Shopping Has More Than One Door

The person who discovered eyeglasses on a phone and later visited a showroom did not choose between digital convenience and physical shopping. Each helped with a different part of the decision.

Brands are making a similar calculation. They are opening stores where being physically present can improve how they serve customers. And that creates a related question for anyone buying a commercial shop: will this space be useful to the businesses that may occupy it?

To explore premium commercial spaces at Shubhashish High Street Plaza, review the available layouts and visit the location at One SEZ Road, Jaipur. Call +91 7413 99 33 99 to discuss your business or investment requirements.