Thanks to tech, stores are evolving into showrooms

In 2025, a shopper will walk into a store, try on clothes, pick the colors and a clerk will use a handheld device to have those items shipped to the customer's home address.

The store won't have a big inventory of clothes so shoppers won't walk out with big bags. The inventory will be held in a warehouse and then shipped out as if the items were purchased online.

This, according to a report from IBM, is the future of retail.

"We're on the cusp of a lot of change," said Stephen Laughlin, a vice president and general manager at IBM. "It's not just about the technology, but it's about business models… You need brick and click together, but the roles are going to evolve in terms of how they work together. We'll see the role of the store becoming a showroom."

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