Abstract
The contemporary retail landscape is in flux, and there is a growing perception that shopping at bricks and mortar stores is more expensive and time-consuming than shopping online. For music, illegal downloading and streaming have restructured the retail landscape and put thousands of record shops out of business. Yet, some retailers remain attractive consumption spaces. Drawing on a qualitative case study of independent record shops in Stockholm, this article considers three value-creating strategies that sustain these physical retailers in the digital age: cultivating in-store consumer experiences, creating value through curation, and tapping into global markets by going online.
Highlights
The contemporary retail landscape is in flux
These respondents were asked a range of questions related to themes such as the evolution of the music marketplace, the nature of music consumption and curation, and their experience working in record shops
One of our respondents jokingly said that the only way to keep his shop in business was to ‘‘track down and kill the inventor of Spotify.’’ While many record shops have failed to develop strategies to cope with the changing marketplace, our research suggests that some shops are going online and using virtual channels to tap into global markets
Summary
Existing studies suggest that retailers can generate distinction, value, and consumer loyalty by providing personalized advice, or curation, from individuals with high levels of cultural capital, and offering retail environments that offer unique, exclusive, and authentic shopping experiences (Bourdieu, 1984; Crewe, 2010; Hracs et al, 2013; Leslie et al, 2015; Williams and Connell, 2010; Witz et al, 2003; Zukin, 2010). Given the small size of the shops, the nature of retailing in Sweden, and our in-store observations, all of the clerks in our sample functioned as intermediaries These respondents were asked a range of questions related to themes such as the evolution of the music marketplace, the nature of music consumption and curation, and their experience working in record shops. Unprecedented choice empowers consumers, but negotiating the marketplace to discover interesting and relevant content has become difficult and the demand for personalized recommendations is increasing (Colombani and Videlaine, 2013; Hracs et al, 2013; Webster et al, 2016) Despite losing their monopoly on distribution, record shops remain vital spaces and sources of music-related curation. As the marketplace and consumer culture evolve, spaces, channels, services, and formats are more likely to complement, extend, and enhance each other than compete directly
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