Why do retailers want to lease smaller stores?

The trend for retailers to seek to lease smaller stores is partly due to the fact that retailers only want to stock fast moving merchandise, so they don’t need as much floor area as in previous decades. On a positive note, this translates into increased sales per square foot but not necessarily increased total sales per location (when adjusted for inflation).

It is quite common for customers to drive to a store only to be told the item they are looking for is out of stock but can be ordered online. That’s because retailers generally want to carry the stock that turns quickly. The result is less availability in store of assortments by size, styles and colors, all intentionally planned by the merchants.

AlixPartners surveyed 30 retailers and found that on average only 9% of their online women’s clothing assortment was available in physical stores. For department stores, the percentage was 7%, and at mass merchants it was 2%. Specialty retailers fared better, with a third of their online goods available in stores.

Read more: How the Internet Made In-Store Shopping Miserable (The Wall Street Journal)