"We have reset Nike's supply. We're fueling demand through the launch of innovative products. We have reignited 'brand heat,' we're connecting more directly with consumers through our digital ecosystem and orders from our strategic partners are building. In short, Nike has returned to a pool market in North America.”

- CFO of Nike, Andy Campion on Nike new “Just Do It” campaign featuring training pop-up’s in Los Angeles.

Under intense pressure to grow its North American sales, Nike is looking to interactive, “training" pop-up shops to boost sales.

“People don’t want to shop in store because many stores aren’t keeping up with the more agile smaller brands that can really make the in-store shopping experience something unique to them, big-box retailers have tried to create something similar in developing shop-in-shop experiences.”

- Jennifer Walsh, the founder of retail concept Beauty Bar on How Macy’s plans to modernize the beauty shopping experience in stores. 

Macy’s is upgrading its pop-up shops, driven by the way millennial consumers discover beauty products — through technology. Specifically big box retailers like Macy’s are looking to AR (augmented reality) and virtual voice assistants to offer suggestions on specific products and provide beauty advice based on individuals’ unique needs.

“We see the innovative experiments going on in retail today — the “experiential” stores appealing to those craving experiences as much as things, the “shoppertainment” malls combining entertainment with spending, the back-to-the-future “local” retail that eschews universal brands in favor of more curated offerings — and this gives us even more confidence. Don’t bet against retail; the destruction it’s going through now is, as in the past, of the creative variety.”

-Joel Bines and David Bassuk of New York Times, on Why we Should Be Optimistic About Retail.

While many are clambering about the death of retail, some point out that store closings are actually beneficial; removing an overcapacity problem, allowing better-suited brands to lift retail out of the dumps.