China’s bricks-and-mortar stores stress the shopping experience, rev up with technology to survive the onslaught of online shopping

As much as 23% of China’s US$5.61tril of retails sales last year took place online, a sixfold jump from 4% in 2011, according to data from Oliver Wyman. — SCMP

For 90 minutes on a Sunday evening, Tracy Ma and her two girl friends experimented with a combination of lipsticks, eyeshadows, eyeliners and blushes in a MAC Cosmetics store along Shanghai’s prime shopping belt.

The two-storey outlet is fitted with an augmented reality counter, allowing walk-in customers like the 20-year old office clerk to simulate and display her looks on a large screen, using different shades of make-ups. A deep purple lipstick made her look like a vampire, she said to screams, laughter and wefies, before trying out the coral hue and ochre shades.