Online Brands Go Offline: Why Physical Stores Win

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Why Digital-First Brands Are Going Offline: The Return of Physical Stores

Two brands built the same way just made opposite decisions. Warby Parker, the online eyewear company, earns most of its growth from physical stores. Allbirds, the online shoe company, shut down every full-price store it had in the US. Both companies started in the same era and faced the same rising cost of online advertising. But only one found a way to make stores profitable. So the real question is why some brands make money in stores while others lose it.

The Pressure Behind the D2C Store Boom in India

For years, brands like Lenskart, Mamaearth, Nykaa and boAt built their identity digitally. Just a website, an ad budget, and a direct line to the customer, with no rent and no retail margin to share. This strategy worked when online ads were cheap, and the online shopper base was still growing fast.

Now, things have changed. Ad costs have climbed, cutting into digital-only profit. Quick commerce, apps delivering in 10-15 minutes like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, now controls how a large share of customers shop.

Warby Parker vs Allbirds: What Going Offline Actually Looks Like

The clearest evidence comes from company filings, not trend pieces.

Warby Parker’s stores generate around $2,900 in sales per square foot and pay back their setup cost in under 20 months. Between 2020 and 2025, its retail revenue grew from $156 million to $631 million, while online sales barely moved. Stores became the business. However, the company turned profitable in 2025, after years of losses.

Allbirds presented a different angle. In Q2 2025 alone, the revenue fell 23%, and it posted a $15.5 million loss. It shut them down and shifted to wholesale and international partners. It remains on the hook for rent in some locations under its lease terms, so closing a bad store was not free either.

Glossier sits in between. It closed 9 of its 12 stores and kept only its three best performers, which already generate more than half its store revenue and most new customers. Its CEO said managing a dozen leases made the company operationally heavy and that retailers like Sephora run physical retail better than Glossier’s own team could.

Why Lenskart, Mamaearth and boAt Are Opening Stores in India

India is witnessing the same shift. Trade estimates suggest D2C brands leased around 6 lakh square feet of retail space in early 2025, nearly doubling their share of retail leasing that year.

Lenskart built its store model around customer needs. Customers can browse online, try frames at home, get fitted in a store, and then order for delivery. Each step removes the hesitation of buying eyewear sight unseen.

SUGAR Cosmetics first proved demand online, then expanded through partner platforms before opening its own stores. It reportedly now sells through more than 45,000 retail points. It shares a valuable lesson. A store should solve a specific customer problem. It should not exist just because physical retail is trending.

Closing Message for Founders

Do not move to an offline store because it is trending. If you have built a reputation, people want your product, and you have a specific problem a store will solve, then move towards it. Physical retail is not back because digital failed. It’s back because digital-only was always incomplete, a cheap way to start but not to finish. The brands winning now plan stores around a specific problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are D2C brands opening physical stores now?

Rising ad costs are cutting into digital-only profit, and in markets like India, a small number of quick-commerce apps now control a lot of customer access. Stores are a way to reduce dependence on both.

Which Indian D2C brands have opened offline stores?

Lenskart, Mamaearth, Nykaa, boAt, Wakefit, Traya Health, Pee Safe and SUGAR Cosmetics are among the brands expanding into physical retail after building their business online.

Is physical retail dying or coming back?

Some digital-first brands are expanding stores profitably, like Warby Parker and Lenskart. Some other brands, such as Allbirds and most of Glossier’s footprint, are retreating from them. It depends on execution, not on retail itself being in decline.

How much does it cost to open a store as an online brand?

There is no single verified figure, since costs vary heavily by size, city and category. What matters more than the number is tracking payback period and sales per square foot from day one.

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