海角大神

Many brick-and-mortar stores are watching their profits slowly crumble to the ground, thanks to the internet. With the ease of online shopping and fast, free shipping from subscription services like聽听补苍诲听, some consumers are shying away from physical retail locations.

Shoppers prefer stores to the web for now, but online shopping is growing at a fast pace. E-commerce sales jumped 15.5% in the first quarter of 2016 compared with a year earlier, while total retail sales increased by only 2.2% during that time, according to the聽. Some companies are shutting down branches due to lack of profit.聽聽are in the process of closing 78 locations, and 惭补肠测鈥檚 recently聽聽plans to close about 100 stores.

But retailers are finding creative ways to make in-store shopping more enticing and prevent it from becoming obsolete.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no store customer or e-commerce customer, there鈥檚 just customers, and customers shop increasingly as they want,鈥� says Dan Evans Jr., Nordstrom鈥檚 business public relations director. 鈥淔or us to grow and evolve as a company, we need to have a real sense of urgency around staying relevant.鈥�

Retailers know that relevance revolves around technology these days. That鈥檚 why many聽have taken steps to become more up-to-date. Here鈥檚 a聽look at some of their tactics, how they work to your advantage and where they fall short.

1. Interactive kiosks

Retailers are attempting to turn stores into more engaging spaces by incorporating elements of the online shopping experience, including聽screens that mimic smartphones and computers.

聽has tested kiosks in some of its top-performing department stores, including those at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, and New York鈥檚 Herald Square. These touch-screen centers perform a range of duties, from completing in-store pickups to providing tourism information. Kiosks聽can be helpful if you can鈥檛 find a sales associate or if you鈥檇 rather shop solo.

The benefits:聽You can browse through merchandise and information and potentially complete transactions by yourself. And there鈥檒l likely be no line, so you can get in and out of the store quickly.

The drawbacks:聽In many ways, this experience is no better than shopping online 鈥� except, of course, you don鈥檛 get to sit聽on the couch in your pajamas.

2. Creating a cell phone haven

Companies hope that if mobile users鈥� needs are met, they鈥檒l spend more time 鈥� and money 鈥� in stores. Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic offer free Wi-Fi to shoppers. So do the Apple Store and聽.

But Wi-Fi is no good unless your mobile device is charged enough to use it. Some businesses have you covered there, too.聽Through its partnership with ChargeItSpot, Neiman Marcus has installed聽phone-charging stations in a majority of its stores; customers can lock up their phones and charge them while they shop.

The benefits:聽With a full battery and access to Wi-Fi, you can compare prices, browse your favorite websites and check your social media feed without eating up your data.

The drawbacks:聽Retailers don鈥檛 always have the fastest internet connection. Plus, privacy is a concern. Is the network secure? Is the store collecting your data? Check the terms of use before you connect.

3. Apps and web tools

Almost every retailer now has its own free app that shoppers can use聽at home and in stores. American Eagle Outfitters, Nordstrom,聽听补苍诲听are just a few examples.

Apps can keep track of your coupons and rewards points at specific stores. With some, you can get reviews and more information about a product by scanning its bar code with your phone鈥檚 camera. If you鈥檙e in the store and an item is out of stock, these apps can tell you whether it鈥檚 available at other nearby locations.

惭补肠测鈥檚 is taking mobile use a step further. At 10 locations, the department store is rolling out a browser web tool dubbed 惭补肠测鈥檚 On Call, which uses IBM鈥檚 artificial-intelligence platform Watson as an in-store guide for shoppers. Customers can ask for directions to a certain product or department, and they鈥檒l get an answer on their phone.

The benefits:聽You鈥檒l have all the resources you need at your fingertips. These tools make applying discounts and navigating the store more convenient.

The drawbacks:聽Apps take up storage space on your phone, so they might not be worth downloading if you鈥檙e an infrequent shopper. And whether you use an app or your browser, retailers can track your shopping behavior for marketing purposes.

4. Smart fitting rooms

At some stores, you鈥檒l even find technology in the fitting rooms.

For example, some have mirrors that let you create a virtual catalog of sorts,聽featuring聽yourself as the model.聽High-end retailer Neiman Marcus has installed full-length 鈥渕emory mirrors鈥� at select locations, including聽San Francisco鈥檚 Union Square. You just need to enter your email address and create a PIN to use them.聽These mirrors are more like screens that use cameras to capture pictures and shoot 360-degree videos, so shoppers can get a complete view of the outfits they try on. Customers can also scroll through inventory and send the images to their email addresses or share them with friends for a second opinion.

Other places, like Bloomingdale鈥檚, have tablets in their dressing rooms. These let customers find an item in another size or color or request help from an associate.

The benefits:聽Smart mirrors let you聽compare ensembles side by side, and because they 鈥渞emember鈥� the images, you won鈥檛 have to try on the same outfit multiple times. Tablets are a little less high-tech but still offer convenience.

The drawbacks:聽Again, security might be an issue. Stores have measures in place to protect your privacy, but they could be gathering data, and breaches do happen occasionally.

5. Mobile POS

It鈥檚 become commonplace for staff to get in on the digital action as well. Chains across the nation, including Lowe鈥檚 and聽, have staff members equipped with mobile point-of-sale devices such as iPhones or tablets. Using these, they can search for inventory, scan price tags, place orders or swipe your credit card when you鈥檙e ready to check out.

鈥淥ur hope is that we can use technology in a way that makes the experience a customer chooses as seamless as possible鈥� says Evans, the Nordstrom public relations official.

The benefits:聽The mobile POS enables fast, one-on-one customer service. It鈥檚 almost like having a personal shopper; associates can help you find what you鈥檙e looking for online if the store is out of stock or bring the register to you so you don鈥檛 have to wait in line.

The drawbacks:聽You may feel pressured to transact, and the speedy checkout process means you鈥檒l have less time to rethink your purchase.

Why shop in stores?

There鈥檚 no doubt that online shopping is convenient and efficient, but there are advantages to shopping in the physical world. Thanks to technological advances, you can shop smarter and more independently in stores than ever before, plus you still have the option to consult an employee if you need assistance. And you鈥檒l get a truer sense of how an item looks, feels or fits in person than you will from a website.

As long as shops feel e-commerce sales breathing down their necks, you can expect that they鈥檒l work harder to improve your experience.

Lauren Schwahn is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽lschwahn@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.

This article originally appeared on .