Dive Summary:

• Employment at brick-and-mortar retail stores across the U.S. and central Ohio could be shifting away from increasing the number of sale reps in-store in favor of a greater investment in logistics, such as trucking and warehousing.
• According to a report released by Franklin County Retail on Wednesday, retail employment jobs dropped to 66,657 in 2011 from 93,401 a decade earlier in the year 2001 throughout the region.
• “We’ll continue to see that trend, especially as people are shifting later and later in ordering merchandise, and same-day or one-day delivery is making logistics more prominent,” says Jung Kim, research director at the Columbus Chamber.

From the article:

... “It’s not at all that bricks and mortar are being eaten by e-commerce,” said Bill Lafayette, owner of local economic-consulting firm Regionomics, who previously worked on the report when he was employed by the Chamber. “Bricks and mortar will never go away.” he said. “People like to look at stuff in person, like to try on stuff, like to pick up stuff. Bricks and mortar will go away somewhat, but only so far.” ...