The demise of the physical, in-store experience has been greatly exaggerated. Consumers like to go shopping — they really do. However, to match their expectations, retailers will need to deploy emerging technologies to engage with consumers in a more intuitive and automated manner. At the same time, they must commit to investments in innovation that will enable them to more effectively forecast future supply chain/inventory and workforce requirements, which would help these businesses address their biggest frustration: understaffing.