Andy Mulcahy of the Interactive Media in Retail Group highlights that UK consumers are adapting to new technologies faster than retailers - and that shop owners must take steps to keep up.
Commenting that the implementation of online information in bricks-and-mortar stores is inevitable, he notes that it is consumer desire that makes this the case, with smartphone users already going online to check for better prices while browsing in-store.
"Because consumer behaviour has got like that already, retail is just going to have to adapt to it," he claims.
And by combining physical browsing with supplementary information from wireless communications - such as price comparison - shops could find themselves faring better than businesses based purely online.
Mr Mulcahy's comments follow recent data released by Cisco, which suggests that over half of UK consumers are keen to try an amalgamation of physical shops and online facilities - something which the company terms 'mashops'.
