Just as the advent of the hamburger helped accelerate culinary and car culture, other aspects of retail -- from shorter product development cycles to "pop-up stores" -- are quickening.Hamburger - Invention mirrored a major shift in human behavior, the humble burger has come to symbolize our preference for a faster retail experience.This now world-famous quick meal was reportedly inspired by a harried customer who wanted to eat on the run.The need for speed quickly spread to other retail sectors, as well. Supermarkets added carts and fast checkout lanes. Malls gained instant photo kiosks. Drugstores began selling food. Department stores hired personal shoppers. Meanwhile, consumers had discovered yet another timesaver: shopping by catalog. Buyers, ever harried, wanted to shop faster still. That was made possible by the Internet. From nearly zero sales in 1985, online consumer transactions will rise to $92 billion in 2004, excluding travel, according to Forrester Research. The trend points to a future where most merchandise will be purchased online.Doing more in less time is also visible in other purchase patterns. In 2002, 23% of mall shoppers browsed compared with 37% in 2000, according to ICSC Research Quarterly. An interesting article.
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