Instagram Made Theragun a Hit. So Why Did the Massage Gun Maker Just Open an L.A. Mega-Wellness Store?

Los Angeles Time (February 17, 2022) If you’re thinking about buying a hand-held massager that bonks you 40 times per second, it’s hard to get a sense of what that feels like on the internet. That’s one reason, after years of selling primarily online, the maker of cult-favorite Theragun is opening stores in a handful of U.S. cities where customers can not only try out the popular massage gun but also dabble in the kind of exotic physical treatments used by pro sports teams, such as cryotherapy, light therapy and hyperbaric chambers. E-commerce sellers have been making the leap to brick-and-mortar stores in recent years to lure customers who want to experience products in person or pick up things ordered online, which gives merchants a chance to sell them even more stuff. In industry lingo, that’s known as omni-channel retailing.

Waning pandemic restrictions will inspire other online sellers to make moves to physical stores, said Jonathan Lorenzen, an attorney at Allen Matkins who works with retail landlords and tenants. “People are so drawn to their phones and computer screens, but there still is this element of physical interaction with the product that you really don’t get on a phone,” he said. Coming out of the pandemic, retailers see the chance “to maybe show their products are of higher quality, to differentiate what they have and maybe get a higher price.” Read more here (subscription may be required)