Fortune Magazine: Online Stores (like First Growth Graduate BaubleBar) Are Moving Into The Real World

Oct 10, 2012 via Fortune Magazine — Fashion site BaubleBar, a First Growth Venture Network Graduate, has spent two years building an avid group of fans who turn to the site to sift through a fast-changing array of hip jewelry sold at reasonable prices. On October 17, the company will invite customers to try on that jewelry in person — at THE BAR, a 500 square-foot showroom that will open in the back of the company’s Manhattan corporate headquarters.

Consider it a modern twist on an old trend: since the birth of the web, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have been creating digital storefronts. Web sales of apparel and accessories, in particular, are growing far faster than any other e-commerce product category and are expected to reach $40.9 billion in 2012, up from $40.9 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer. But until recently, digital retailers rarely took to the streets. (When’s the last time you drove down to your local Amazon (AMZN) to pick up a skirt?)

Now that’s changing as a new crop of entrepreneurs are developing digital brands that migrate to physical locations. They know that the online opportunity may be big, but it is still dwarfed by more traditional shopping experiences; 80% of transactions still occur offline after all.

Read more about the ongoing disruptive trend at Fortune Magazine…