Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is a marinated raw fish dish in Hawaii. Recently over half a dozen shops specializing in poke have popped up in L.A neighborhoods. Speciality shops have created different dishes with poke that attracts Californian consumers because of its health benefactors and its cost of being an average of $10. Bowl of rice, salads, quinoa are topped with poke and stand as alternatives to eating lunch at a sushi bar that would bring an average check of $40.

Sweetfin, a widely popular poke shop, serves a bowl of sashimi-grade tuna heaped on top of rice, or greens, such as citrus kale salad, with a wide range of accompaniments like avocado, edamame, and scallions. Marinades range from soy sauce and sesame oil to creamy togarashi sauce, Sweetfin’s specialty Japanese spicy mayo. While traditional poke in Hawaii involves onions, lime, and nuts, Nestdat and Cohen used more ingredients from Californian and Asian cuisines. Owners of Sweetfin says “Poke is the natural progression from sushi.” Seth Cohen and Brett Nestadt, owners of Sweetfin, wanted to reshape the lunch culture in America with its progression from sushi to poke. Sweetfin has doubled in the amount of fish it buys per week since opening in April, increasing from 700 pounds to 1500 pounds. Daily sales have jumped 40 percent. Cohen and Nestdat are planning to expand and open more shops in metropolitan areas.

Not only has Cohen and Nestdat seen success in poke, but several chefs including Kayson Chong and Eric Park has also seen a rise in their sales. Mainland Poke Shop, and Ohana Poke Co. are poke specialty shops, respectively, that have also contributed to the new wave of poke in California. While Mainland Poke Shop offer poke with quinoa and kale, Ohana Poke Co. offers poke with both French and Korean combinations.

Poke has been making appearances in other foodie destinations outside of L.A. Chef Jesse Sandole’s restaurant in Charleston and Nantucket have poke on their menus. Poke has been growing in Chicago, Washing, and Colorado. New York City’s East Village also has poke dishes from Per Se- one with octopus and another with big-eye tuna.

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Over the past several decades, much has changed in retail businesses. With constant revolutions in technology, E-commerce has become a major factor in business sales. Consumers now have capability to research stores, products, reviews, ratings, prices, inventory and specs online. This data allows consumers to access a wider range of options for “where” to buy from, just from searching the web. However, with all the choice and consumer empowerment that E-commerce enhances, physical stores are predicted to remain as the most important aspect of retail businesses.

In a 2014 Capgemini study consumers were surveyed on their preferences of shopping methods. The majority of consumers’ first choice was traditional in-store experiences, and was followed by retailers’ websites. E-commerce only accounts for 7 percent of U.S. retail sales. Study shows that human desire to see, and touch things while shopping is evident. There is also distinctive connection between the consumer and the brand that can be experienced only through in-store interactions. E-Commerce only businesses, like Amazon, eBay, Google, are aware of the limited experience and connection that comes from only distributing through the internet, and have taken efforts to reach customers through pop-up stores, and trucks. Companies like Amazon, and Warby Parker embrace that in-store and online experiences don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Instead, a symbiosis relationship can exist, where consumers invite online experiences into the physical store.

Popular online experiences that consumers want extended in stores include inventory visibility, in-store pickup, drop/ship home delivery, app and loyalty integration, and online/in-store community building. E-commerce has revolutionized inventory visibility for consumers. And now, consumers expect and like to ‘see” if a local store has a desired item in-stock before visiting the store. Home Depot is a primary example that allows consumers to search, on their e-commerce web, the availability of certain items at their local store. In-store pickup is also a major sales driven potential extending e-commerce to retail stores. In-store pickup potentially reduces shipping costs, increases foot traffic and encourages add-on sales. And for consumers gives them opportunity to recognize items as wanted or unwanted items after purchase, giving them access to potentially “return” items directly after shipment. Drop/Home Delivery allows for more convenience for consumers, and can potentially drive check averages. Consumers can conveniently shop without having to worry about transporting in-store purchases home through methods of “pick up later” or “home delivery.” App and loyalty integration is an aspect of business that is becoming trendier, and expected by consumers. In both online, in-store purchases customers should receive loyalty points, have personalized product recommendations, and promotional information. This integration can retain customers, and build traffic.

Retail Owners and companies have now shifted their focus on how they can combine the best of online and in-store distribution methods to deliver the best possible customer experience.

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