“Software eats retail.” For any brick-and-mortar company, this absolutist prediction from mega venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Marc Andreessen, is far from new. The footsteps from the likes of e-tailers such as Amazon, Zappos, and Bonobos have long been audible, threatening to put an end to in-person retail as we know it — as Andreessen suggests.
But is he right?
Though the “e” in e-commerce could just as likely stand for “easier....