Att det har blivit en ökad digitalisering i handeln de senaste 10 åren är ingen hemlighet. Internet har skapat möjligheter som tidigare inte funnits och att handla elektroniskt har blivit en stor företeelse på marknaden. Elektronisk handel, med andra ord e-handel, har ökat kraftigt de senaste åren och förutspås även att bli ännu större i framtiden. Digitaliseringen har gjort att människor har fått nya beteenden och att konkurrensen på detaljhandelsmarknaden har förändrats. Med både förändrat beteende och en annorlunda konkurrens påstås det att detaljhandeln är inne i ett skifte nu, ett skifte som förändrar branschen och med stor sannolikhet påverkar de fysiska butikerna på marknaden. E-handel har gjort det möjligt för minskade sökkostnader och priser, lägre distributionskostnader och att avstånd blir möjliga att sudda ut. Samtidigt har kunder efterfrågat smidiga och enkla affärer vilket har gjort att e-handel har vunnit allt fler kunder.  Syftet med denna uppsats är att se om det blir någon inverkan på de fysiska butikerna inom detaljhandeln när det gäller försäljning, antal sysselsatta och antal arbetsställen när användningen av e-handel ökar i Sverige. Studien baseras på en kvantitativ metod där tidigare studier samt regressionsanalyser utgör grunden. Regressionsanalysen genomförs på data inhämtad från myndigheter samt organisationer och de tre beroende variablerna är omsättning per person i fysiska butiker, antalet sysselsatta i fysiska butiker samt antalet arbetsställen inom detaljhandeln. Resultaten som skattas tyder på att det finns en trend som visar att när e-handelsanvändning ökar så minskar försäljning per person i de fysiska butikerna, det går dock inte att säga att e-handelsanvändningen är det som påverkar försäljningen. Resultatet tyder även på att det inte med säkerhet går att säga att antalet sysselsatta eller arbetsställen kommer påverkas av en ökad e-handelsanvändning i Sverige. / That a digitization has taken place in the retail industry in the last 10 years isn’t a secret. The internet has created new opportunities and electronic commerce has been a large-sized phenomenon on the retail market. Electronic commerce, in other words the e-commerce, has increased sharply in recent years and is predicted to grow even bigger in the future. Digitization has created new behaviors among consumers and new competitive situations on the retail market. With both new behaviors and new competitive situation, the retail industry is changing and with great probability also the brick-and-mortar stores will be affected by it. E-commerce has made it possible to reduce search costs and prices, to have lower distribution costs and make it possible to overcome distance. At the same time, the consumers demand smooth and simple business, which has made e-commerce use even stronger among the customers.  The purpose of this thesis is to see if the brick-and-mortar stores sales, employment or number of workplaces are affected by an increase in the use of e-commerce in Sweden. The study is based on a quantitative method with previous studies and regression analysis as the foundation of the study. The regression analysis is performed with data from retail organizations and the dependent variables in the regression is revenue per capita in brick-and-mortar stores, employment and number of workplaces. The results of the study indicate a trend in the retail market where the revenue per capita decrease in brick-and-mortar stores while the e-commerce use increase, however it cannot be claimed that e-commerce affects the sale in brick-and-mortar stores. The results also indicate that it is not possible to conclude that e-commerce use will affect the number employed or number of workplaces in Sweden.

Background: The retail industry is highly affected by the changes in the world. With the disruptive force of digitalization, more and more of the transactions within retail is moved online as the e- commerce has expanded making the retail industry more competitive. This change has and is forcing many offline retailers to close business around the world but in this change, has new trends emerged. Both online and offline retailers are starting to see the value of having physical stores as well as having an online presence. Doing so creates opportunities for both e-commerce companies and physical retail stores to create value using multiple channels. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out how an independent fashion brick and mortar store can create value for consumers through multiple channels to gain a competitive advantage against pure online retailers and larger retail companies. Method: This topic will be studied with a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with customers in demographic 18-30 years old with the goal of understanding how customers purchase clothes in different channels to create insights for independent brick and mortar stores. The data were analyzed with the seven steps of Grounded Theory. Conclusion: The results of the research show that independent brick and mortar store have competitive advantages regarding personal service, products, and product assessment. However, many customers want to search for information and inspiration about products online before they shop, even if the actual purchase is made in a store which means that independent brick and mortar stores need to have their products online for that. It was also found that customers want more flexibility between channels. For example, purchase online and pick-up in store. The authors believe that with this changes, independent brick and mortar stores can compete in the 21st century while still maintaining their current advantages.