21st-century technology has completely revolutionized the way we find and consume information. Whether you are looking for your next favorite book or scholarly articles to research, the internet can be your best resource. 
   How is in-person shopping being affected by online shopping? How is the role of the physical store evolving to adapt to new circumstances? Are Internet and digital technologies changing the multichannel fashion shopping experience? By asking these research questions, one is analyzing the effects and influences that technology has on shopping and consumer behaviour— and how it has impacted both e-commerce platforms and in-person shopping. To me, analyzing how the fashion environment has changed so much throughout time is extremely interesting, especially because the fashion industry has historically been stagnant. Luxury fashion houses have always been the ones to “set the stage” and influence smaller designers, Paris fashion week is always like our Super Bowl, and Conde’ Nast is the media powerhouse that guides it all. 
   Recently, technological advances like the ease of online shopping, social media, and apps have completely shifted the fashion environment: more and more retailers have moved into this channel looking for greater profitability. However, because of the difficulty of translating the in-store experience to online, the fashion industry has been slower than other sectors to adopt e-commerce. In an increasingly competitive retail environment, fashion leaders must find new ways to connect with their consumers. To bridge the gap between the channels, technologies, such as augmented realities, have been used to greatly improve the online shopping experience, to the extent that the Internet has shifted technology’s role in fashion retail. 
   As I browse the many different sources that I have encountered while aiming to answer my research questions, I have come to appreciate a peer-reviewed journal article written by Marta Blazquez: “Fashion Shopping in Multichannel Retail: The Role of Technology in Enhancing the Customer Experience.” As this piece focuses on multichannel fashion-shopping experiences, the role of integrated technology, and the crossover effects between channels, it helps me get more insight into my research questions. 
    Blázquez mentions how even though technology has greatly advanced e-commerce in these recent years, traditional and in-person shopping’s future still looks very optimistic. In her analysis, Blázquez shows that shopping, more specifically clothing shopping, is a high-involvement task; in order to evaluate if one is going to buy a product people need to see, feel, touch, and try it on. Based on this, IT experts have experimented with different technologies, redefining the online shopping experience. For example, companies have created click-and-collect services like virtual and interactive fitting rooms. As for brick and mortar stores, companies should focus on the in-store experience for “atmospherics have a direct effect on the customer experience”.
   Blazquez further illustrates how many people think that technology and online shopping is slowing down in-person shopping; however, it is actually the other way around. With technology, companies can “create an attractive environment, making the shopping experience engaging and memorable [...] consumers look for entertainment when buying clothing (...) the in-store experience should provide a fun environment that makes shopping a pleasurable experience, and it seems that technology could contribute to that.” 
   This is valuable because Blázquez provides supporting information through a quantitative survey that asked respondents to compare their experiences shopping online or shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. Consumers’ primary way of shopping, hedonic and utilitarian motivations and familiarity were measured through this survey. It is explained how “shopping value” encompasses both. Hedonic value is the one created from the multi-sensory and emotive aspects of the fashion experience, while utilitarian shopping value is more task-oriented— it is considered to be linked to the cognitive and non-emotional outcomes of shopping. 
Results demonstrated how both online and in-person shoppers turn towards the creation of utilitarian fashion value. For online shopping, results were expected, as utilitarian value is traditionally associated with online shopping because of its functional nature. For in-person shopping, the result was surprising as hedonic elements are crucial for in-store fashion experiences to be enjoyable. In addition, the survey revealed how 55.8% preferred brick-and-mortar stores, while 57.9% preferred using the Internet— one reservation I have about this survey is that it was conducted in 2014, and a lot has changed in seven years. I wonder if these percentages have changed as well. Nevertheless, as the study respondent sample included both genders and a wide age range, this research provides a broad and complete understanding of the multichannel fashion shopping experience.
   Furthermore, Blázquez  dives into how the store experience should be reinvented and most importantly, emphasizes  how “technology must not be an end, but a medium to enhance high-quality customer experience.”  I find value in this quote because many people nowadays assume that technology is the end to brick and mortar stores, so it is enlightening to see how it can actually be what saves in-person shopping. 
   This artifact was one of the most informative and relevant ones that I encountered as it directly focuses on the role of technology in modern-day shopping and it gives a clear example of how contrary to what many people may think, and how customers still look at shopping as an experience they want to enjoy. In addition, this artifact provides useful data that shows that the average length of time that consumers spend shopping in stores has decreased— Blázquez explains how e-commerce is directly responsible for this. 
   Overall, one of the most useful insights that Blázquez provides is that technology has enabled the integration of channels, giving a new relevance and purpose to brick-and-mortar stores. Thus, the one thing that I appreciate the most from this source is how Blázquez synthesizes that technology must not be an end, but a medium to enhance high-quality customer experience, not only in fashion but in any industry. I appreciate this for my research synthesis as in order to assess if technology has “killed” brick and mortar stores, one has to first look at the positive impact it has had on a greater scale.