Chances are when you order that formal shirt online, it will be sent to you from a store nearby. Not from a warehouse or a dark store meant exclusively to stock products for online deliveries. This isn’t an easy switch but has become a necessary one.

It’s estimated that one out of every four online orders in fashion is being shipped by physical retail shops, a big shift from early last year when brands kept their online and retail businesses at arms length.

Brands including Arvind Fashions, Bata, Levis, Chumbak, Tommy Hilfiger, GAP, Wildcraft and Crocs are now delivering online orders also from their retail stores. With brands integrating their inventory to ensure faster delivery, online marketplaces too are building omnichannel capabilities.