Online retailer Zappos is adding a traditional touch for the holidays with the opening of its first pop-up shop in Las Vegas. The brick-and- mortar experience is meant, in part, to send a message to consumers, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh told CNBC Monday.
"People know Zappos for shoes but most of the store is actually allocated for clothing and part of the reason for doing it is to really get out the message that we sell a ton of clothing. That's actually one of the fastest growing areas within the company," Hsieh said in an interview with "Closing Bell."
The part store, part showroom, launched in partnership with Order With Me, takes up 20,000 square feet and comprises 16 different rooms. It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the end of the year.
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"We've always been into focusing on customer emotion and as much as technology as developed, nothing really replaces the actual experience of being able to touch an item," Hsieh said. "That's something they can do here and see what it looks like matching with other, different items."
Customers can order from their mobile devices or kiosks throughout the store.
As to whether the Zappos in-store experience will be similar to any brick-and-mortar location set up by its parent company Amazon, Hsieh said he doesn't know much about that since Zappos is run independently.
"What we are doing, I think, is probably unique to Zappos," he said.
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Order With Me CEO Jonathan Jenkins called it the "retail concept of the future."
"It's very interesting landscape in retail. A lot of the brick and mortars are bringing technology into their stores and a lot of the online brands are going brick and mortar," he noted.
