American shoppers will buy almost anything online. But when it comes to household mainstays, from razors to tampons, the old-fashioned store still beckons.
That reality is hitting some of the world’s biggest consumer-products companies, which collectively have invested billions of dollars in startups in recent years that sold directly to consumers. Meanwhile, upstart brands are finding they must move into stores to compete outside of niche territory—for at least two reasons, executives and analysts say. Big retailers can give brands critical visibility, and consumers generally prefer buying household staples in a single shopping trip to enrolling in many subscription services.