I'm surprised Warby Parker isn't mentioned at all in this article. Isn't their whole business model built on tackling this market?
are these numbers public? source?
"...the company is still averaging about $3,000 per square foot of retail space, a figure that’s in the same breath as Tiffany’s estimated $3,043 ... stores are not profit centers as much as marketing collateral, giant advertisements for Warby Parker’s website. “They’re synergistic,” he says, noting that 85% of Warby retail buyers have already browsed online."
If Google opened up a retail shop I'm sure their profit per square foot will be quite high....