Something’s wrong when your store feels more like a parked car waiting for a ride than a business ready to conquer the market. What are you doing: selling, or just waiting for the doorbell to ring?

You know that rideshare driver who parks in a strategic spot and just waits, hoping the next trip pops up? Many stores are doing exactly that. They’re “online,” open, at the point… but not selling. They’re waiting for the customer to show up with a clear purchase in mind, card in hand, and everything figured out. That’s the Uber logic. But is that the right logic for your business?

The problem is that this “uberized” model of selling — being available, responding when called, hoping to be chosen — doesn’t work anymore in a world where the customer has every option in the palm of their hand. Your competitor isn’t next door anymore: it’s in your customer’s pocket, in the form of an app.

While you’re waiting for the client to walk in, Shein already knows what they want before they do. Amazon has already shipped the product to a nearby distribution center. And Temu? Temu already slashed the price and threw a blinking coupon in their face. That’s not passive selling — that’s aggressive execution with technology, data, and scale.

Since the pandemic, what used to be an exception has become the norm: consumers no longer go to stores out of habit — they go with a purpose. And that purpose can’t just be “to buy.” Buying happens from the couch. What they expect from you is connection, provocation, experience. And you don’t deliver that standing behind a counter waiting for Instagram’s algorithm to work miracles.

If your team only knows how to serve, but not to sell, then you don’t have salespeople — you have receptionists. And let’s be honest: the future is brutal to those who only serve. Customer relationships aren’t about fancy CRMs or WhatsApp promos. They’re about building an active client base, a network of promoters — people who come back because they feel it’s worth it.

So, answer honestly: is your store selling, or just waiting for the next ride?