It seems to me that having a store, especially in a mall or downtown area gives a brand a leg up in terms of sales. A storefront in-and-of-itself is a billboard. It's "free marketing". But what if you don't have a store in an area, but you still want ecommerce sales? What's the best way to approach these places?

Let's look at an example. With the plus-sized market finally catching up to demand, specialty retail outlets like Lane Bryant seem perfectly positioned to cash in on this trend of fashionable clothing for plus sized women.

As I look at their store distribution, I can see how well situated they are across many cities:



But I'm curious about the way the company approaches some of the midwestern areas, where they don't have physical stores but where their target market potentially lives. What is their strategy in terms of driving the most optimal volume of ecommerce sales? How do they balance marketing reach with business profits?

Do they target certain high value areas with relevant messaging, or do they run media across entire DMAs without regard to their customer segment?

As competition from major department stores heats up Lane Bryant – and others for that matter- would do well to consider the more profitable approach to marketing in those store-less areas.