Moo.com store lures London creatives

Is the internet really killing off high street retail? Here's an example of traffic going in the other direction...

Moo.com's made a name for itself as the cool face of online business cards for creative professionals, start-ups and web entrepreneurs. Now the ecommerce company, which printed 90 million business cards last year, is opening up its first bricks and mortar shop in London's trendy 'Tech City' area of Shoreditch.

At the store, which opens today in the Boxpark shopping mall, visitors can compare products and paper stocks and even customise their own designs with embossing, as well as purchase Moo.com vouchers and accessories.

London-based customers can also create their designs online and then collect them in-store - saving money on post and packaging.

Founder of Moo Richard Moross explains: "Personal branding and beautiful design is so important to our customers that we wanted them to be able to actually touch and experience it. The Moo Shop is the perfect way for them to interact with our products and experience first-hand what they see online."

As well as opening as a shop by day, Moo.com aims to use the premises in the evening as a creative hub - hosting events for creative professionals, start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers that aim to encourage and share experiences on a range of topics, from design to funding.

The first session will be with Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation on 6 March. A list of forthcoming events can be found on the store's website.

• Don't miss our designer's guide to London!

Liked this? Read these!

• Great examples of doodle art
• Free tattoo fonts for designers
• Free Photoshop actions to create stunning effects

Do you know of a great example of an online business moving offline? Let us know about it in the comments.