As e-commerce continues to rout retailers, Staples recently found one way to fight back—its co-working partnership with Workbar. Is this the answer to the retail glut?

The partnership will utilize excess space in three Boston-area stores and automatically enroll the co-workers in Staples’ “Premier Level” rewards program, giving them a reason to buy Staples products. And convenience couldn’t be better—the store is basically in their office.

While the retailer’s plan uniquely solves two huge problems—what to do with extra space and how to increase foot traffic—some experts question its scalability, Retail Dive reports.

Jason Goldberg, an exec at the digital agency Razorfish, says the stores where Staples has too much space are mostly in the suburbs, while people in need of a remote office are usually in cities. But others think expanding co-working to the suburbs is just the natural extension of a successful idea, and could even be the future of retail. [RetailDive]