I know we talked about this recently, about Retail Brick & Mortar being on the decline. I was remined about this again today, calling four big box retailers, and except for a computer, no-one ever picked up the phone. Just to make sure I tried every department and option for all four of these stores, since I had a long drive and after giving up mentally, it morphed into an experiment. The results: I never got a human being to answer the phone, for all options, in all cases. Here they are, the bums who don't bother to answer their phones these days: Home Depot, Walmart 1, Walmart 2, and Wallgreens drug store. Hmmm, it's getting bad gents.

I get it. Labor harder to come by for low money, larger percentage of people becoming lazy these days, the politization of the workplace with prgressive woke bullshit, whatever's left over with any covid bullshit, the intense competition for retail dollars with on-line shopping and purchasing, and whatever else there is, yadda yadda. For myself I still like shopping at brick and mortar, particularly more specialty or smaller stores, who still staff their space with quality people.

So for those big box retailers that don't think it's profitable to answer their phones, or if they do, the unpredictability of talking to anyone who cares and/or knows anything, it makes me wonder. How long before Retail Brick & Mortar ever makes a comeback ? I'm not one of those people who look at stuff in the flesh then buy it on Amazon, I buy it in the store if the price is not unreasonable, it's just a common sense contract for me, and extremely handy if you need or want it now.

So what do you guys think about the future of brick and mortar retail, for the near term, and in the longer term ? I vote for it, it needs to stay, and prosper, however that may be possible.

While I agree that there are some folks who will pay a higher price for service, the brick-and-mortar store still would be challenged for wide selection of products.

My hope is niche markets will be able to do well with a brick-and-mortar setup, but the business owner will have an uphill battle.

But I see this in the long term not short term since folks will have to get feed up with the big box places for them to change buying habits and just being lazy with online buying.

I can see a scenario where both still exist.

Actually, I see a missed opportunity by Wal-Mart to become a regional Amazon with same day shipping and online orders only.

Brick and mortar stores will exist, it's just the price-point delineates that line of where we shop where. I live in an area where we have dedicated clothing store, and dedicated shoe store... I don't need a one-stop-does-it-all mega store. I do pay for that service though, and an lucky enough to be able to do so

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Originally posted by Gibb:
Actually, I see a missed opportunity by Wal-Mart to become a regional Amazon with same day shipping

Walmart does have that in a number of areas.

quote:

and online orders only

Walmart has considered the idea of what's basically like a Walmart store/warehouse from which local customers could do same day shipping or curbside pickup, but which didn't allow for shopping inside. But so far, it hasn't been implemented for testing.

Career retailer here. I started in retail when I was 14 and I'm now 64

Retail for all practical purposes is dead. There will be survivors, high end specialty stores and stores that are selling immediate need for the product over price. Outside of that, there is no future in bricks and mortar retail

Based on the number of Yoopers in the parking lot of the MQT Wal-Mart, it aint ded yet!

My local hobby shop went out of business. I tried to give them my business but they just
could not compete with online stores. I go to Ace hardware probably once a week , I hate
Home Depot and Lowes. Please take your business to mom and pop stores. They are so friendly.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out. If local retail dies, then it will take out all of the other local business which supports it and the entire wage/tax base.

How's that going to work when nobody has a job?

Two things that are killing it or making it change:

1. Technology ~ the obvious effect of online shopping - a lot of benefit but unfortunately it eliminates the need for many brick and mortar stores.

2. The minimum wage increases - when you take young people out of the equation you kill the work ethic and of course any entry level skills they may acquire. The minimum wage has become a political football that just props up underachieving, uneducated, untalented, inexperienced and turned them into a lazy entitled class.

Nobody seems to mention healthcare. When I was a kid in a large metro area the family doc made house calls. With Private Equity entering healthcare you have penny pinching bureaucrats running the show. If it gets too bad the Feds get involved. Kool smiles that capitalized on kids with Medicaid is a good example. A six year old with a mouthful of root canals died from too much anesthesia. That got some reporting.

LINK https://www.dentistrytoday.com...ames-of-its-clinics/

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1. Technology ~ the obvious effect of online shopping - a lot of benefit but unfortunately it eliminates the need for many brick and mortar stores.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
USPS office is closed today. No internet so cannot do business. Really???

Any store with physical inventory will be at a premium price. Amazon and its duplicates will strangle everyone.

News stories today speak of store closures due to looting / stealing. If we all move to Amazon delivery, as these stores choose to close, the stealing will simply move to our homes. We willing response create package pickup locations in all neighborhoods with biometric keys for each bin, to combat the porch pirates.

Gilligan's Island will be viewed as a paradise and we will all wish to live there, where we know everyone and all work together to survive. Those who live in the big cities and densely populated urban areas will be disadvantaged by robberies.

Just watched a news report on the organized theft rings hitting retailers hard. They are not even trying to be discreet. They run in and take all they can carry and run out.
They know the employees are told not to interfere. I can't see how stores will stay open in these areas. California has laws that you can steal up to $700 and it's not even a crime.

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
Career retailer here. I started in retail when I was 14 and I'm now 64

Retail for all practical purposes is dead. There will be survivors, high end specialty stores and stores that are selling immediate need for the product over price. Outside of that, there is no future in bricks and mortar retail

No future as in: 1) the way it has been during your career and before, or 2) the way it could be into the future ?

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
Career retailer here. I started in retail when I was 14 and I'm now 64

Retail for all practical purposes is dead. There will be survivors, high end specialty stores and stores that are selling immediate need for the product over price. Outside of that, there is no future in bricks and mortar retail

No future as in: 1) the way it has been during your career and before, or 2) the way it could be into the future ?

Currently and into the future. My store will close at my retirement somewhere in the next five and a half years. Local feed store just closed up because he could not find anyone who wanted to work that hard after paying for mostly Blue Sky.

Decent hardware stores will remain but they will have to be open long hours and 7 days a week. And they won't get big projects. It will boil down to if you want something right now as in you are currently working on it or using it and if you can't wait 24-48 hours for delivery.

I was in a mall last week, not because I wanted to be there but it was the only place to get what I needed. 3 weeks to Christmas and you could have fired a cannon in the mall and had no risk of hitting anyone. Anchor stores had employees outnumbering customers. Small stores were virtually empty.

When all retail closes, what will you do with your cash ?

A) Yes, it’s dead, until regional manufacturing catches up, I think.

Right now, transportation costs are a significant, if not the dominant part of the cost of goods. Maybe taxes are a larger part.

B) Landlords went insane in 2008, and grossly overpaid for commercial. They still want idiotic rents. As they go bankrupt, and the dollar devalues, rents will get more affordable which will let “interesting” places survive.

I think the future of it is like Vienna - lots of little specialty shops, paying modest rent - and quite possibly doing most of their business online.

Or, be damned to the hell of Chinese knockoffs and mega Corp products which is Amazon and Walmart.

Malls are still around but they have evolved into online.
That's really what sites like Amazon are now. Online shopping malls.
Some products will be harder to sell online like groceries but I suspect even those will change towards online orders followed by pickup and inn some places, delivery.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
Career retailer here. I started in retail when I was 14 and I'm now 64

Retail for all practical purposes is dead. There will be survivors, high end specialty stores and stores that are selling immediate need for the product over price. Outside of that, there is no future in bricks and mortar retail

No future as in: 1) the way it has been during your career and before, or 2) the way it could be into the future ?

I think Appliance Brad 's generalization is wrong.

Except the way it is implemented, the type of products and perhaps some service aspect.

Since a retail store is not the singular source of obtaining goods much like ABC,NBC,CBS is not the only source of news today.

They must adapt.
Offering products both are shippable and some that are not.
Shippable products through an online presence and not-so-shippable that are picked up due to size, weight or a service required.
Of course some products due to technology can be obsoleted ... that you can't do anything about.

Again since the entitlement crowd has done away with younger workers gaining experience and work ethic - that will make staffing an issue.