quote:

What was once a very social experience is now totally devoid of any social interactions

Trying hard to remember a pleasant “social interaction” at Blockbuster.

I live 150 miles round trip from the nearest crappy Walmart. The 4500 people living in Jerkwater are pretty happy with Amazon, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Anyday now, Western Auto will be history...

Several years ago I had a business trip to Kansas City. Getting photos of their former headquarters building (the sign was still up) was one of my must do-list items. Their store in my hometown is still standing, but it's a cheap furniture place now.

Western Auto was THE place to buy a bicycle as a child in my little BFE town.

Not really an Apocalypse but just an evolution of business and technology.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
I really miss buying from a store instead of on-line. Odds of getting the right product improve greatly when you can put hands on it before the purchase, and avoid having to return-exchange over a week or more to get it right.

+1

I have three times in the past two weeks returned items I bought online because they just flat out didn't work. I got so tired of this, I've decided I no longer want or need said items.

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/re...uptcy-stores-closing


"Parent company L Brands announced in late February that it would shutter 53 Victoria's Secret store locations amid sagging sales, after closing 30 stores in 2018"


Pun intended?

Sales won't be the only thing sagging after all of those stores are closed

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Oh how I fondly remember walking the aisles at Blockbuster with my son when he was a toddler looking for movie we could watch. Renting the movie was only a small piece of the experience. Online shopping has improved a great many things, but unfortunately, it's also killed off all of the experience of loading up the kids and going to the store to pick something out, followed by a lunch of dinner out. What was once a very social experience is now totally devoid of any social interactions.

13-year old grandson needed a pair of hi-gloss corfam dress shoes. No problem, a quick after-school trip to Shoe Show 15 minutes away. They didn't have his size, but the Concord store 35 miles away did. I asked him what do you want to do - he said let's go for it. We went, got the shoes, and stopped for, eh hem, pizza on the way back, and even stopped at Walmart. Pretty much killed his evening of gaming but all-in-all a good time and he didn't complain.

So many retail stores are not profitable compared to online stores due in part to the theft they experience. I conducted organized retail theft investigations for a very long time and got harsher laws passed in Texas. Leaders of a group can make $500K per year doing barely anything, and the people who steal can make $100K per year.

Brick and mortar stores are having less sales due to online stores. They then try to make up their profit margin by reducing the number of employees. Payroll is the number one controllable expense. Less employees makes it easy for organized theft groups to rape a store.

These thieves can steal $30K per store within an hour and they may hit 10 stores in a day. Take Victoria Secret for example. Each of those panties are EXPENSIVE and there are a ton of panties on one table. It takes seconds to swipe all of the panties into a bag and leave the store. They then sell stolen product for 30 cents on the dollar.

Of course online retailers deal with theft and fraud, but nothing close to a brick and mortar store. I am not saying this is THE reason stores are failing, but it is a big reason.

It is sad to see some classics failing like a Sears, JcPenney, etc. I personally shop online mostly for the convenience and the fact I hate going into stores, but sometimes it is nice to see and feel the item.

Buying online is great until it ain't. What's gonna happen when there are no more brick and mortar stores to go to touch or try on for size (like shoes) first at.

quote:

Originally posted by sgalczyn:
... Victoria's Secret ... amid sagging sales...

Aging market demographic?



.

The reality of "The Matrix" is coming very quickly. - You heard it here first.

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
Buying online is great until it ain't. What's gonna happen when there are no more brick and mortar stores to go to touch or try on for size (like shoes) first at.

These days its very easy, and usually free to return items. Amazon now has brick and mortar locations just for that purpose.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

quote:

What was once a very social experience is now totally devoid of any social interactions

Trying hard to remember a pleasant “social interaction” at Blockbuster.

I live 150 miles round trip from the nearest crappy Walmart. The 4500 people living in Jerkwater are pretty happy with Amazon, etc.

I loved going movie shopping with my husband back in the day. It was a social experience and we enjoyed browsing the titles and laughing about what we found.

I live in central Florida south west of Disney World.
When we moved here in 1999 there was almost nothing retail near where we live.
In the last few years we have seen an explosion of new retail stores opening.
On the main highway near where I live they are building the second part of a large outdoor shopping plaza. They are also building more and more strip malls near where I live.
The traffic in the area has become a nightmare and will get worse when the new stores open.
We are seeing a lot more tourist in our area shopping so maybe the stores are counting on them to help keep them in business.
With all that said we live 5 miles from a major Amazon distribution center.
We will see how many stores make it.

In my area there is no lack of retail....they are building new strip malls/stores as I write this.

Retail is still good for things I need right now but otherwise online is easier and less stress.

Shoes can be a bit tricky, that is why I stay with a couple brands and like with Allen Edmunds keep note of the last that fits well...

I needed a home repair product. I checked Home Depot. The closest store that had it in stock was over a hour drive. I checked Amazon, they had the product for less money and delivered it in two days.

I needed some over the counter medication. My local pharmacies had it in small quantities but not the formulation I was looking for. I checked Amazon, they had it in 80 tablet bottles in the exact formulation I wanted, and delivered it in one day, for less money than the local pharmacies charged.

I could go on, but you get the point.

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
Buying online is great until it ain't. What's gonna happen when there are no more brick and mortar stores to go to touch or try on for size (like shoes) first at.

More brick and mortar stores will suddenly appear? I'm thinking the free market will handle this.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:

quote:

Originally posted by mikeyspizza:
Buying online is great until it ain't. What's gonna happen when there are no more brick and mortar stores to go to touch or try on for size (like shoes) first at.

More brick and mortar stores will suddenly appear? I'm thinking the free market will handle this.

I'm a big free market guy, but I think your comment is I'll conceived. We don't live in a true free market economy anymore. The Amazons of the world don't operate under true free market conditions any longer because they've been granted so many exceptions and tax breaks by government that virtually no one can challenge them any longer. And that paradigm is only getting worse. Google leaps to mind. At one point in this country's history monopolies were seen as a threat to consumers and the marketplace, but thanks to corrupt politicians and government at all levels, it appears to be the new normal.

A good question for everyone to ponder is... What happens when Amazon is the only game in town when it comes to getting what we want? What would stop them from charging insane prices when there are no other options available to consumers?

Quote originally posted by bigdeal
A good question for everyone to ponder is... What happens when Amazon is the only game in town when it comes to getting what we want? What would stop them from charging insane prices when there are no other options available to consumers?[/QUOTE]

This is what I used to say about Walmart for retail and Home Depot for building supply's years ago. The question is how much longer can the little guy hang on for. I think some day the era of the small mom and pop store may come back depending on what they sell.

They will come back someday.