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How Amazon's growth causes retailers to close stores
Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 05/08/2016 | by Suzette Parmley,

Posted on 05/08/2016 7:03:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

vAmazon giveth, and Amazon taketh.

The giant internet retailer said on April 27 that it will create 2,000 full-time jobs by opening two more fulfillment centers in New Jersey.

One will be a 600,000-square-foot facility in Florence, Burlington County, generating 500 new jobs.

The other will be an 800,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Carteret, Middlesex County, that will generate about 1,500 jobs.

Together, the two facilities will bring Amazon's total physical footprint in the Garden State to 2.5 million square feet of space, if you count three existing centers.

The irony is that Amazon made the announcement the day after a news report that retailers were prepping to lay off 37,000 workers this year, due largely to the shuttering of brick-and-mortar stores.

The 37,000 is the most in one year since the 2008 recession - and more than double the number of layoffs in 2015.

Online shopping is the cause, led by Amazon.com.

E-commerce sales nationally - which included catalog sales - were up 14.6 percent in 2015 from the previous year, while retail sales for physical stores rose by a fraction of that - just 1.4 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Moody's senior retail analyst Charles O'Shea said: "We expect more square footage reductions going forward as online sales are growing faster than brick-and-mortar for virtually all non-food retailers."

Some observers say the retail layoffs signify the industry's realignment.

Surely, some of those losing their jobs in "real stores" will be hired to do something else, such as filling carts with online orders at an Amazon fulfillment center versus restocking shelves.

Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations, said the new Carteret facility "will offer wages 30 percent higher than traditional retail stores and include benefits, bonuses, and stock options."

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: amazon; competition; helpwanted; retail; retailers
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To: I am Richard Brandon
I bought car parts on Amazon - not available at the main dealer.

I do too...but always cross shop eBay. I'm finding more often Amazon is trending upward in price.

41 posted on 05/08/2016 8:40:59 AM PDT by nascarnation
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To: HonkyTonkMan

Well I didn’t know much about the ownership of Best Buy but I know all too well the names of the “1 percenter” hypoctrites who own Amazon and Facebook and the all too public use of their money against me.


42 posted on 05/08/2016 8:53:57 AM PDT by curth
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To: CodeToad

I buy certain items on ebay for the same reason. And most of the sellers ship really fast now.


43 posted on 05/08/2016 8:54:56 AM PDT by sheana
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To: SeekAndFind

I have been re-building my truck and a couple times now, made an effort to use somebody locally instead of buying online.

I talked to 3 or 4 driveshaft shops here locally to have a short driveshaft made up, nobody would do it for less than $325. I did a little research on the internet, bought 2 pieces off amazon that fit together to make a 8” long driveshaft for $34 shipped to my door. Granted, I think somebody made a mistake, because if I were to reorder the same thing now, it would be about $150, but still less than half price.

Then when it came to Paint, I tried some local shops and best I could do was going to be $100 for a quart of primer or $160 to buy a gallon... paint was $400 and up depending on brand, I got a half gallon of epoxy primer and a gallon of paint from eastwood.com for $160 shipped to my door.

Because of Amazon’s fee’s it was a little more to make the same paint order from Amazon, so unless you are buying something from Amazon, I would recommend going up the line to the website of whoever Amazon is selling it for...


44 posted on 05/08/2016 8:59:15 AM PDT by AzNASCARfan
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To: I am Richard Brandon

I have a Jag that has wheel badges. Every once in awhile they will come off and I guess roll down the road somewhere. I used to have to go to the dealer to replace them at $75 each. I found them on ebay for $5 each free shipping. I bought 4.


45 posted on 05/08/2016 8:59:37 AM PDT by sheana
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To: SeekAndFind

I ordered a camera from Canon last Sunday. Free shipping
Expected it one day next week. Came Wed.


46 posted on 05/08/2016 9:05:51 AM PDT by Vinnie
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To: I am Richard Brandon

I never thought I’d buy groceries on Amazon, but I have now, and paid double what I would have at the store. Wal-Mart, in my experience, carries a thin inventory running out of items frequently. The effect of that is that I carry a two or three week’s supply to avoid getting caught short. After three weeks of them being out of canned Ranch Style Beans with Jalapenos and Publix not carrying the item at all, I was surprised to see the beans available at Amazon, although the price was double. I bought all Amazon had (four six-packs of cans). Wal-Mart still hasn’t restocked.


47 posted on 05/08/2016 9:07:35 AM PDT by sparklite2 ( "The white man is the Jew of Liberal Fascism." -Jonah Goldberg)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m a big user of Amazon. I’ve got several orders in process/shipment right now. I do it because I can almost always find what I want.

I used to have a policy of making one attempt (usually most of a day) trying to find x at brick and mortar stores before going online. I’ve pretty much given up on that because my success rate was so low and it just pissed me off.


48 posted on 05/08/2016 9:13:21 AM PDT by PLMerite (Compromise is Surrender: The Revolution...will not be kind.)
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To: sparklite2

Same type of situation for my cat food but Amazon was actually cheaper.


49 posted on 05/08/2016 9:21:57 AM PDT by I am Richard Brandon
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To: SeekAndFind

I found out there was a Dollar Tree close by and I bought 5 Pairs of Cheap Sunglasses. I have a habit of dropping them.

Couldn’t find the same deal on Amazon.

I’m taking ZZ Top’s advice.


50 posted on 05/08/2016 9:22:53 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Hillary Clinton has killed four more People than Three Mile Island.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The prospect of retail dying off and just a few online players with massive warehouses scattered across the country should be a little alarming to people. It’s very centralized and very dependent upon the supply chain. Yes it’s cheaper but for how long? If there’s little or no competition, there’s little reason to remain cheap. Warehouse work will be one of the first areas to be heavily impacted by robotics, so there goes another huge swath of employment.


51 posted on 05/08/2016 9:27:41 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: SeekAndFind

Yet, Bezos is a darling of the left and Wal Mart is detested. The lack of logic in this damn country is downright disgusting.


52 posted on 05/08/2016 9:34:33 AM PDT by RobertClark (My shrink just killed himself - he blamed me in his note!)
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To: SeekAndFind

I received a $50.00 Amazon GC as one of my Mother’s Day gifts.

I’m delighted since I’ve been shopping at Amazon for about 3 years.

A wonderful shopping experience.

.


53 posted on 05/08/2016 9:38:57 AM PDT by Mears
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To: Fiji Hill

The only bookplaces that’ll survive will be coffeehouses that happens to sell books.


54 posted on 05/08/2016 9:50:05 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MNnice
When I suggested this was going to happen a few years ago people laughed.

Same here but I've been saying it since the late 1990s. I started buying books and compact discs from Amazon practically since they were founded around 1994-1995. Now I get pretty much everything from them, even ridiculously small purchases. For example I needed a new set of screws and washers to repair an appliance and while I was at it, I purchased a dog lease and a container of motor oil for my lawn mower. It's so much easier than going to a big-box PetSmart or Home Depot and hassle with the traffic, finding a parking space and waiting in line, etc.

The retail experience is such a hassle. Minimum wage employees who really don't know what they are doing most of the time. Finding the item you need out of stock. Having the cashier spend ten minutes on each transaction.

I went to Kohl's not too long ago because I spilled something on my tie and had to get another one for a client meeting later that day. What a horrible experience. I grabbed a tie and then had to wait in line for 10 minutes because only two of ten registers were open. When I got to the front, I had to endure the spiel about how I would save 10 per cent on my purchase if I applied for one of their credit cards and then was practically scolded for "not wanting to save money" by applying for one. I don't want a Kohl's credit card! I just want to grab my tie and go. But it wasn't that easy. The cashier was typing and typing and typing on the POS terminal and when all was said and done, I ended up getting about two feet of receipt tape handed to me. Then when I tried to leave, the security alarm went off and I had to wait for somebody to come over and validate that I just paid for what I had bought.

That's just one example of the retail experience today.

55 posted on 05/08/2016 9:50:41 AM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: rbg81

Many of the “local businesses”, including chains here don’t deserve to exist. Many of them sell garbage at criminal, usurious prices. Why? Because they can. My butt hurts every time I leave a Lowe’s. This is why I plan ahead and mail order when possible. Am I missing out on “customer service”? Give me a break.

When they sell quality items at reasonable prices again and or have better training for their employees, I’ll give them another try.


56 posted on 05/08/2016 10:30:08 AM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day".)
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To: SamAdams76

Exactly. I’ve been to Kohls about twice in 5 years. They only have clothing for the season they are pushing (which may or may not correspond to the weather outside), there is no help finding something, so I was looking through yard high stacks of folded jeans for specific sizes that were all mixed. It took forever and was very labor intensive. Then we went to pay, and, like you, were in line for 10-15 minutes. It was so unpleasant I’d have paid a couple dollars more to buy online. What kind of jeans, what size, bingo, ordered.


57 posted on 05/08/2016 10:40:21 AM PDT by Yaelle (Tinkerbelle glittering up the runway for Trump Force One!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Malls have been dying because of the public transportation to them and all that it entails.


58 posted on 05/08/2016 10:44:15 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

They will make excellent public housing facilities.

Some of the stores can stay and they’ll call it “mixed use” development....


59 posted on 05/08/2016 10:46:08 AM PDT by nascarnation
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To: Yaelle
But I love Kohls. I've come to prefer it over Macy's for clothes. Macy's lately has kooky designer stuff I hate, long lines, and pay parking. Kohl's has more classic clothes AND you get Kohls cash. Plus, my local Kohls is in a big free parking lot. I made out like a bandit with the purchase of a Black Friday Kitchenaid mixer, getting a great price, a $50 Visa card, ands $90 Kohls cash which translated into 3 Chaps blouses and 2 expensive liquid soap dispensers.

I do purchase frequently on Amazon for their lowest prices and ease of ordering. But I don't want Amazon Prime, and now that Amazon has nudged the minimum free shipping price to a $49 minimum purchase amount, I find myself buying less on Amazon. eBay has also been very good to me over the years, although I don't find the bargains there I used to.

60 posted on 05/08/2016 11:40:56 AM PDT by EinNYC
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