I live in the sticks and have learned to love amazon prime. Frankly, I don’t have a lot of choice out here, but I remember even when I lived in Seattle, the traffic was so bad that shopping was a real chore. My wife would not let me near the malls at Christmas for fear I’d intentionally ram other cars.
And I just found out that you can get stuff within an hour from Amazon.
It is taking a while, but I think the number of stores put out of business by online shopping is an exponentially growing wave. I think we will be seeing a LOT of them going down in the next year.
Heck, I bought my brake pads on amazon. It was a LOT better shopping and comparing experience than going to an auto parts store.
It’s been a long time coming, but I think the predictions about malls folding were accurate, but just premature. This stuff is happening with a vengeance now.
I bought a Wi-Fi router thru Amazon this week. It was here the next day (free shipping). It sucked...so I’m returning it for full refund. It’s already boxed up and ready to drop off at the UPS Store...free return shipping. (Could’ve had UPS pick it up...just easier to drop it off.)
Our local Mall is about 1/3 empty stores now. It used to be crowded and all store fronts were occupied. Now it is mostly teens congregating at the food court and elderly people out for their walks......................