Posted on 04/15/2017 4:03:12 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
From rural strip-malls to Manhattan’s avenues, it has been a disastrous two years for retail.
There have been nine retail bankruptcies in 2017—as many as all of 2016. J.C. Penney, RadioShack, Macy’s, and Sears have each announced more than 100 store closures. Sports Authority has liquidated, and Payless has filed for bankruptcy. Last week, several apparel companies’ stocks hit new multi-year lows, including Lululemon, Urban Outfitters, and American Eagle, and Ralph Lauren announced that it is closing its flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue, one of several brands to abandon that iconic thoroughfare.
A deep recession might explain an extinction-level event for large retailers. But GDP has been growing for eight straight years, gas prices are low, unemployment is under 5 percent, and the last 18 months have been quietly excellent years for wage growth, particularly for middle- and lower-income Americans.
So, what the heck is going on? The reality is that overall retail spending continues to grow steadily, if a little meagerly. But several trends—including the rise of e-commerce, the over-supply of malls, and the surprising effects of a restaurant renaissance—have conspired to change the face of American shopping....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
The Valley Mall or Macys?
I have Amazon open in another window ... I usually park a purchase for later as it really cuts down on impulse buys.
Looking at Sous Vide machines today
I honestly think the reason is poor customer service. I asked one young employee who was walking down an aisle at Kmart if they carried Martha Stewart paint. He replied, “I don’t know.” and kept walking. I had to go search the paint section myself, since no one else was around to ask.
The real downfall is lack of training for the new, young employees. They have no idea how to do real, diligent customer service. They spend their time talking to each other and ignoring customers. When you finally get their attention, they are so rude, ignorant, and uninformed about their own store that it’s annoying.
Another example: I asked a young woman if their toy department carried marbles. She didn’t know what marbles were! I asked her to check and she called the person on the register. She then said, “Oh, you mean (Spanish word for marbles). No, we don’t have them.”
Finally, after you spend your own time searching for products and trudging to the register all the way across the store to buy them, you watch the clerk throw your merchandise roughly into a bag with no regard for the fact that you want to get it home looking new and unscratched. They treat your purchase like junk.
All in all, I shop in a select few stores now and I bag my own stuff. I won’t go near Penny’s, Kmart, or Sears.
Cash back = income? Really?
Of course it is income. Gambling profits, lottery, a gift from someone——all income. Taxes are avoidable on small amounts, but if the SAME amount is earned in employment, Taxes are due.
What not to like
/the horrible treatment of Amazon’s employees
and feeding Bezo’s leftist maw?
The malls are overrun with smartphone-carrying street savages who buy sneakers and hip hop, displacing the people who used to buy normal people clothes, electronics and books, and have now fled to Amazon.
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Was recently in CT at west farms mall, a top end mall, from what I have been told, in the area.
I didn’t see the kind of quality shoppers one would expect. Not much shopping being done, Just a lot of people milling around.
I also use cash out of my paycheck to pay for items and pay all my bills with checks.
No independents? I am surprised.
I shop Alibris.com for used and new books. Lower prices and higher shipping than Amazon, with lower total prices than Amazon. direct with independent stores world wide and supporting independent businesses.
I loved the old "downtown" business district. Each store was different, had its own unique look and scent. There were few chain stores in the '50s and '60s, so less cookie-cutter sameness. The grand old department stores of the were a marvel, with many levels, starting with the "bargain basement" and going up, up and up...
Always HATED malls. Good riddance. Hope they are bulldozed to smithereens and allowed to go back to nature.
Walmart on-line is excellent. Skip the store with its 3rd world customers & employees and shop on line with them.
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I have just discovered tis. I have used willow laundry baskets for the past 35 years and could not find any recently. Ordered three through Wal-Mart and they are great
From here out, I am going to shop online at the company that offers the product, not Amazon.
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I have been doing this and have found it to be usually less expensive than amazon and not feeding the leftists.
Try alibris.com Great consortium of used bookstores. Have new books too. Have used them for over 20 years. I go to amazon and make up a cart of books I want, then go to Alibris, and make the same order. Prices are less even with Alibris shipping.
I have bought books from them.
Nice place for really obscure stuff.
:)
Nope. It's a discount on what you bought. That's not income.
True, I collect authors and specific children’s books from my youth.
Like the new to me author Lionel Shriver. Got all her books there for about 50 dollars.
Borders was perfect for buying books as Christmas gifts. I could go to a shelf that contained a particular type of book, find a likely candidate from their excellent selection, sit down, skim the book, and either buy it or put it back. Local bookstore competitors did not offer nearly the selection that Borders did.
On Amazon, I can't glance down the shelf and see a different book that might be better than what I first selected. On Amazon, I have to rely on other people's reviews -- better than nothing, but not nearly as good as being able to hold a book and skim through it.
It would be interesting to read the story behind the Borders failure. I thought those cafes were a net plus for their business, but maybe not.
I only experienced the tail end of the central business district as a child. My mother worked at an old main-line department store (Sperry Brothers). If anything it reminds me of the Department store in “Are You Being Served?” with different clothing and hardlines occupying different floors. There was a Kresge’s across the street along with a Rexall druggist. Further down the street was a men’s clothier and haberdasher. (When was the last time you saw a haberdasher?). It was all very nice, less impersonal and formulaic. I am not loathing malls demise either. Online shopping is even more impersonal. But given the choice between snotty, untrained sales clerks and impersonal, I’ll take impersonal.
Yeah, between Sears at the beginning of the twentieth century and Amazon at the beginning of the 21st it would seem retail has done a full 360. Only now the catalog is on a tiny little computer screen.
CC
Much as I hate Amazon’s politics, they have created a really good online shopping experience.
Recently I needed to buy a new leaf blower - my old Toro gave up the ghost. I stick with plug-in electric, as me and small gas engines don’t seem to geehaw, and it’s no problem to run a cord across my tiny lawn. My local Lowes has like 2 models, both very similar except for the brand name on the carton. Amazon has dozens, from small and cheap to professional grade and expensive. I was able to review and compare at my leisure, read what others had to say about them, and finally picked one that is not available in any store that I know of. Got it in 2 days on Prime and it works great. There is no retail outlet in the world that can provide that much variety and information, and I didn’t even have to take a bath first.
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