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 ...
Who needs the aggravation of going to a store where there is rarely anyone there to help you out.
Amazon + free shipping = sayonara brick & mortar retail.
Maybe everyone has enough stuff.
Too many stores
—
Agreed. That and the online stores.
There has to be 15+ sporting goods in the Mobile, AL area. Then if you add the Walmarts of the world, there are just way too many.
The Russians.
They hacked the shoppers’ brains.
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.
Only if you believe the media hyped Obama successes.
Amazon, etc plus People don’t have to deal with “teens” while shopping on-line.
Exactly.
There are a lot of things wrong around here. Sure, people are working. My “new” job pays me about half of what I was making a few years ago. I finally paid off my credit cards—not using those any more.
And I buy just about everything on Amazon. The ONLY reason I’ve been to a mall in the past two years is to go to the movies.
A great Cuban American.
What’s not to like?
<>Jeff Bezos may not be likeable.
Yes, I believe it’s Amazon. It’s the automatic default for everything we buy except groceries. However, I am uncomfortable with the idea of only one retail source. Things can happen to any business or country. So where do you buy when the big one hits the atmosphere and all the power goes down? Better keep our grocery stores, especially the ones you can walk to.
One word. Amazon
I really miss Borders and Circuit City, though
:(
Maybe people are finally waking up and realizing that they’ve got too much damned stuff.
Yep, I get most of my clothes at Goodwill. I absolutely hate the stuff coming out of China, Vietnam and Shri Lanka. I hate the fabric and the styles. Goodwill is the only place I can find decent looking clothes. But even they are starting to run out of things that go back to the 80s & early 90s. What is an old woman supposed to do? Actually I think some of those retail stores will learn how to use the internet effectively and survive competition with Amazon.
I’m an E-tailer and my business continues to grow. I’m so thankful Al Gore invented the internet.
Retail will not survive if it doesn’t offer unique and interesting goods that are not available online. There just doesn’t seem much in clothes, furniture, house furnishings, new appliances, crafts etc that’s going to get folks back to the stores.
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