Posted on 05/07/2017 5:56:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
With more than half of 2017 still ahead, the retail industry is seeing a record-setting pace for bankruptcy filings and store closings — and more are expected in the not too distant future, despite what most consider a healthy consumer.
This tipping point for retail is the result of a number of compounding reasons, but the inability to pay looming, massive debt bills is dealing the final death blow to many.
More online shopping
Yes, more shopping is shifting online in general, and to Amazon specifically, as in-store shopping traffic and sales trends fall for many retailers and shopping centers. Slice Intelligence said 43 cents of every online dollar is spent on Amazon, based on its analysis of millions of email receipts.
However, according to the latest Commerce Department retail sales data, 86 percent of all retail sales (excluding motor vehicles and parts and food service and drinking locations) are still made in physical, brick-and-mortar locations. To be sure, the online versus in-store sales breakdown varies wildly from retailer to retailer.
Less stuff, more experiences
While some shopping is shifting from stores to the web, other spending is being diverted from physical goods, particularly, clothing.
In 2005, 3.6 percent of total U.S. retail sales went to department stores; now it's less than 2 percent, according to government data. Retailers like Macy's and credit card companies have discussed the shift in consumer spending from physical goods to experiences like travel.
Plus, for years now, Americans have been making bigger purchases or investments like their homes, which has paid off for Home Depot and Lowe's.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Advertisers are slow to find out that we are inundated with pitches and refusing to see that the honesty of their media is shot. Nobody with means believes what’s presented.
No mention of Target stores and their embracing transgender bathroom policy contributing to sales falloff.
Their bankruptcy can’t come fast enough.
We are also undergoing a transition from a consumption driven New Deal economy to a production-driven late 1800s style industrialized economy.
Many of us are just opting out of advertising.
I gave up ad driven video 10 years ago, have mostly abandoned magazines & newspapers, and avoid ad-heavy websites.
I’d rather buy content than be subjected to ads for free/discounted pricing.
And I’ve got nearly everything I need, so shopping is seriously tapering off.
Note multiply that but tens of millions like me.
This has been going on for several years because everyone’s trying to be frugal. Most people still don’t have lots of disposable income, thanks to Zero. People aren’t going out as much, so less fancy clothes and cars. When they are buying stuff, it’s for DIY and fixing up homes.
The only reason we’re suddenly hearing about “The sky is falling! What a disaster the economy is in!” at this very late stage is to make President Trump look bad, when anyone with half a brain can see this is the result of years of damage from a bunch of leftists driving the bus.
One of the bigger reasons I’m mostly shopping online - other than price and convenience - is the downgraded quality of customer service/sales personnel in brick-and-mortar stores.
We have a large, fancy, mall nearby...but NOBODY will go there after dark, and you never go alone. It took about three years for it to go from “new”, to dangerous.
The low-brow, mouth-breathers they hire are rude, condescending, and have no idea what they’re doing. No discernable product knowledge, with their claim-to-fame being able to run the cash register.
Attitudes, not the Internet, are ruining American business...specifically in chain, big box, and fast food outlets.
So, I order on line, and seldom eat fast food anymore. They want to “overcome”, but they’ll eventually be overcoming failed and bankrupt businesses.
The shame of it is, businesses can no longer pick and hire the most capable, they’ve got to use a color quota chart and follow government rules to hire people around whom you have to walk on eggshells lest there will be lawsuits.
I like Amazon. It is easy to use, I don’t have to sort through stacks of clothes in a store to find my size, and the prices are good. And, their reviews are reliable.
Every few days Walmart sends me an email touting something, but when I click on the link, their website doesn’t work with the browser that came with my Mac. Maybe they didn’t get the memo, but customer service starts with making things easy for the customer...
Avoiding malls lets me avoid the feral youts that hang out there.
Man I second that.
Stores are where you go to buy stuff,not to get caught up in some whacker’s social engeneering experiment.
And Target kept that idiot around!!??WTH?
I was in a facility the other day that explicitly stated “This is NOT a gender-neutral restroom. There is one located in the front lobby”.
I was amazed.
People used to be able to go to the mall and have an enjoyable day window shopping, buying some stuff, eating in the food court. Now, it’s hoodied thugs all over the place and, yes, teens have always been at the mall but today a certain percentage are armed and genuinely dangerous to the level of Clockwork Orange.
So, shopping becomes a “get in, get what you need, get out” experience. Once it is that, you might as well shop online.
And other, there is also the reality that real income after bills is still declining.
Take Bezos out of the equation and Macy’s would be doing fine.
I used to like Amazon. Now I only use it for Kindle. The last several orders my husband and I have made have had problems: the wrong items being sent and no response to complaint, the item not being sent at all after delay after delay, or the item being bogus and the marketplace seller not responding to contact by us OR Amazon Customer Service. Who needs it? I am going to be dealing with the manufacturers direct except for books - and only if the book is not available locally.
Besides being able to compare products on Amazon's website, you can also read customer reviews for each product, too. That's why I ended up with the Asus RT-AC68U wireless router--it was highly-rated by the vast majority of cusotmers of the product.
Clothing, however, will still stay heavily brick and mortar, since people need to try out the clothing before buying it. This is especially true in the case of shoes.
There are several factors that have me out of traditional department stores. I have learned how to pick for maximum use and have less, but nicer, clothing. Amazon and even retailers websites allow for customers who are outside normal sizing to have more options. I have small feet and online retail has been a godsend. Online shops like e-shakti, which allow me to have a dress cut to order, pick the neckline, hemline and sleeve are much more efficient to use than getting through a traditional department store. There are also multi level marketing companies now catered to women’s clothing. Trust me, it’s much more fun to have wine and turn a friend’s dining room into a dressing room than it is to shuffle over to the mall.
People have enough stuff. In fact, people are trying to get rid of their stuff.
Retail is down because selection and availability at retail is down. It is becoming rare to find anything I am looking for on a shelf. Retail execs think having left over stock is bad so they have little in the first place. Wholesalers have raised prices to the point that retail has little incentive to have left over stock. Wholesale once was no more than 50% of retail, not it is as high as 96%. Retailers cannot afford to have inventory.
We’re seeing more “outdoor” malls popping up where we live. They’re beautifully decorated for every season and there are many upscale stores. You pull up to the store you’re interested in and out you go. It’s a really nice shopping experience but I still prefer Amazon when it comes to prices and speed of delivery.
I ordered a few things on Friday afternoon and they’re being delivered today.
Amazon also has a hassle free return policy.
Comedian Chris Rock says that every town in America has 2 malls; the one white people go to, and the one white people used to go to.
I love Amazon. I buy a lot of clothes and shoes for my granddaughter. They have never got an order wrong. Can’t say the same for Walmart online or Zulilly.
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