Retail apocalypse continues

a reply to: stormcell

Nice anecdote but do you have any data sources to back this theory?

First they get rid of our factories and boost a consumer based economy. Then they let big internet stores take all those jobs too. I suppose Amazon will shortly be delivering coffee to people and put coffee shops out of business.

a reply to: rickymouse


I think we will need a new way of living, even if Trump gets the industry moving again it will almost all be automated.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
I looked at that list of 24 stores....and I've never heard of about half of them.

OF those I have shopped, often you cannot buy off the rack if you are tall, for example.
They only have so much in inventory....so you have to go to their online store....or another online outlet.

We actually buy from Penney...they still have quality clothing....although they seem not carry much in the way of bootcut jeans.

As much as I like Amazon, I don't often buy clothing.
I still like to see what I am buying, and/or know how sizes run.

I had a look at the websites and tried to put them in categories:

Bon-Ton Stores Inc. - Department store - limited ranges
J.C. Penney - Department store
Macy’s - Department store
Sears/Kmart - Department store

These used to be the anchor stores that everyone would go to first, then wander through the shopping mall and visist the other stores. If I want to buy some bed linen, I would have to these stores and take whatever pattern was on offer. If I wanted something modern/abstract/geometric, they just had basic, flowery or pinky/blue.

J. Crew - Preppy clothing fashions - slow website - won't load quickly. First image is 2000x2000 pixels
(www.jcrew.com...)
Pictures of mens jeans look all wrinkled

Abercrombie & Fitch - Casual fashions in UK
American Apparel - Street urban/grunge/rap look
Guess - General fashion clothing store - just looking at denim jeans, they are funny colours (purple) or have patches/pre worn
Michael Kors - Upscale fashion - £90 for a belt, really and it only has MK as letters? Watches betweek £249 and £349

BCBG - LA - Womens fashion
Bebe - Womans apparel chain - Bebe branded clothing, really high-end fashion
The Limited - Womens clothing
Aerosoles - Womans footwear
Payless - Shoe retailer

Foot Locker - sports retailer
The Children’s Place - Childrens clothing
Gymboree - kids clothing

Claire's - Bling fashion for teenagers - hoop earrings, bangles, ear studs
Rue21 - Teen clothing
Wet Seal - Teen fashions

Toys R Us - Childrens toys

CVS - Pharmacists (sells all sorts of vitamins, makeup and medical electronics)
RadioShack - Electronics
Hhgregg - Electronics store - Didn't do online retailing / free delivery

My own experience of Radio Shack was they were always sold out of the latest items and never had the high-end versions of particular categories like video boards, hard disk drives or graphics boards.

My guess is that they either try and be a high-end speciality store which becomes too expensive, or they pick and choose little sub-ranges for each market.

Meanwhile somewhere likes Target does all the modern furniture, and another store will do all the more conservative country-home look. The fashion stores try and pick one look which goes out of fashion.

originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: rickymouse


I think we will need a new way of living, even if Trump gets the industry moving again it will almost all be automated.

Even an automated industry has some employees, the more companies we have the more jobs we have. A few thousand jobs is better than no jobs.

originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: rickymouse


I think we will need a new way of living

I'm sure 'culling the herd' has entered the minds of the TPTB at some point.

a reply to: toysforadults

Yeah, its simply people buying online.

One one hand, its great to not have to park your car in a lot and have to walk all day and stand on line.

On the other hand its gonna turn everyone into hermits.

I guess it might affect commercial retail real estate too.

Oh, boo hoo!

New technology will always leave those behind who are not quick enough to adapt to current trends.

For example, many printed newspapers dragged their feet for far too long and failed to adapt to online media until it was almost too late and almost went out of business. Quite a lot of them have (1). It is no surprise that these stores are facing the same fate.

The Internet has opened up trade to even more competition and cancelled out many of the monopolies that bricks and mortar stores enjoyed for decades. Competition drives innovation and is good for both innovators and consumers. Electricity did the same thing once upon a time. The Industrial revolution (2) had a major impact a long time before that too.

Just wait until autonomous 'drones' start making deliveries much cheaper than they are today. If that does eventuate, the transport industry will be facing the same issue and be forced to adapt or go out of business.

“In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.” ― Eric Hoffer

References:
(1) newspaperdeathwatch.com
(2) Impact of the Industrial Revolution

originally posted by: rickymouse
I suppose Amazon will shortly be delivering coffee to people and put coffee shops out of business.

Coffee shops will be choosing to put themselves out of business if they don't adapt to changing consumer demands.

Why the heck am I going to shower get dressed get in my car pay for gas and drive to some retail store when I can find it for less while shopping online. I can even shop in my underwear in the middle of the night and it will be brought to my door the next day. I am not going to pay more for less convenience.

...bout says it all.... and I agree, as scores of millions of others do.

Well the toys r us shutdown had nothing to do with the internet, and everything to do with the venture capitol company that bought it and wrecked it.

I'd wager this isn't the only retail company getting sunk by predatory venture capitalists.

And you guys wonder why some of us are socialists who think this sort of predatory capitalism shouldn't be allowed.

lol toys r us blamed the millennials for not having many kids...
shopping used to be a favorite pastime of some housewives, now those housewives are in the workforce earning that much needed paycheck and some may even be finding that they need a third paycheck. they ain't time to go browsing from store to store to find what they want...
I'm sure that the reduced birth rate does play a role in it, especially for a store like toys r us, but it seems to me that the harder families have to work to earn a living the less time they have for shopping. and if they can't earn enough to support a family and chose not to have a family, then they don't really need to spend as much making the home nice, buying the kids new clothes and toys, probably won't invest in such things as a washer and dryer... ect.

by the way, one of the "Big income opportunities" offered online is the idea that you buy from Amazon and then sell on ebay... and have the merchandise drop shipped. I would venture a guess that if you are thinking about buying something on ebay, there's a good chance you can find the exact same thing a little cheaper on amazon.. but I am only talking about stuff that is being offered in the US, I don't like dealing with buying from overseas.

a reply to: toysforadults

It all needs to fail somewhat. Far too much stuff made and sold that peeps dont really need,.

I'm no disappointed.

In this entire thread no one has used evidenced based research to support their theory.

Guess my expectations are to high anymore

Welp ill just go figure it out myself.. I'm not taking anyone word for it that's for sure

Retail is not going away.... it is only changing the way products are presented, bought, delivered to purchaser

there is a collapse of the old ways of foot-traffic & tote-home 'Retail Experience'... just as personal checks as payment has all but disappeared...

years ago I thought about a future time when large malls/big-box stores would be retrofitted into living compartments & activity centers for the 'new' concept of a neighborhood (the blight of suburban sprawl could then revert to nature)

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: toysforadults

Amazon steals business how?

I was shopping for a new monitor on Friday. Went to bestbuy.com to see if my local store had what I wanted. When I finally decided what to get, a banner across the top of the page appeared from Amazon showing the price of the same device at a considerably lower price. Long story short, I bought it from Amazon. It arrived yesterday (Saturday). Amazon basically stole the sale.

The day is coming when Amazon will be seen as a monolithic threat to competition.

Now I'm wondering, should I delete the Amazon addon from my browser? Obviously, it's watching what I do. But, it did save me money.

Times change and those that don't adapt to that change become history. Interesting commercial on that.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I will buy clothing online, but only if I am familiar with the brand and have an idea how the fit runs or it's something like a t-shirt which is pretty universal.

I've been using zulily a lot for my son, for example, because it's hard to find jeans that fit him. He's one of those kids who grows all up and long with no waist, and nearly every clothing supplier around here minus Old Navy assumes your kid is going to be chubby. I can find nice stuff there with cut that will fit for prices comparable to the stores we shop.

I think it really depends on what we're talking about as to whether or not people buy online v. instore. I like to see what I'm getting when possible, but some things you just can't find local. I used to order my aquarium fish in through the mail. If I get my 135g set up, I no doubt will again, but I'd prefer to personally inspect the fish I am buying first for health.

We've gone through the mail for both computer parts and there is a MicroCenter here that is *always* busy. So it's hard to say. I think stores with a good reputation with their clientele are doing fine particularly if they offer service beyond just goods on the shelves.

**EDIT**

We also use JCPenney, but they don't tend to stock much in the mid range size for boys between toddler and size 8. However, I do like their Arizona brand shirts. They're soft and they hold color well in the wash. Their jeans don't wear as well as Old Navy's though. Old Navy's jeans wear like iron!

originally posted by: ketsuko
I think it really depends on what we're talking about as to whether or not people buy online v. instore.

You can do both with the evil empire Walmart. I've used their online service and am quite pleased. They are moving with the times.