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Every four weeks or so, I pile into my Zipcar (after my garage fees went up to more than twice my car lease payments, I finally got rid of my car) and take three hours of my day to battle New York City traffic and the kill-or-be-killed parking competition by Yankee stadium to stuff my little car full of Bounty and Charmin from BJ’s Wholesale. For years, this has been the necessary evil routine of my life.
Until this year.
Somehow at the start of this year, I stumbled upon an Amazon competitor called Jet.com, which specializes in selling just the type of inglorious household supplies that we all need. Jet.com has a devilishly smart model that actually lowers the price of an item in real time as you order more units. So I gave it a shot. I ordered my typical couple of dozen 2-ply rolls of Bounty for less money than at BJ’s, including free shipping.
The next day, when the order arrived and my doorman hand-delivered the purple box to my apartment, I knew that I would never shop at BJ’s again.
The story of retail in America is like that old Samuel Taylor Coleridge line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, “water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.” Everywhere you look, American consumers are finally starting to spend money. Indeed, last Friday’s Retail Sales report was a blockbuster surprise as sales shot up by 1.3% versus the -0.3% eyed. Yet despite the uptick in spending, retailers have been posting woeful results and their stocks have been hammered into oblivion. From Macy’s to Nordstrom to Kohl’s — no one has managed to escape the end of the mall rat.
When I was young and the Internet did not exist, the mall was the only entertainment in town and kids flocked to it like moths to a flame and spent endless hours cruising, flirting and most importantly, shopping. But now millennials could care less about the mall or shopping for that matter. The new generation finds the virtual world much more stimulating than the real one. And as for life’s necessities — well, Amazon and Jet.com take care of that for less money and infinitely more convenience.
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| Retail as we know it is dead. |
We may now be reaching that key inflection point in our economy where internet retailers will overtake the brick-and-mortar world. You can see it coming much like the way the airplane superseded the ship for transatlantic travel. Eventually brick-and-mortar stores will simply become venues for amusement much like cruise ships are now.
Retail, of course, will never fully disappear. People will still want to occasionally touch and feel products and discover new items. But that process will be much rarer and will result in far smaller volumes of turnover than the market realizes. Despite the recent beat-down of the sector, there will no doubt be bargain hunters who will flock to the old name retailers in hopes that those once-grand businesses will revive themselves.
That is likely to be a big mistake. Retail as we know it is dead. The anchor department store model is Kodak in waiting. The smart retailers will consolidate, leaseback and will likely keep only 30% of their most productive properties. It will be a long and wrenching process and it is only just beginning. That’s why any rally in the retail ETFs like XRT or RTH is simply a chance to short more at better prices.
To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are “no second acts” for retail in America.
Happy Trading,
Boris
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 Central bank involvement and manipulation in markets seem to get more ridiculous by the day. In Japan, for instance, the fund-management industry just finished creating special “physical and human capital” Exchange Traded Funds for the Bank of Japan to buy.
The ETFs are supposed to include only shares of companies that do things BOJ policymakers approve of, such as raising wages, boosting capital spending or demonstrating “a commitment to truly understanding and practicing governance at an international standard.” It took the industry months to come up with the ETFs, which the BOJ said it would start buying back in December … before the products even existed.
Target (TGT) joined the parade of pain in the retail sector, reporting first-quarter sales that missed analyst forecasts and forecasting weaker earnings going forward. The “bull’s-eye” retailer said it faces “an increasingly volatile consumer environment,” and will make $1 to $1.20 per share in the second quarter – well below expectations of $1.36 per share.
Beginning December 1, millions more Americans will qualify for overtime pay thanks to new Labor Department regulations. Salaried workers who earn up to $47,476 per year will soon be eligible for overtime pay, a significant jump from the current threshold of $23,660 – one that hasn’t changed since 2004. Administration officials estimate the move will boost wages by $12 billion over the next decade, though industry and business groups just say employers will cut hours and full-time work to compensate for higher labor expenses.
 In the political arena, Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary in Oregon while Donald Trump won on the Republican side. Sanders and Hillary Clinton fought a very tight race in Kentucky, with Clinton apparently winning by a margin of less than 1 percentage point.
The Money and Markets team
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{ 63 comments }
The real problem people who have money to spend now have to go to mall and only buy for their children or grandchildren – these people have almost nothing of interest for me
Jet – smet , if i want it now i can use PrimeNow if i can wait i can pick up inglorious supplies at sam’s every month or so. My son uses Costco because the store is closer to him.
The Malls have forgotten to appeal to all age levels including those over 50.
I completely agree that the malls have forgotten to appeal to all age groups, if your not a teenager or twenty-something there isn’t much to attract older people.
I’m not much of a shopper but my wife, as well as her friends, used to like to wander the malls and shopping centers but not so much anymore. They say there isn’t much for them it’s all geared to younger folks and the article above says those people are more interested in “Virtual” entertainment…. losing everyone it seems.
Don’t forget there are a million signatures stating that there will be no more shopping at Target re the Transgendered bathroom situation. There are countless more people who just decided not to shop there any more. This government can’t impose this kind of crap (no pun intended) on the citizens without tremendous back lash. Target has no business in the political arena so they can just take the low sales and sit on it.
I walked into my church last Sunday anf asked my pastor where the transgendered bathroom ws, not to be a wise guy, but to alert him of what could easily happen to the tax status of churches if the ban is extended to worship centers in the country.
It’s a government focused on business decline, increasing debt and moral decay.
@jack- My dollars will NEVER go back to TARGET!! WE are done. If American people will stand up to stores like Target– Then this type problem will disappear quickly. Money talks–EVERYTHING else walks.
Agreed.
Did anyone else notice how fast 0b0 backed off? Now, if we had a real congress, the disasters of the last 6 years could have been avoided. (The first 2 years were a nightmare.) Executive orders aren’t worth paper and ink if they have no funding.
RE: this transgender chaos. Transgenders make up about 0.3% of the population. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. Here’s a simple solution. We re-label bathrooms as follows: “Penis” and “Vagina”. Strictly by equipment, no issues remaining.
how about a unisex label on the door like a porta-potty, and redesign all bathrooms for more privacy? everyone would benefit.
I like that idea: No miss understanding which bathroom to use
i agree stay away they are trampling the rights of others for a few.
You are overlooking the real agenda behind the bathroom controversy. The Progressives want to eliminate the “binary society”. They want a sexless society without any assigned role distinctions. I’m told that there are millenials that don’t want to identify with either gender. The ultimate goal is to discredit and eliminate the family unit. It and the Church are portrayed as the sources of bigotry and oppression. In their “village” parents rights are secondary to the right of the State to raise the children. This is serious business if we ignore it. Jim
Names used to have meaning. Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Son, Daughter to name a few. Hi, i would like you to meet my “it”. What BS.
Yeah, vote with your feet and don’t go to establishments that have policies that upset you or don’t conform to your beliefs. If enough people do this, stores will get the point that they should not be making political statements. Years ago, I told several of my friends that the American people should stop or cutback wherever possible their purchase of Chinese goods after the Chinese military harassed an American surveillance plane in international airspace and then subsequently forced it to land in Taiwan. After I said this, I happened to see more and more chatter on the internet……….not mainstream press………encouraging Americans to voice their discontentment by boycotting the purchase of Chinese goods. All of sudden, I notice that the American crew……but not the plane at the time……….was released. I absolutely believe that the Chinese and their American distributors knew a consumer boycott was coming which is why the released the crew.
You can’t boycott Chinese goods! EVERYTHING is made in China!! Thanks to our policies. You boycott Chinese goods, you’ll end up living in a cave in the mountains picking berries and hunting squirrels…oh wait! you’ll have to hunt them with homemade bows and arrows as all our bullets are probably also made in China! LOL.
I happen to live, manufacture in China and sell back into the US. I would like to manufacture in the US and even called some US companies to do stamping of metals.
NOBODY wanted to deal with me because my order quantity is less than a million or several hundreds of thousands of units.
Small business start ups or those seeking to do pilot runs aren’t going to buy such large quantities.
Example: Suppose one wants to manufacture stainless steel kitchen ware. Stainless steel is harder than regular steel and the tools need more robust materials.
A tool with a 1 million impression life cycle would cost about $35,000 just to make a 14 inch utensil.
What would you be willing to pay for a kitchen spatula made of stainless steel? $5?
Cost of manufacturing + American Steel + tooling + packaging + logistics + marketing.
How many units would I need to sell to recover a $35,000 tooling cost?
I was actually TOLD to get my tooling done . . . in China . . . by an American manufacturer. I was calling HIM to do business in The USA and he’s telling me to go to China.
I go to Chinese factories. I LIVE with Chinese people and I walk the streets, stand in lines, travel the metro with Chinese. Basically, I UNDERSTAND Chinese people and how they do things.
Chinese THINK and ACT differently than Americans.
Chinese think “Get the money”. “Find a way to do it” “Even a fly is meat” is a Chinese idiom.
Chinese live in a crowded society and have recently moved off the farm. Everyone is in survival mode – just like our tired, poor and hungry ancestors were.
Don’t do, then don’t eat. That’s China. The faster you DO, the MORE you eat.
I’ve watched a shipper pack a box with my personal belongings. He’ll wrap a box with 50 feet of packing tape if that’s what it takes to squeeze a box tight and secure for shipping. He doesn’t care about pretty. He’s moving FAST. He doesn’t ask questions and he certainly doesn’t ask my opinion. He just DOES IT, hustles the boxes and gets out as fast as possible.
Chinese push in line, because they are bred by conditions to compete for opportunity or resources. 1,000 people waiting in line and wasting 5 seconds is 5,000 seconds of wasted time. Multiply 5 seconds wasted by a billion people getting on trains, buses, shopping at a street vendor, trying to do banking. They don’t wait for anyone and every rule is meant to be bent or broken in the pursuit of “get it done NOW”.
American’s work hard, but follow lots of rules, think about things a lot and aren’t willing to do the small things to get to the big things.
Chinese factories don’t waste money on anything not essential to making a profit and they NEVER turn down an opportunity to make business.
Chinese work with each other; they network and collect the phone numbers and “Wechat” (Whatsapp social media) of practically EVERYONE that they meet.
You need something? They know somebody who knows somebody and inside of an hour, you have your connection.
Call someone for lunch in China, then they say, “When? Right NOW? Let’s go! Where do you want to meet?” You’re having lunch/dinner/tea/networking/relationship building within 2 hours. After that, you’re “Friends” and “Friends Help Friends”.
It’s like a neural network on steroids.
I’ve tried to meet people and it’s, “Let’s check my calendar. I have time next week or the week after.”
The Chinese have already got the deal and are on the way to finishing design before you even get to your first cup of coffee.
American business is going to have to do “10X Cycle Time Reduction” on how it makes business and “10X Cost Reduction” on it’s tooling.
An American entrepreneur can’t even build something as simple as a stainless steel spatula “Made In The USA” because start up costs are too high just in tooling alone.
How can tooling be done cheaper? What are some alternatives?
What typically goes into consumer electronics manufacturing?
Design Costs
Injection molding of plastic, metal or ceramic
Assembly (soldering, testing, inspecting, tray packing)
Packaging (design of box and graphic design)
I go to a factory, they say, “Don’t worry. We take care of EVERYTHING”. I go to a packaging company. It’s done!
I want a small carry case for a product. Simple. Draw the idea on a note pad, provide measurements and a slope angle on a depression area and the next day I get a mechanical drawing.
It’s what I want and they say, “$100 for aluminum mold for case and $200 for silicone mold for logo”. When can I have it? “It’ll be done in 2 weeks”. How many must I order? “We’ll do 500 for your test order”. How about packaging? “You need to order 2,000 pieces, but if you don’t need them, they are cheap. Throw them away or keep them in an extra room until your next order. Here’s my invoice. Pay me today by bank transfer/credit card, we start tomorrow.”
“Oh, you want to think about it. OK. I’m busy. Call me if you need me. Goodbye – but remember, we can get it done cheap and fast.”
The US needs to re-learn some lessons, based upon my experience with trying to make anything in the US.
Wanna buy something from China? Go online to Alibaba, Global Source or Made-In-China. Streamlined, easy to contact via Chat. Want to source from the US? ThomasNet and voice mail/phone tag/disqualifying questions.
As soon as I finish this, I’m calling to factories here in China and we have multiple project moving forward simultaneously.
This is my first exposure to trying to manufacture in the US and it feels out dated and sluggish.
We need to be more like Dr. McCoy on Star Trek: “I can FIX THAT!!!”
P.S. China is Communist only in Government. Society in general is Capitalist on Steroids.
Another note where manufacturers need to take note:
Brick and Mortar outlets are dying. Amazon has lots and lots of mom and pop shops buying White Lable, re-branding and selling on Amazon. They aren’t doing 500,000 unit orders.
It might be a good idea to develop a White Label Manufacturing industry with some generic designs and cater to “Average Aspiring Business Owner of America” who want to grow their own empire. They do it with hair care, body lotions, food supplements and more – Made In USA, but not manufacturing. How about making Jeans or Shirts to order for an Etsy e-commerce store?
Wanna have Made In The USA, then gotta look at the competitors abroad, study them and what they do, then come back with “lessons learned” and put action behind talking.
Copy the Chinese – turn about is fair play!
Thank you SO much for sharing what is really going on. This entire country needs to read your post!
Hi Darryl
I was fascinated by your experience in China. How right you are! I am in agriculture – a small ranch with cattle, sheep and bees. I’m not sure of how to apply your knowledge and ideas here on the ranch. We are very hampered by laws and new ones coming in i.e. can’t sell my honey in stores or internet now without an inspected manufacturing plant – a huge expense, Of course, that comes with a cost per site attached. I can now only sell face to face. My lamb and beef have to go thru an inspected slaughterhouse, and they’ve closed many down as they can’t comply with the new laws, so it’s hard to find a really good one for my clients. I see with your clothing idea your brain is on fast track! Anything comes up in your head re the ranch, I’d love to hear it! Hanging on in Texas Patti
Taiwan is Nationalist or Free China. It is an island. Mainland (Communist) China is what you think that you are talking about but I doubt many on here even noticed. The plane landed on a Chinese island in the South China Sea.
You can pick your boycott – I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby or Chik-fil-a. I also won’t shop in any business in Texas that allows open carry – I am pro-gun, I just don’t trust an idiot who would open carry. Just to really get in your business, I also think that there should be no non-profit status for any entity unless they spend at least 75% of their donations on basic needs for humans below the proverty level including shelter, food and basic medical care, otherwise they are special interest groups, which I don’t want to support on my tax dime.
all this so called data that the gov puts out in my view is nonsense. these people
need to get in the real world and see how many people really live. I see it
every day it is sad how so many people struggle
I have no interest in going to malls especially after the epidemic of criminal incidents occurring at various malls. Even mall employees have been victimized by robberies and even abductions as they leave work.
There is no risk of being mugged and robbed while shopping in the internet.
It seems to be an archaic and silly idea to back cuŕrency with gold but this magic money. Leveraged debt .Is beyond everybodies ability to deal with Banks .big and small IMF. governments They all know how too borrow but they do not have a particularly rational plan too pay back the money . Bravely going where no man has gone before sounds like a lot of fun but my opinion is they are going too get the world in a lot of trouble with no escape plan frank
What a disaster is waiting for the real estate owners and property developers! Soon the rental market for shopping space will collapse! Total over supply while the internet shops are displayed on every mobile phone. And this is just the beginning…………….!
How will it look in 20 years from now??
As a 57 yr.old retiree–I can tell you that I was one of the original mall rats–When I was 10,Eastland Mall opened in 1968.It was the 1st enclosed mall in our area,and I thought it was the most wonderful place in the world.Today,it is largely vacant,and while a JC penneys still anchors one end,the few retailers are not name brand but quirky independent locals who are only there for the bargain rent.I have seen this story repeated all across the country–retail as we knew it when we were young is truly dead….
Extended to houses of worship – as well it should be, Jack. And why should they be subsidized by the taxpayers?
The reason we have houses of worship is to teach morals. It is morals that create a civilized society. Houses of worship teach people to help each other, teach people to get along, love thy neighbor. To work together for the church, community and the country, teach people to not steal, not kill, not bear false witness against thy neighbor, to tell the truth, form families and bear and raise children for the next generation.
In all cases empires that did not have houses of worship did not survive they failed. After the failure of the Soviet Union they realized that they needed houses of worship and their empire started to recover.
The United States of America was formed based on religious works that formed the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that included Freedom of Religion (All religions would be treated equally. Government could not establish a single religion or lack of religion to be practiced by all. That is why this country was so successful. Lately the United States has been taking religion for granted. Religious speech has been suppressed, Religious leaders have been denied the right to welcome graduates of public education into the community at graduations. Public education does not teach morals, they consider this religion and that is not allowed in public any more.
The result was as expected: more crime, more killing, more people not getting along and resorting to violence, more stealing, drugs, more people in jail, more wars and higher taxes. Yes, it costs our country more tax dollars to control all this lack or morals. It costs less to allow houses of worship to teach the masses both in their houses of worship and in public. Just teaching lack of religion in public is an expensive failure.
The founders of this country new this and never imagined that the country would ever suppress religious speech in public.
“”To work together for the church, community and the country, teach people to not steal, not kill, not bear false witness against thy neighbor, , “” That right: the church teaches you that because they don’t like the competition, that’s what they do: steal, kill and lie. Religion is the root of all evil and war in the world. The problem is that there are about 116 Gods in all the religions of the world and everyone thinks theirs is the right one and are willing to kill their neighbor if he thinks otherwise. Every religion has gone on a killing spree to try and eradicate the competing religions who are infringing on their territory or threaten to convert their followers, or should I say financial contributors, just like gangs or the mafia does!.. Why is it the ultimate sin to kill someone of your own religion, but perfectly alright to go into another country and kill innocent women and children and be celebrated as heroes because they are of another religion. (Maybe the Buddist are an exception, but even then…)This is the most hypocritical thing that is staring everyone in the face and most just go along with it! Is this what your religion stands for?? If so then Shame on you! ..On a community level maybe each individual church does some good within its community, but as an organization they are all whats wrong with this world. Why is the Catholic Church one of the greatest land and real estate owners on the planet?? why do they need all that wealth for to teach us morals??. It’s a facade to fleece us and control us and most are completely blind to it! Religion is there to control you and to take your money with ideas and promises of an afterlife or repercussions that no one can prove. When someone tells you to “have faith” it really means “Don’t think, just blindly believe what I say so that I can control you and take your money” It always has and always will….Anyway, what does religion have to do with the subject being talked about here? I thought we were talking about malls and retail?
When you discover the difference between religion and truth, you will have your answers.
Your anger will leave you at that point, as the only true and living God reveals Himself to you and give you peace. If you choose to receive the truth and reject the lies, you will at that point be free.
Eastland Mall – Remember the days well in W. Covinaa. Miss the good stores, including Wallach’s Music City and Akron. Oh Yes, let’s hang out at Clifton’s Cafeteria.
Perhaps the US is a few months or a year behind the UK on this one. With the exception of clothing or footwear that you have to try on, the youngsters are all shopping on line here, and so increasingly are their grandparents. Only the middle aged mums and dads are likely to be passing the stores anyway because of a commute and so find it easier to pop in.
Single shops often have staff spending as much time packing their on line orders for the local white van collection, than selling to walk-in customers.
3-D body scanning for clothing purchases.
Step on a podium at home or a local scanner, get scanned, get automated custom made clothing or order online according to your actual size.
Search on Google for 3 D scanners and see the hand held scanners for a couple hundred bucks.
Start a body scanning service for online buyers!!!! Sell Cheap, compact 3-D scanners to online buyers. Solve a problem in an evolving marketplace and GET PAID.
Wish I could say that I hung out at the malls but when I was young it was more important to support my car and my dating habits. If they disappeared tomorrow I wouldn’t cry a tear.
So…Bob Dylan is still right…”the times they are a’changing…”
when you buy clothes you like to try out before if they fit. I don’t think this will change in futur so there is still a reason for retailers to exist. Quality cannot be always recognized by a photo and description. So there it makes still sense to go out for shopping and touch the goods before buying. Speaking to the stuff also gives a social environment.
I was born in a small town of 140.000 habitants. I remember the time before the first supermarket opened. It was a different world….. No plastic; no pesticides no pollution; nearly no cars. My father was a doctor in ,edecin; he had the 264 th car in the region.
There were still non asphalted streets also. Of course there xas no internet; there was no television in most of the homes and there was only the radio. People did read a lot of books and made music. Another time; another world…..
Actually, you just described present day Mississippi or at least the progressive areas.
so goes the malls and the Clintons too
The problem I have with the internet stores is that whenever I get the merchandise, it is usually either not what I thought it would be or too small or too large. Good Luck!
I echo that statement, Pedro. Buying shoes is a real problem. Books, fine. Electronics, usually okay. Furniture that you have to assemble….a real pain.
So, it is a mixed bag. But the socialist drive by Bernie etal to artificially push wages up to some arbitrary level that they or a gub-mint bureaucrat like will expedite this change too. Employees doing any kind of common labor will be too expensive for companies with low profit margins. And for individuals…..those who choose to forgo education……will suffer greatly from increasing automation and cheap illegal immigrants sponsored by the DNC.
A serious issue in any developed country. I am Australian, seeing similar developements. A large class of unemployed is ready material for any demigod – think Hitler – who can marshall that discontent to create chaos in an already unsettled society. With the seemimgly unstoppable rush to make life “easier” via automation , robotics,and progress in general, we look for answers, quick solutions would be nice. There are none. A global energy is at work, not focused on people but power in our part of the world,need in undeveloped places., naturally envious of what we have. The powerful, the instant multimillionairres the multinationals who now have more influence that nation states aren’t about to give up and the rest of us are not about to stop using or iphones and computers. I’m 88,. seen a few changes. A hundred yeas is not long If that is all it takes for justice and good sense to emerge that will be exceptional. So what is the lesson for today -stay strong,stay caring of all you meet, encourage sharing not greed and be reasonable in your expectations. The age of entitlement is an illusion and will fade as reality returns.read “Desiderata”.
Smithhaven mall in our area still doing ok except for Sears which is having a tough time while Pennys and Macys doing a little better ! I think with clothing it is tough to compete with Kohls which has much lower prices and the Best checkout system in all of Retail . They have one line going into six to eight registers so there is no picking the wrong line and the line moves really fast that way .
The smaller Sunvet mall has been dying for years and is the ghostown of retail and that was before the recent closing of Pathmark which anchored the East end of the store . On the west end Ac Moore and Toys R Us still doing very well but do not give too much traffic to the rest of the mall .
In town quite a few empty buildings that cannot seem to keep any tenants and I sometimes think of Bruce Springsteens song Hometown when I drive through it .
Alll this leads to one Big Question ??? What happens when there are no Brick and Mortar stores left to check out the products before the On Line purchase ????
We all go naked and there will be no questions about bathroom to use.
Then all the make believe problems the Dumbocrats make up will be solved. It is like, look, look over here, while they are doing something illegal and selling this Country down the tube!!
Got a good laugh from that one…………………..
An age of accelerating technological transformation, not seen since the start of the 20th century, is here, now. Expect our lives to be transformed in ways truly unimagined less than a decade ago. At the heart shall be rapid declines in transaction costs with many deflationary consequences, very hard to predict. Cars that are shared and consume 50% less energy; self-driving robot cars give us far fewer accidents and car repairs; forge lower insurance costs. Home deliveries of goods and services that used to be only available at malls, with far wider choices. Internet price comparisons keep driving prices lower. Music and video entertainment on demand costing pennies; collapsing prices, like long distance telephone bills in the 1990’s. These shifts are not going to be inflationary! Debt will chase ever lower interest rates, as on-line banks and bitcoin payments compete with fiat currencies, central banks and high overhead cost banks “too big to fail”. .Many governments will lose control over taxpayers, forcing municipal bankruptcies, like Detroit, Puerto Rico, Chicago and Illinois ahead. Painful yet productive change = efficiency.
Ronald Baker: thanks for the only reasoned post tonight.
I also like to feel and try on shoes or boots or clothes before I buy, and when I want it, I usually want it now!.. Problem is there is no variety in the stores any more. Everyone is selling the same 5 crappy chinese made items…I wanted a pair of specific retro looking motorcycle boots with buckles on the side. The only pair I could find are at an online retailer that does not allow you to come to the warehouse to try them on or even look at them (even though the warehouse is 5 minutes from my house!!) they refused, they said order them to be delivered and then return them if they don’t fit and get another size..this is efficiency?? How long is this going to take to get the right size or boot. Another example is I wanted an antique looking kitchen faucet and no one had anything reasonably priced except amazon. I ordered it and delivery was over three weeks from China. I just got it today so I’ve been washing dishes in my bathroom sink for the last three weeks while I waited for the mailman everyday. This is efficiency? I think there will be many growing pains ahead still before we completely eliminate retail stores…Or maybe when us older folks die off..
As an outsider, from Australia, it is hard to believe that shipping will remain free if off-line retail disappears. Where is Capitalism?
pmd3nka
The most growth industry will then likely be the UPS and FedEx type shippers. However they too will experiment with robotic delivery (drones?) to reduce driver labor. The USPS may also show some growth if they can manage some sort of improved government efficiency. If not they will just raise prices and/or get out of package delivery. Smaller strip malls in my area are rapidly becoming ghost towns although mattress stores are flourishing along with eyeglasses stores. Guess mattress and glasses don’t sell well online. Amazon has driven most bookstores out and magazines are more pushing subscription sales. Car dealers and food stores will remain and Walgreens, CVS etc. will likely survive along with Dollar stores. Probably a few other types of retailers don’t lend themselves to online sales but certainly retail will look very different in time. I’ve also seen recent closings of Best Buy stores here. Target around here is so empty it’s creepy to wander the aisles. Large food stores of premium food types seem to be prospering here. Then again perhaps I just live in an upscale area. Although the organized flea markets enjoy very brisk attendance every weekend.
Well I see the Fed again danced all over the markets hitting precious metals mostly which I think has been on their discredit radar for some time now. If its not Fed meetings its Fed individual comments seemingly every other day or later released Fed minutes constantly bombarding investors with push pull information leaving them confused and bewildered. Investors are desperately clutching at Fed straws and the likes of Japan who is always fiddling with the monetary system to keep the Yen from appreciating. With the Fed on the discredit side and all the paper gold flying around backed up by nothing plus large piles of gold being dumped into the market from time to time I think it will be hard for gold to make any headway for now and into the foreseeable future. Nothing will happen until there is a universal brain fart telling people that what they hold in their hand is really paper backed up by nothing. By 2017 I would surely hope this light bulb would switch on in the heads of the people of the world and they say “I dun seen de light”
First Target does not support our Military or Veterans, And now this special class gender c*ap. Guess that is why i shop Walmart & Sam’s for now. Target can S*CK IT!
If the mall rats are dying, someone should tell TJX. The company, owner of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Homegoods and Sierra Trading Post, yesterday announced plans to open some 2000 more brick and mortar stores over the next few years. Obviously, they think there is a market for the overstocks and such that they sell, and that people like to shop for them “hands on”. Home Depot and Lowes are other merchandisers where people prefer to feel and compare the stuff they buy.
HOORAY….Retail is dying…!!…Once upon a time R. H. Macy made his millions because he believed…” The Customer is always right”…..Unfortunately that was forgotten as retail was taken over by cruel and in human owners who squeezed all the money they could from their employees and their customers.
I have had the misfortune to work for many retailers since I lost my last REAL job in industry in 1993. Radio Shack was probably the worst with the lowest wages and benefits. The big secret was that defective merchandise was re sold to the public because the Manager got a “spiff” if he kept his amount of damaged goods returned to the store, low. I asked…” What happens when some thing does not work…you re sell it….it may come back?”….they did not care and often…who would come back to return a cheap item?…..So they made out.
The biggest offender was Sears. I worked there 2009-2011. I finally quit in 2011…..took early SS…just to get out..In the two years I was there, the store was reducing what they did for employees……cutting out the health insurance and retirement that the store paid to employees. Also, the commission we got on top of our min wage was cut. In 2009 when I was hired I was told we got 10% commission on all we sold. Once out on the floor…I discovered there was maybe one or two items we got 9% commission for ….most items was 3-6% commission and some items ( Sears brands ) we got 0%…….We could not work more than 30 hours per week. Old timers said they used to earn $40,000….now they were earning $25,000 per year with reduced benefits. I quit because the best I could do was make $18,000 per year and I discovered my SS was more than that….!!!…So I quit and did not have the Sears hassle. The customer was also screwed. Each customer had to be asked…” Would you like to open a Sears charge account?”…Also they had to be asked if they wanted to open a Rewards card….AND if you did not ask them to buy a Purchase Protection Plan for any item they bought….you had to sit down with the store trainer….I had to sit with the trainer for SIX HOURS…to be told how our Protection Plan was ” the best in the industry”…which is all garbage. they push the Plan because they get about 90% or more profit out of it….( in two years there I think I replaced two items using the plan…)..for average retail the mark up is about 20-30%…..Buyers rarely retain the paperwork…or if they came in with the paper work it had expired. Even during Christmas time, you had to ask the shoppers for all three things. Many times the lines at check out were VERY LONG…but the Management did not care…
The local K mart has been a hole since 1991, when I moved up here….It is on the list of stores closing this year.
I never worked in Best Buy but their Customer Service is terrible unless you want to buy an expensive item….The poor clerks in Home Depot, never look happy and most clerks are old like me who must work PT because they can’t make it on SS alone….
The local Office Depot closed because they lost over 1 million in sales per year, the Mgr told me…..more people were buying on line…
So, Retail has dug their own hole to bury them selves….I say good riddance..!…Lets bury the dead. Too bad we can’t flush away the politicians who are as bad as retail..CRAP, all of them….For a brief time there was an ad on TV about the Walmart employees,….how Walmart had done so much for their lives……REALLY?…..Do you see many happy smiling Walmart employees?….I DON”T…..and that’s Americas biggest retailer..The ad was soon dropped from TV…….At Least Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays so their employees have a day off with their families…and to worship the God of their choice……but, HL is the minority…
Anthony
Wow very informative post ! Another thing to add to your post is that many who work for Walmart are subsidized by food stamps and other government assistance programs . No wonder they profited so much . Sounds like crony Capitalism to me . Also we know the pressure they put on there suppliers that pushed them to manufacture overseas and led to the decline of our once proud manufacturing industry .
The author doesn’t say how much less his bounty cost ( i use brawny, they offer half sheets.)
the author also doesn’t mention that Jet requires a membership fee. You would have to buy a lot of things to make up the difference and for most people the math doesn’t work. But of course the author was making a point and these facts dilute the point he is trying to make. But it is an error to do so.
Cool story bro. Jet doesn’t have a membership fee – they haven’t in 6 months.
To the above commenter — Jet no longer requires a membership fee. They dropped it last year in October. http://fortune.com/2015/10/07/online-shopping-jet-com/
Shopping is one thing… eating is entirely another. Nobody wants to cook anymore, despite the fascination with cooking media.
So, malls? Imagine them being turned into vast entertainment centers. VR theaters, Micro theaters, eatery theaters, bars and restaurants of themes from every corner of the world. Physical game rooms too, billiards might make a comeback, or other arcade style games.
Millennials may not want to shop, but they do want to share their lives with friends — recorded and categorized and youtubed for later consumption.
great to hear jet dropped membership fee. the entire business model required it as I read about at launch. As far as nobody cooks anymore that is a broad generalization other wise Blue apron would not be on a huge growth curve. They send raw food with recipes to prepare meals.
As for Obama’s agenda; you need to read history to see social issues are involved in not just social, but political and border change and realignment. (Napoleon and the Napoleonic codes completely changed societal and political landscape of Europe, and set the stage for it being all socialism. That’s why the lib’s think Europe is the ‘bee’s knees’-America til this day lacks the ‘equality’ of Europe.) the agenda is to program the young so communism and compete dominion of the state is natural for them. The reason the lyrics of so much European music is negative is because of socialism–atheism is the handchild of socialism.
I read through the comments most of them are man replying. I am still one that would want to go to the mail and shop I want to see and feel what I’m getting , I don’t like online shopping for certain things. Most of my friends prefer to go to the mail then online.
I have stopped buying from Amazon because they kept messing up my orders.