Pretty soon, online will be the only shopping option. (mortgages, small business, debt)

[revelated]

Everyone remembers KayBee Toys as a kid, right?
Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | KB Toys shutting down

And of course, Circuit City, who despite all trouble, is still going:
Circuit City gets court OK for $1.1 billion in financing - Los Angeles Times

Best Buy, the store everyone thought would excel given Circuit City's troubles, isn't much better off:
Goldman Sachs Loss; Best Buy Net Plunges 77 - Earnings

That's of course not including Linens n Things, Good Guys, DOW, Tweeter, and a whole host of other community staples.

Makes one wonder what's going to happen to Westfield and all of these other malls that are no longer packed, but rather just places for the older folks to walk around in the morning.

[bls5555]

no it won't be. Malls will go way of the dodo in most cases but the stores you are listing that I am familiar with are overpriced garbage.

You can find everything at Walmart that you can at any of those stores most of the time for much cheaper.

[LiveUrban]

No...
Wal Mart will be the only shopping option.


Shopping is so lifeless and dead in the U.S. It has been since the first suburban big box retailer opened up.

[fnord]

Originally Posted by LiveUrban

No...
Wal Mart will be the only shopping option.


Shopping is so lifeless and dead in the U.S. It has been since the first suburban big box retailer opened up.

That's it right there.

[texdav]

I don't see that in my area.Haven;t seen a single store close. I really thought that soem of the delis and coofeee type businesses that depend on people having extra cash would but tehy haven't/ Starbcuks seemed as busy as ever and both super walmarts parkignlots were full lately and registers normal.The reataurants are al crowded too. I guess with gas being at 1.39 gal people have more cash as at lunch time the restaurants are crowded too.

[revelated]

Wally World won't last either. The only reason it's lasted this long is by underpaying its employees. But since they've settled that suit and committed to fixing the problems, guarantee the money they lost will be passed along to customers in the form of higher prices. It always is.

Additionally, price isn't the only valid consideration; quality matters to a lot of people. Wally doesn't excel in quality of goods. That Element LCD might look nice initially, but when it breaks down in 3 years, that's when people will wise up.

Also, Office Depot is shutting down stores - I managed to get a normally $400 MFP for $200. Never seen a store that empty before. Well, except Good Guys when they shut down.

[movin'on]

Originally Posted by revelated

Everyone remembers KayBee Toys as a kid, right?
Capital News 9 | 24 Hour Local News | HEADLINES | KB Toys shutting down

And of course, Circuit City, who despite all trouble, is still going:
Circuit City gets court OK for $1.1 billion in financing - Los Angeles Times

Best Buy, the store everyone thought would excel given Circuit City's troubles, isn't much better off:
Goldman Sachs Loss; Best Buy Net Plunges 77 - Earnings

That's of course not including Linens n Things, Good Guys, DOW, Tweeter, and a whole host of other community staples.

Makes one wonder what's going to happen to Westfield and all of these other malls that are no longer packed, but rather just places for the older folks to walk around in the morning.

Oh, who needs all those stores anyway? Time to hunker down, pay off debt and save.

Actually, this is welcome news to me. I am tired of this consumerist society - packed parking lots, people buying crap they don't need. The only thing worth investing in are things that will hold their value. I wish everyone would just pay down their mortgages and pay off their debt. Time to start being adults.

[mbuszu]

I predict that the next generations of Americans are going to be much more entrepreneurial than the vast majority of the boomer generation. They will have a preference to start and operate their own business vs working for and retiring from a large corporation. Large corporations will still be a big part of everyone's life (probably driving the online economy of the future), but I foresee many more small but successful niche businesses with physical presence in every population center.

Will mom and pop stores thus make a comeback? You bet. The negative affects of large-scale retail corporations on local economies are now well known and understood (no longer just theory). This realization has been over 20 years in the making and within another 20 state and local legislation will favor small and medium sized businesses to such a degree that they'll compete well with the Wal-Marts of the world.

[Nepenthe]

Originally Posted by texdav

I don't see that in my area.Haven;t seen a single store close. I really thought that soem of the delis and coofeee type businesses that depend on people having extra cash would but tehy haven't/ Starbcuks seemed as busy as ever and both super walmarts parkignlots were full lately and registers normal.The reataurants are al crowded too. I guess with gas being at 1.39 gal people have more cash as at lunch time the restaurants are crowded too.

Same here, we have new places going up around here! Nothing's gone out of business except for Linens n Things. I don't go to Starbux but there are three in close vicinity to us and they look PACKED. We went to a Barnes & Noble in a mid to high end shopping center area (Southlake Town Center in DFW), could NOT find a parking spot! The bookstore itself was a madhouse and the streets around the other shops were clogged with shoppers with bags. Everyone's been talking about how packed the restaurants have been as well.

This is the recession that nobody told this area about.

Me? Well, I don't buy things. 'Cept groceries, but my buying things days are completely over. But when I did buy things, almost all of what I bought was online.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by mbuszu

I predict that the next generations of Americans are going to be much more entrepreneurial than the vast majority of the boomer generation. They will have a preference to start and operate their own business vs working for and retiring from a large corporation. Large corporations will still be a big part of everyone's life (probably driving the online economy of the future), but I foresee many more small but successful niche businesses with physical presence in every population center.

Will mom and pop stores thus make a comeback? You bet. The negative affects of large-scale retail corporations on local economies are now well known and understood (no longer just theory). This realization has been over 20 years in the making and within another 20 state and local legislation will favor small and medium sized businesses to such a degree that they'll compete well with the Wal-Marts of the world.

I sure hope you are right.
If I could live until say...200 or so with no health problems, I'd probably start up a few small businesses.