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I find I save a lot of money shopping this way. I don't impulse-buy since I don't even see things unless I'm doing search for a product I need. I don't waste time or gasoline driving distances to stores. Yet I can and do comparison shop for best prices. Online shopping works well for my needs so I won't be missing those out-of-business stores large or small. And I don't cry about lost jobs, even though I used to work retail myself. Retail workers are very poorly paid and few retail jobs are full-time employment. We need jobs in America, but those aren't the kind.
Only problem is jobs in retail (along with restaurant and hospitality) make up an OVERWHELMING majority of the jobs that have been created in the past decade or so.
The further decline of physical stores is going to SERIOUS impact in the years to come; online retailing won't come anywhere close to making up those losses IMHO...
The further decline of physical stores is going to SERIOUS impact in the years to come; online retailing won't come anywhere close to making up those losses IMHO...
Of course not.
The cost of doing anything is the aggregate labor and compensation for all the people involved in providing the product or service. Jobs are always eliminated when things are done more efficiently. Increases in productivity are inherently job destroying.
The reason it wasn't a problem previously was because consumers shared equally in this rising productivity (via higher compensation), leading to *more* products and services, and more jobs. That ended in the late 70s, and since then consumption has been propped up by debt escalation. But that party is over.
Only problem is jobs in retail (along with restaurant and hospitality) make up an OVERWHELMING majority of the jobs that have been created in the past decade or so.
The further decline of physical stores is going to SERIOUS impact in the years to come; online retailing won't come anywhere close to making up those losses IMHO...
Don't forget about foregone rents by the landlords who own the shopping centers, the reduction of property tax values increasingly shifting the tax burden to the homeowner, the aesthetics of a neighborhood full of closed storefronts eventually rotting away, etc. The indirect impacts are huge if brick-and-mortar retail collapses and is replaced by warehouses and sorting facilities for UPS and FedEx. There will be lots of real estate available that is of no use!
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Originally Posted by Lycanmaster
And considering Walmart is one of top employers in this country, well...
I shudder to think what will happen to NW Arkansas when Walmart winds down trading!
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Originally Posted by rruff
Of course not.
The cost of doing anything is the aggregate labor and compensation for all the people involved in providing the product or service. Jobs are always eliminated when things are done more efficiently. Increases in productivity are inherently job destroying.
The reason it wasn't a problem previously was because consumers shared equally in this rising productivity (via higher compensation), leading to *more* products and services, and more jobs. That ended in the late 70s, and since then consumption has been propped up by debt escalation. But that party is over.
Also the deflation that will be coming means that a dollar will be worth more in 2017 than it was in 2015. CEOs can be relied on to use that as a cover to cut wages of highly-skilled professionals from upper-middle class wages to slightly above minimum wage (probably middle middle-class, where middle/slightly-skilled workers are being paid right now) and keep the rest as profit of the business and distribute dividends. There will be nowhere to go to chase higher pay as it is uniform across companies in an industry.
Households cut expenses (e.g. "cutting-the-cord" by moving to broadcast TV, cancel the cell phone bill and just have a landline, cancel Netflix, etc...anything but the basic utilities and the credit card debt) eventually leading to some industries becoming extinct and creating more job losses.
Eventually nobody will be able to afford to operate a car and public transportation will be the primary transport method. Public transportation will be extended to the suburbs and other parts of the metropolis that don't have it or introduce more frequent service/bus or train lines. The auto mechanic is in the dustbin of history with the buggy-whip maker.
This is a vicious downward economic cycle. It's starting to resemble the fall of the Roman Empire!
Lost of jobs? Just different jobs are created. There used to be people that delivered milk to your door, then Mom and Pop stores open and people went to stores to buy their milk. Yes, someone lost their job but another was created.
Online shopping creates more jobs in those warehouses, more jobs for Fed Ex and UPS and Computer people that create programs and fix Computer issues. Jobs just get shifted.
(Ironic that I used this example because in the last several months I have my eggs, milk and other dairy products delivered to my door by a dairyman every week!)
Lost of jobs? Just different jobs are created. There used to be people that delivered milk to your door, then Mom and Pop stores open and people went to stores to buy their milk. Yes, someone lost their job but another was created.
Online shopping creates more jobs in those warehouses, more jobs for Fed Ex and UPS and Computer people that create programs and fix Computer issues. Jobs just get shifted.
(Ironic that I used this example because in the last several months I have my eggs, milk and other dairy products delivered to my door by a dairyman every week!)
This sounds great, but it's not the reality. Unfortunately jobs are being destroyed much faster than they are being created in this economy.
Brick and mortar serves a useful purpose at times.
Indeed.
Customer service. It's their claim to fame,
Their competitive advantage is staff who can help you find the right bra in the right size, who can check to see if that item is carried in your size in another store, who can pull something off the rack that you might like.
If you can even find someone these days, they generally "don't work in this department."
Even when they do, their duties appear to be limited to ensuring you don't make off with a free pair of panties.
Staples - electronics sales eaten by Best Buy/Amazon/etc
Sears - dated stores that look like 1985 inside, stuffed with clothes that look like they were designed in 1995 and appliances and tools that impress no one. Business has been eaten by Macy's, Wal Mart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. They're pretty much the lousiest choice in every market they try to compete in.
Kohl's - same problem as the others. They get their lunch eaten at the low end by Target/etc and at the higher end by Macy's and the like
Sometimes it's just bad business models and failure to stay current on the part of a few retailers. It doesn't mean the world is on fire.
I don't agree with you on Sears. There merchandise, at least for men, is better than the low end stores you mentioned, and less expensive than the high end.
My main issue with them is that they can't move a line. Their register operators ask a million questions and it takes 20 minutes to buy a shirt. Also the last time I picked up something there that was a large appliance, it took forever and the guys running the pickup center were clueless. I can buy a good looking work wardrobe there for the same price as Target's that looks crappy and wears out faster, and that costs much less than Macy's.
Their problem is organization and speed, not their merchandise or the department store model. I've found Kohls is more expensive than Sears where I live and other than the check out setup, it looks the same as any 80's dept store...I don't get it with Kohls.
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