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Why go to a store when you can get exactly what you want delivered at home?
Home delivery is not always a smooth trouble-free process.
When I first moved to my current home my packages were not getting delivered. It turned out there was someone with my same last name and street number earlier on the postal route. The letter carriers were leaving my packages at this other family's house who apparently lived in town for a much longer time. We had different first names and street names but the postal employees were being careless. It took several instances and related complaints from me to get the postal employees to look more closely at the mailing labels and deliver the packages correctly.
I have been ordering more online this year due to the pandemic. Packages shipped through USPS in Nashua arrive quickly without any delays but for some reason USPS packages routed through Springfield languish in the USPS logistics system. I monitor the packages through the USPS delivery website now. Packages that go through Springfield will be sent to Manchester and Manchester will send it back to Springfield. I had one package earlier in the year which bounced between Springfield and Manchester three times before Springfield got it right and sent it along to the correct location. If I see Springfield in the package tracking I adjust my timing expectations to include a minimum of a two week delay. The Springfield postal facility simply sucks!
Finally there is the theft issue for some known as porch pirates.
It is honestly less stressful to drive to a store and buy something in person.
Crushing? I dunno. I bet (pre-covid) the Primark in DTX does 3-5x the revenue of that Macy's.
Here's some ideas for the Macy's space:
* An affordable gym - the planet fitness downtown is a ****-show from what I hear, and all the other gyms in the area are "upscale" and expensive. I doubt there's the demand for anything but an upscale gym. Certainly no enough to justify that purchase price tag
* Food/beer hall (like the Time Out Market or preferably cheaper) - office workers would love the options at lunch. Too much like fun and the "Neighborhood" opposes more alcohol in that area. You;d also get major resistance form the folks at the Corner Mall
* Art space collective. Something like the Western Ave Studios in Lowell I think the space is too large for just that, and thats not profitable
* City Target or similar I like this one, but with South Bay and another Target in Field orner it might be overkill
* IKEA, Wayfair, etc furniture showroom? This would be a good one too. Best choice
All these ideas based on my experience when i worked by DTX for 4-5 years up til recently.
I don't think the building will be torn down because of A) a major data center hosted above and B) Major MBTA offices and infrastructure below.
You can go to Lowe's and buy the 4-5 dehumidifier they have available or you can go on Lowes.com and buy from the over 80 dehumidifier they have available.
I honestly prefer the buy online and ship to store option available through Walmart, Home Depot / Lowes and some other retailers. I have had too many problems with not only USPS but UPS and Fedex as well. During the meat shortage in the spring I order something from Omaha Steaks. It was being delivered by Fedex and when I got the delivery notice I found a small box outside my garage. I was expecting a large insulated container. Confused I brought the box indoors when my phone rang; it was a woman who lives two houses down the street. The Fedex driver delivered my food to her house and I apparently got her mother's diabetic supplies. I drove over to her house and swapped the packages.
I feel like I could write a book about all the delivery mistakes and issues I have had to deal with in the last ten years or so. Delivery by drone cannot be implemented fast enough.
Crushing? I dunno. I bet (pre-covid) the Primark in DTX does 3-5x the revenue of that Macy's.
Here's some ideas for the Macy's space:
* An affordable gym - the planet fitness downtown is a ****-show from what I hear, and all the other gyms in the area are "upscale" and expensive.
* Food/beer hall (like the Time Out Market or preferably cheaper) - office workers would love the options at lunch.
* Art space collective. Something like the Western Ave Studios in Lowell
* City Target or similar
* IKEA, Wayfair, etc furniture showroom?
All these ideas based on my experience when i worked by DTX for 4-5 years up til recently.
I don't think the building will be torn down because of A) a major data center hosted above and B) Major MBTA offices and infrastructure below.
We can debate the semantics, but it would be a noticeable loss. Not just in terms of the shopping options downtown (with CambridgeSide gone, DTX is the last one inside of 128), but in terms of the foot traffic it generates in the location. It's almost always pretty busy (outside of COVID). And while not quite as important, it would be an aesthetic hit for the area - Macy's does a good job with window displays (especially during the holidays) which benefits everyone walking by, not just shoppers.
Primark may do more business, but I'm not sure what that has to do with Macy's? They aren't really competitors and it'd be hard to argue that the Washington/Summer intersection isn't better served by having both.
Regarding your ideas, some of those (or a combination of all of them) would be better than others, but i'm not sure the need/viability.
There's plenty of room for another affordable gym in the area (inc. the old Eddie Bauer space, Forever 21, etc.) - the combination of rent/competition (my office pays for a BSC membership and the DTX location is my gym) likely makes it cost prohibitive. Especially in a post-COVID world if people are commuting less - a huge chunk of the people in those gyms are workers, not downtown residents. We'll see downtown gyms shutter for good before new ones open.
Can't see an art collective being able to pay rent there without some astronomical financial backing.
I'd pump the brakes on food halls until we've seen the business model recover post-COVID. As it is, there's a brand new one opening on Causeway St and another that just opened and is currently "temporarily closed" a 7 minute walk away on High St. (High Street Place). I'm not sure DTX could sustain yet another. My money would be on Corner Mall redeveloping into more of a "high end" model rather than a brand new food hall opening up.
There's now a City Target on Cambridge St within walking distance. There's a regular Target in South Bay, and two additional City Targets a quick hop on the T in Central Square and in Fenway. Not sure there's a market for one more in DTX - the giant Walgreens covers a lot of the City Target bases.
Ikea or Wayfair is an interesting thought, but I'd consider it to be unlikely in this spot. Ikea is almost entirely built around the large footprint, suburban model (see: Stoughton). They recently started testing smaller footprint urban stores (the only U.S. location is in Brooklyn), but even those require incorporate large amounts of parking so customers can carry the stuff out of the store and drive it home. Not only is there no parking on-site, but even rideshares would be tricky considering that Washington and that section of Summer are pedestrian only. They'd have to completely change their model. IF Ikea were to open another location in metro Boston, it'd likely be in the suburbs north of the city. If it were in/close to town, it'd be somewhere more car-friendly like Assembly Row (where they did have one proposed), South Bay, Fresh Pond, Arsenal Yards, etc. Wayfair doesn't seem to know what to do about retail storefronts. They tried one in Natick, but it was short lived (lasted less than a year). Their only physical location is a warehouse in Kentucky. If/when they try again, I doubt they'd shoot for DTX for similar reasons to Ikea.
You can go to Lowe's and buy the 4-5 dehumidifier they have available or you can go on Lowes.com and buy from the over 80 dehumidifier they have available.
Nothing wrong with the 4-5 dehumidifiers they have in stock, I'm sure one of them can suit my needs. I'm happy to give a local person a job, as well as the local tax revenue it provides. I buy a new pair of boots I want to feel them, wear them and get a sense of their fit. I have no interest in playing the wondering why it's been a week and item hasn't even shipped, then sending it back and waiting again if the fit isn't just right. Much easier to just go down to the frikkin store and buy it. Atkinson made a good point about FedEx/UPS, since Covid it's been completely unreliable. That includes Prime stuff, if you are even lucky to find what you need there. Half of my Christmas gifts were late this year. Now granted, selection in the stores has been abysmal too. But very often if I'm buying these things, it's spontaneous and want/need them NOW.
I honestly prefer the buy online and ship to store option available through Walmart, Home Depot / Lowes and some other retailers. I have had too many problems with not only USPS but UPS and Fedex as well. During the meat shortage in the spring I order something from Omaha Steaks. It was being delivered by Fedex and when I got the delivery notice I found a small box outside my garage. I was expecting a large insulated container. Confused I brought the box indoors when my phone rang; it was a woman who lives two houses down the street. The Fedex driver delivered my food to her house and I apparently got her mother's diabetic supplies. I drove over to her house and swapped the packages.
I feel like I could write a book about all the delivery mistakes and issues I have had to deal with in the last ten years or so. Delivery by drone cannot be implemented fast enough.
Buy online and ship to store is = to buy on line in my mind. Same if you are having your item shipped to a lockbox somewhere. This is probably what I would do if I lived in a city.
Beside that, I have never experience major problem, the few times that a package took 2 weeks instead of 2 days never bothered me. USPS constantly messes up mail delivery (not packages, regular mail), I just take it to my neighbor or, if it's someone I don't know, leave it in the mailbox with a message for the mail person.
Nothing wrong with the 4-5 dehumidifiers they have in stock, I'm sure one of them can suit my needs. I'm happy to give a local person a job, as well as the local tax revenue it provides. I buy a new pair of boots I want to feel them, wear them and get a sense of their fit. I have no interest in playing the wondering why it's been a week and item hasn't even shipped, then sending it back and waiting again if the fit isn't just right. Much easier to just go down to the frikkin store and buy it. Atkinson made a good point about FedEx/UPS, since Covid it's been completely unreliable. That includes Prime stuff, if you are even lucky to find what you need there. Half of my Christmas gifts were late this year. Now granted, selection in the stores has been abysmal too. But very often if I'm buying these things, it's spontaneous and want/need them NOW.
You can do whatever you want, I am not trying to convince you to buy stuff online.
I am mostly definitely not happy with the stuff they have in store 99.9% of the time, unless is a very minor thing. And I pretty much never do impulse buying.
Lately I have even being doing grocery online (with in store pickup), it's great. If the fresh stuff doesn't look good they refund without asking much.
Buy online and ship to store is = to buy on line in my mind. Same if you are having your item shipped to a lockbox somewhere. This is probably what I would do if I lived in a city.
If the delivery could be automated and tracking systems made more accurate I would be fine with buying most goods online. Until then I restrict online + home delivery to items I can't buy in person and/or a ship-to-store option is not available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lampert
Beside that, I have never experience major problem, the few times that a package took 2 weeks instead of 2 days never bothered me.
You would not be concerned if you saw an anticipated package bouncing back and forth between two postal facilities like a volleyball? When that happened to me the timing of the arrival of those packages was not critical but it was annoying in that I had to wonder if the packages would arrive in the end. I have experienced a package going back to the sender through no fault of my own. In person shopping does not present that kind of uncertainty; I see it, I can take possession of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lampert
USPS constantly messes up mail delivery (not packages, regular mail), I just take it to my neighbor or, if it's someone I don't know, leave it in the mailbox with a message for the mail person.
The actual USPS mail functions very well for me. It is USPS package delivery that has had a lot of hiccups over the years.
Last edited by AtkinsonDan; 01-12-2021 at 03:42 PM..
If the delivery could be automated and tracking systems made more accurate I would be fine with buying most goods online. Until then I restrict online + home delivery to items I can't buy in person and/or a ship-to-store option is not available.
I tend to limit my online orders to companies with a history of quick and flawless shipping.
Many, such as McMaster-Carr, Build, Zoro/Grainger will ship within 1-2 business of ordering. The more boutique small businesses can be very hit or miss.
You would not be concerned if you saw an anticipated package bouncing back and forth between two postal facilities like a volleyball?
Not really, I am pretty confident that if there is a problem I am going to receive a refund.
This happened to me right before Christmas, a package was at the Springfield center for 2 weeks with a weird status. After the 2 weeks was delivered, I don't remember if I contacted anyone but I don't think so.
At work, I don't even have a possibility to not order online, I have to. Unless I want to deal with a ton of paperwork.
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