Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 406 posts

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#91

Post by kakarot »

PatientTrades wrote: post #29

Even with high consumer confidence, retail is dying. The middle class no longer has the same spending habits as it did for the past 60 years. Its fair to say that retail malls and outlets as we know them might not exist in the next 15-20 years. Why would somebody walk into a Macys and buy and item when you can order it of Amazon and have it delivered the same day for %20 cheaper?

> Of 1,200 shopping malls across the US, 50% are expected to close by 2023.

From the Wikipedia entry mentioned at the top of the article.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#92

Post by walrus01 »

pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

Re: Malls, people might find the Dead Malls site interesting: http://deadmalls.com/

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#93

Post by deme-rs »

ewheeler wrote: post #13

The 'Retail jobs growth by state' chart in this article (approx 2/3 down the page) is lovely: one square line chart for each US state, positioned roughly according to geography, all equal in size. I find it very easy to grok compared to choropleth maps and similar charts that attempt to stay true to geography. Unlike other non-map presentations of US state data, this layout preserves ability to spot regional similari…

Chorogrid [1] seems appropriate.

[1] https://github.com/Prooffreader/chorogrid

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#94

Post by boyce »

sytelus wrote: post #24

Retail is the prime example of middleman business. The middleman businesses don't produce anything by themselves and attempt to extract profits via information asymmetry and/or some value adds such as geographically closer availability. Eventually both of these should be done by machines. Throughout the history technology has been killing off middleman businesses such as travel agents, insurance agents, stock brokers…

Retail, where it still works, is about curation. I've been working recently with a specialised retailer and his stocking of a particular product is effectively a seal of quality.

The few shops I go to, I don't go there because they have every possible product, I go there because I know their purchasing reflects the opinions and qualities that I also value.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#95

Post by Retric »

irrational wrote: post #12
Retric wrote: post #3

Retail is dependent on consumer spending. As more stores close the remainder should be more profitable, which should minimize ripple effects.

Do you still shop in brick and mortar stores? Other than food (groceries and restaurants) and sometimes clothing, I haven't shopped in a brick and mortar store in so long that I can't even remember when was the last time. It's just so easy to buy things online, even small one off purchases. The other day I needed some AAA batteries so I just hopped on Amazon and ordered them and they showed up a day later. I probably…

I have never been a big shopper, but I find I do a 50/50 split. I also tend to buy gifts at physical stores so I can get ideas and know I have them in my hand. I also like stores when details matter like furniture or luggage.

If anything I am doing less online shopping over time as I keep getting burned. Though I also lived next door to a mall for years which changed my habits somewhat.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#96

Post by gozur88 »

PatientTrades wrote: post #29

Even with high consumer confidence, retail is dying. The middle class no longer has the same spending habits as it did for the past 60 years. Its fair to say that retail malls and outlets as we know them might not exist in the next 15-20 years. Why would somebody walk into a Macys and buy and item when you can order it of Amazon and have it delivered the same day for %20 cheaper?

There are still some things you might want to buy in person. Fresh produce, for example, or clothing. Especially clothing. A lot of people like to try on clothes before they buy - they want to see how it looks on them, they want to check out the quality and weight of the fabric. Plus, if you're picky about color there's no substitute for looking at something in person.

I realize you can effectively do that online by buying a bunch of stuff and returning what you don't want. But that's more of a hassle than just going to a brick and mortar retailer.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#97

Post by onion2k »

pascalxus wrote: post #60

Malls hold no interest for me whatsoever. There's nothing there worthwhile, other than employment. Malls have nothing: no libraries, no Good Cafes, no places to hang out, no parks, no museums, no zoos, limited live music, no outdoors. And the few things it does have: like some book stores and places to eat, are all engineered to get you in and out and back to the Mall's singular focus: Spend, spend, spend: shop till…

Spend, spend, spend: shop till you drop mentality.

If you think malls are only about consumerism then you've misunderstood a big part of their appeal for a lot of people. Young people and groups of friends don't go to the mall on their own. Malls merge consumerism with social activity - they're for people who enjoy shopping with their friends.

If that's not you then fair enough, but don't disparage malls simply because they don't appeal to you. If they disappear society will be worse for many, many people.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#98

Post by hinkley »

excalibur wrote: post #36
brango wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're aggregators. There's value in going to a single shop to buy everything instead of going to 200 individual suppliers for your weekly shopping.

It's not really relevant, but I'm having a hard time picturing a household that consumes 200 unique items every week. Must be pretty fancy.

Well the number was pulled out of the air, but you don’t think a family of four has 200 distinct items in their trash + recycling every week?

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#99

Post by emodendroket »

radix07 wrote: post #69
ISL wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon, Facebook, Google, AirBnB, Uber, Match, etcetera are all middlemen. They provide an interface between parties who wish to exchange information, goods, services, and time. The nature of middle-people businesses is changing, but they're not going away.

Right, but the point is how many jobs does Amazon create delivering all those goods to you compared to say a Sears or Walmart? The modern day middlemen are doing a better job with way less people. Hence the Retail Apocalypse...

But if you read the article it describes a lot of businesses which are profitable and could plod along, except they're saddled with tons of debt from leveraged buyouts.

Re: America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

#100

Post by lotsofpulp »

narrator wrote: post #52
sytelus wrote: post #24

Retail is the prime example of middleman business. The middleman businesses don't produce anything by themselves and attempt to extract profits via information asymmetry and/or some value adds such as geographically closer availability. Eventually both of these should be done by machines. Throughout the history technology has been killing off middleman businesses such as travel agents, insurance agents, stock brokers…

I know all you alpha-nerds just never want to leave the house and could live in a 20foot square cube and sit on the toilet with your laptop while only consuming auto-delivered soylent and a caffeine IV drip for all you care, but let me help you all out with a little in understanding this retail thing: Retail is mostly about entertainment now, primarily for women. Women like to shop for clothes and try stuff on. They…

Fewer people can afford those experiences. There's usually one or two nice parts of town with (search for Apple store, Nordstroms, or Whole Foods), where you can find new development.

But buying stuff made in China was cheap, even people who made $30k/year could do that. But going out for coffee, brunch, movies, massages, trainers, that stuff is way more expensive, and so is limited to the nicer parts of town.

Post reply on HN