America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning • Hacker News Board

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

#151

Post by jamesmp98 » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:04 PM UTC

munificent wrote: post #75

hprotagonist wrote: post #2

in general, it is difficult for me to separate a reasonable concern borne of the knowledge that a thriving economy is important from a sense that, so far, the big retail chains that are closing many locations sell junk that i both do not want and think is largely superfluous anyway. Anyone got a reasonable way to synthesize those competing thoughts?

I think the America that will result from this die-off is a better place. Less suburban sprawl. Less giant eyesore big-box stores that no one enjoys spending time in. More informed purchases because people buy stuff online where it's easier to compare reviews. But I think there will be significant, very painful collateral damage to people during this transition and I've very sympathetic to people hit by the job losse…

I don't think there are enough skilled jobs for everyone

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

#152

Post by tytytytytytytyt » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:05 PM UTC

debt wrote: post #106

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…

Malls are super fun. I loved hanging out with friends at the food courts and just walking around the mall going into Wizards of the Coast or Spencer gifts. When you're 13 it's like one of the few places that large where you can hang out without parents around. But yeah that was when I was 13. They haven't really innovated much. It's a great place for kids but no so much for adults. I thought almost everyone had a gre…

The arcades seem to suck compared to what I remembered seeing as a kid, too. And there's no $3.50 matinee movies. :)

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

#153

Post by brandonmenc » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:06 PM UTC

itswhateverman2 wrote: post #128

onion2k wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 becau…

I think you misunderstand. Malls only end up as a social gathering spot when there's nowhere else to go. And even then, that only really appeals to teenagers who have nothing else to do. A mall would never be preferable to what was mentioned above, a downtown with brick paths and quality scenery/stores, etc.

> A mall would never be preferable to what was mentioned above, a downtown with brick paths and quality scenery/stores, etc.

Sounds great, until it snows.

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

#154

Post by kaybe » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

Feniks wrote: post #34

Fuck retail. For decades they have been fleecing customers. Now I'm no longer forced by stores to buy what they happen to have in their inventory. Want that obscure JPN VN? Done, delivered next day. I do feel bad about people losing their jobs. But the discounters and upmarket stores will always survive.

I wish the city had an online inventory. Often I want to buy something specific and I am willing to go to the city for that. However, I don't know which of the hundreds of stores carry that item and which ones are available. Sometimes I give my best guess a call, but it's a stretch. I wish there was an interface so I could search what they're offering.

(For example: Who sells empty glass bottles, a braided belt, fridge magnets, facepaint? There are probably about 10 stores that have it, but which ones? I can easily walk one or two kilometers just checking them out. FYI, this is a European town.)

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

#155

Post by paulpauper » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

gozur88 wrote: post #96

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…

but once people know their size and brand they don't need to keep trying it on

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

#156

Post by Cyph0n » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

nihonde wrote: post #115

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…

Aeon mall in Nagoya, Japan[1] was my primary daily grocery and pharmacy for years. Aeon's format is pretty much the same as most suburban American malls, but they seem to run a tighter ship and do a better job of vertical integration. (I used to marvel at how insanely mirror-clean the floors were in a place where probably a few tens of thousands of people tread daily.) Prices for things like groceries are not the low…

The UAE is similar in that malls are very organized and controlled.

A typical mall would have a food court, a large arcade for kids, a daycare (or two), pharmacies, coffee shops, a book store, a furniture store, and so on. Also, unlike from what I've seen here in the US, any decent mall must contain a large supermarket (usually Carrefour). Malls in the UAE are therefore a "one stop shop" that people go to every week to buy groceries and household supplies.

Given how hot it can get over there, it makes absolute sense to have everything in one, air conditioned building.

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

#157

Post by paulpauper » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

readhn wrote: post #76

this is all coming together nicely with this amazing market bull run from 2009 coming to an end some time in the near future. timing the event is hard if not impossible.

not really. All that is happening is that online retail is subsuming offline retail, while total retail sales keep growing. The bull market has further to go . long Amazon

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

#158

Post by AnimalMuppet » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

hprotagonist wrote: post #2

in general, it is difficult for me to separate a reasonable concern borne of the knowledge that a thriving economy is important from a sense that, so far, the big retail chains that are closing many locations sell junk that i both do not want and think is largely superfluous anyway. Anyone got a reasonable way to synthesize those competing thoughts?

I'd say that "thriving" needs to be redefined. We think of "thriving" as being, say, 2007. It wasn't. That was an overheated, unsustainable bubble. "Thriving" means there's jobs, and growth, but it's not providing all the junk that everyone ever wants. Maybe "healthy" is a better word.

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

#159

Post by heimidal » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

itswhateverman2 wrote: post #128

onion2k wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 becau…

I think you misunderstand. Malls only end up as a social gathering spot when there's nowhere else to go. And even then, that only really appeals to teenagers who have nothing else to do. A mall would never be preferable to what was mentioned above, a downtown with brick paths and quality scenery/stores, etc.

Never? I certainly prefer a mall over a nice outdoor space (which I have available to me) when it’s freezing outside with a sheen of ice covering everything.

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

#160

Post by Woofles » Wed, Nov 08, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

ninkendo wrote: post #90

Danihan wrote: post #6

imo this comes down to centralization and the popularity of "big box" stores. People generally don't want to go to a specialty store anymore, the toy section at Walmart is fine.

Interesting thought. I actually hate big stores because I have to walk a huge distance to find the right section, it’s harder to find the thing I want, they’re more crowded, they’re more likely to be understaffed (30 checkout lines with 2 cashiers is very common)... It’s typically a much bigger waste of time than going to a small store. But I’m definitely a purposeful shopper: I’m always in and out with one goal in m…

For me it's just the fact that if I'm grocery shopping at Target, I can go look at the menswear department for a few minutes because I also like buying new clothes. It's much much harder to buy good fitting and good looking clothes online because you don't get true colors and fit without trying it on. This is a main reason that many box stores target women more than men, since statistically women are more interested in clothing than men.