Live data from Hacker News

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

bloomberg.com

221–230 of 406 posts

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

#221
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are online retailers any different? They are “fleecing” customers just as much. In fact, Jeff Bezos is currently the worlds richest man.

> How are online retailers any different? I get my esoteric shit tomorrow. That's how they're different. Sorry, but not everyone is entitled to a job in 2018.

So you'll not be sad if we just take your job, and remove your ability to provide for yourself.

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

#222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And return them just as quickly. My wife will go through 4-5 online orders to find clothing that fits as advertised, returning a majority of each purchase. Hard for anyone but Amazon to maintain that kind of return throughput.

I learned recently that even Amazon is banning people for returns. My first thought was that they must have returned a ton of products, but after a quick "banned from amazon" search online it showed that many people with a return rate as low as 9% have been banned. Which doesn't seem like a lot especially if we're talking about clothing. Here's one example, but there's plenty more if you do a quick search: http://cbs…

One-in-ten is a pretty high rate of returns.

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

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blistering summers. Come mid-winter...I am not going downtown to walk around outside, we don't hang out outside (unless we are talking winter sports, and then FULLY clothed). In summer, there needs to be shade. Fall and spring, we get wet. But really, it seems like…

I'm in eastern Canada and I agree with your weather statement. With 100km/h winds, -25C and 1m of snow it's not worth going out. I wish we had a subway system here and underground shops. Montreal and Toronto have huge indoor shopping areas connected by subway, I suppose technically they are malls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto)

Similarly, and while I don't have links on hand, Japan (at least Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo) have major shopping centers right in major train stations. The train station itself seems to be a destination.

There are gyms (generally Konami health clubs), food and shopping, and gardens on the rooftop.

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

#224
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I don't know about you, but I don't only ever buy one brand/style of pants.

Hell, even if I wanted to, often by the time I need more pants, things have changed. Either the brand/style combo is no longer available, or I've gotten fatter (or skinnier! It has been happening recently!).

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

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blistering summers. Come mid-winter...I am not going downtown to walk around outside, we don't hang out outside (unless we are talking winter sports, and then FULLY clothed). In summer, there needs to be shade. Fall and spring, we get wet. But really, it seems like…

I'm in eastern Canada and I agree with your weather statement. With 100km/h winds, -25C and 1m of snow it's not worth going out. I wish we had a subway system here and underground shops. Montreal and Toronto have huge indoor shopping areas connected by subway, I suppose technically they are malls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto)

So, growing up in the midwest, there is a museum dedicated to the area. It's on Main Street in the biggest town in the area. It's basement, which is now just used for storage, was part of an entire underground Main Street. You can still see the storefronts with the big windows and such down there. Apparently it stretched along most of downtown, mirroring the above.

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

#226
post #199
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

In the US, that market has been taken over by Walmart. It is effectively the "one stop shop" that people visit weekly for everything from groceries to small furniture. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Walmart has had almost as much of a negative impact on malls as Amazon and its ilk have.

A compare/contrast between Aeon and Walmart would be fascinating. I've literally never seen the inside of a Walmart, so I'm not qualified.

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

#227

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…

I feel like this is a sign of the times. Inflation has outstripped our disposable income that our previous generation has spent on consumerism or infrastructure to enable more consumption (malls, easy capital) and we are now reaping the rewards that our generation can't afford.

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

#228
post #199
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

In the US, that market has been taken over by Walmart. It is effectively the "one stop shop" that people visit weekly for everything from groceries to small furniture. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Walmart has had almost as much of a negative impact on malls as Amazon and its ilk have.

An average Walmart is nothing like the malls I'm talking about. Heck, Carrefour itself already provides everything Walmart does, minus maybe the Walmart money and vision centers.

Imagine putting a Walmart inside of an average US mall. Now crank up the number of stores and activities to 11. That's how major malls in the UAE are like.

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

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blistering summers. Come mid-winter...I am not going downtown to walk around outside, we don't hang out outside (unless we are talking winter sports, and then FULLY clothed). In summer, there needs to be shade. Fall and spring, we get wet. But really, it seems like…

Completely agree that weather makes a huge difference to how much you enjoy strolling outdoors over being in a mall. My main complaint about malls is how _loud_ they are: visually and auditory-ly (someone please tell me what the right word is). Malls are crowded, adorned in bright, garish colors, filled with stale food court food smells. There is very little seating other than at food courts, water fountains are hidd…

RE: your grammar question: "Auditorily"

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

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google used to provide rare value: large scale of organization of information. They also philanthropically raised standards f the web: way better mail service, map service.

They raised the standards, but you're delusional if you think they did it philanthropically. They did it because they thought they could get more info to sell ads.

Oh yeah, I missed an edit I never meant to say it was out of pure altruism. But it was a new kind of move at the time.
Post reply on HN