UNITED STATES—This should truly be an alarming time for Americans because you are seeing more and more retailers shutting their doors. Why should this be an issue? It is happening to retailers who have been around for decades, hell centuries. I’m looking at you Hudson’s. The retailer has shifted its name multiple years from Hudson’s to Marshall Fields to its current title, as Macy’s and there are quite a few Macy’s establishments across the United States that are closing their doors.
That is happening in a city near me, and it is something I truly thought would never happen. Why? I used to frequent this mall as a teen, hell, I still do, but not as much as I used to because a lot of the stores that used to be at that mall are gone. I remember back in the day this was the mall to frequent because it had some top tier retailers, but that is diminishing more and more.
To see a massive ‘STORE CLOSING’ sign on the store and the liquidation process happen is a tearjerker. You’re about to have this massive vacant space inside this mall and what makes it worse is that it is an anchor store. When you lose an anchor store it makes a serious difference. Why? It lessens foot traffic. Plenty of Americans visit those local malls because of the anchor stores, so when those stores close, the smaller stores inside the mall lose potential foot traffic as well. Why do you ask? The consumer makes the decision to frequent another mall that has that anchor store or two that is important to them.
Yes, online shopping has become very popular, hell it has become quite trendy at times, but that should not be your only method to purchase items if you can actually go to a store. People get mad it me all the time because I refuse to shop at Amazon. The prices on Amazon are not that cheaper than anywhere else. You might be saving a few pennies, and sorry, I refuse to pay a $100 plus for some membership so I can get an item in like 24 hours or two days.
Guess what, you can get the item the same day if you go purchase it in person too. Lazy is just lazy, and some Americans just fall into that boat and there is nothing you can do to change that. But we need to be careful with this laziness because it is resulting in more and more companies disappearing from the retailer front. Like I noted, a local mall near me is losing a big anchor store and right next to that Macy’s is a Forever 21 that is ALSO closing, so you have two stores closing its doors within a matter of months.
Retailers that have been known to do decent business at this mall. As an employee at another store told me, it has them worried because it is going to impact business for them, with people choosing not to come to the mall because of a lack of options to shop. If the retailers see more are shopping online, why have a brick and mortar store. You can save on operating costs by getting rid of that building and those employees and just focus on making your online shopping experience as best possible.
The problem is you can’t try clothing online; you can’t try shoes online, you can’t really touch, feel or experience an item online like you can in person. You get the item and then it isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. So now you’re having to make an unnecessary trip back to the retailer to return an item. Hell, most of the returns I see come from people carrying large boxes or plastic bags.
Guess what those items were purchased online America, and if the retailers don’t have brick and mortars, you will not be returning it in person, you will have to ship it via your postal carrier whether that be the U.S. postal service, FedEx, UPS or some other provider. They’re not going to allow you to ship for free. Some retailers might, a vast majority probably will not.
I’ve been warning this for years, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears and there is not much more I can say at this point. Your choice to choose to shop in stores makes a big difference for social interaction, employment and options. We all like options, right? Perhaps we need to adjust our habits and spend more time in stores versus on a computer screen, tablet or phone.
Written By Jason Jones
