/biz/ - Business & Finance

[Anonymous No.1816643]

I thought I would ask you guys

Why are department stores everywhere closing?

Sears, Macy's, JC Penneys. What the heck is going on?

Surely internet can't be replacing all retail. I dont like shopping by internet because I cant physically inspect what I am buying and have to rely on the chimpanzees the delivery companies hire to get it to me safely if at all.

I also read that malls are going to be more focused on 'entertainment', which I think is code for making them even dumber and 'equal'. So the great suburban retreat is ending I guess, and shoot outs at malls will be more common.

Iirc, malls came about because downtown business districts were becoming slummy. So I guess the slums are coming to the malls.

All very strange. Its only a matter of time before malls become subsidized 'community centers'. And then get the wrecking ball.

tl;dr- I guess everyone stays home from now on

[Anonymous No.1816654]

>>1816643
>Sears
Troubled finances for decades (at least since the mid 1980s)

>Macy's
Too many acquisitions in the 2000s

>JC Penneys
Don't know about this one.

>I dont like shopping by internet because I cant physically inspect what I am buying and have to rely on the chimpanzees the delivery companies hire to get it to me safely if at all.
Smart people think like this. However, the majority of America isn't that smart. So they'll buy cheap Chink shit from Amazon and shout like apes when a delivery "driver" wrecks their item.

>malls came about because downtown business districts were becoming slummy. So I guess the slums are coming to the malls.
TRUTH. Everything is moving back downtown.

[Anonymous No.1816856]

>>1816654

Thank you. I dont follow how anything could move downtown though. Maybe its different where you are. All the town and city cores I see are broken down wastelands of government offices interspersed with fast food and government housing with some attraction being propped up as local culture. Its almost feudal; the banks and government offices within blocks of the police station (the kings men), some cheap diners for them to eat, half of which close after lunch, then surrounded by housing projects and booze joints.

Then there are summer festivals suburbanites converge on, ostensibly to make them feel urban and to make the bank-spotted slums resemble something less apocalyptic. Usually there is some 'hometown pride' theme, after which everyone flees back to the burbs.

[Anonymous No.1816865]

>>1816654
When you buy things online from a big retailer you can return it for free. Prices are also usually much less. Online is better in a lot of ways

[Anonymous No.1816878]

>>1816643
Malls and brick & mortar retail are done regardless of physical location. Doesn't matter if it's downtown or in the burbs. Why would I waste my time driving, finding parking, getting (usually) shit customer service, then driving home when I could circumvent all of that and ship directly to my office? So you can cling to some antiquated notion of having to waste hours of my day on menial errands in exchange for subsidizing shit business models and retards who couldn't graduate high school? Get fucked.

>Surely internet can't be replacing all retail
But it is. Just wait until amazon starts selling 2x4s and starts putting the hurt on places like home depot as well.

I can't wait.

[Anonymous No.1816887]

>>1816643
Anemic sales/earnings because online retailers are getting all the sales. Online is just better to the average shopper. Fhey choose between:
>get dressed and hunt through various stores looking for what I want
>If I can't find it, don't expect an employee to help find it
>leave having settled for less or empty handed
Or
>google exactly what you want
>compare sellers to find the best price
>send digital funnymunny to them, shit appears at my doorstep a few days later
It's an obvious choice
As far as not being able to inspect the item... pictures exist. Ask the seller to take more detailed photos. If they can't, ask for 30 day nsa return period. Get it in writing, marketplace (amazon ebay etc) will honor it/get your $ back
Also you could meet in person. I buy things online and the transaction often happens face-to-face. I could never buy a new iphone for $80 at any retailer, but pajeet 1 mile away will sell me one at that price.

Sears is a special case. Crazy management, like geniunely out of touch with reality.
>>1816654
>item shows up broken
>cry to amazon
>free replacement
Getting a dept store to replace or accept returns is a fucking nightmare, because the store makes the rules and doesn't have to take your side. Amazon will almost always defend the buyer.

[Anonymous No.1816977]

>>1816856
Gentrification.
Essentially, the the city core becomes so run-down that it resembles unimproved wilderness. A developer can then come in and bulldoze for cheap land. Various hipsters will also buy up the ancient buildings for their "history".

[Anonymous No.1817011]

>>1816887

Well, I use online catalogs, of course. I dont mind seeing what a store has online or paying for it. But I want the chance to see it in person before I buy.

Ive had a lot of horrible delivery service. I used to live in the city where there was a lot of mail theft, and thats assuming it ever arrived or survived shipping.

There are advantages to applying the web to purchase. I just dont relying on it totally. Plus, if I get screwed, I like to be able to make my case in person (be a roaring pain until they get the point) which you cant do as well over a phone.

>>1816977

Its a new world alright. Maybe the big box stores are taking over too.

They say 'we meet in the market place'. I guess maybe part of the message is no one wants to meet any more.

Its entirely a side issue. But now that I think about it, it sort of says something about modern American evolution of the idea of community and public space.

[Anonymous No.1817056]

>>1816643

The internet

>I dont like shopping by internet because I cant physically inspect what I am buying

You are rapidly becoming the minority in this aspect. The internet is rapidly becoming better at providing goods in a safe environment where the customer can get a "feel" for the product prior to purchase, and is protected in the event of a mistaken buy.

I say good riddance, brick and mortar is the past.

Soon you won't even go to a store for clothing, a VR camera will scan you exactly, you'll be able to virtually try clothes and buy them.

[Anonymous No.1817113]

>>1816856
Where I'm from the downtown used to be a tweaker filled slum with rotting buildings but has been gentrified and a bunch of new restaurants and bars were built and apartments were remodeled, now it's filled with college students and hipsters

[Anonymous No.1817172]

>>1816643
Thanks for your blog post.
Yes, people do not wish to leave their homes.
Yes, the internet is killing retail stores.
Yes, humanity is grimey and shitty.
No, it won't change.
I did like however, when you mentioned that malls are continuously getting shittier, and the crime seems to find its way there.
You're right, they've become community centers.
c'est la vie.

[Anonymous No.1817173]

Nothing is really worth purchasing nowadays. Online or in person.

[Anonymous No.1817174]

>>1816643
e-commerce