The retail apocalypse has officially descended on America

[fedupinmo]

 

[euphemia]

It is sad in a way . Pull into a town of 40k and no longer a Sears , Kmart , JC Pennies

Oddly enough, Sears, JC Penney's, and Montgomery Ward all had huge catalog sales back in the day. That was the precursor to on-line shopping.

 

[EBounding]

Going to the store is generally an awful experience. Especially one that hasn't been updated since the 90's.

 

[euphemia]

I really only shop in small stores these days. Painful knees mean more drive-by shopping.

 

[Suzanimal]

I really only shop in small stores these days. Painful knees mean more drive-by shopping.

I've gotten the same way lately. My knees don't hurt but I just hate grocery stores and it seems like they're getting bigger and bigger. I've found Aldi to be the most convenient and I can always get one of the boys to go with me because they get to keep the quarter for doing all the work, lol.

 

[euphemia]

Husband does the shopping now because I really cannot stay on my feet that long.

 

[sparebulb]

I do all of the shopping for an elderly parent. I find the retail experience to be pure hell. Fat, obstructive, smelly, sickly brain-dead boobuses abound everywhere.

I agree, Aldi is the best here, but they understaff to the point that the checkout wait annoys me.

 

[euphemia]

If you want a good retail experience, go to Sally's Beauty Supply. They are fully staffed with licensed cosmetologists. Those people know their products. They are friendly and the Sally's card costs $5.00 a year. They give a coupon for $5.00 off the next visit plus free product. I don't think I have bought shampoo in about 3 years. By far, my favorite store for nail, skin, and hair care.

 

[timosman]

Dollar stores are dominating retail by betting on the death of the American middle class

http://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-general-sales-soar-death-of-american-middle-class-2017-12

Dollar General and other dollar stores are thriving while department stores struggle to survive — and their success is built on the death of the American middle class.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dollar General has become one of the most profitable retailers in the US by opening more locations in places across the country that have continued to struggle economically.

"The economy is continuing to create more of our core customer," Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos told the WSJ.

The company's target shopper comes from a household making $40,000 or less a year.

"We are putting stores today [in areas] that perhaps five years ago were just on the cusp of probably not being our demographic, and it has now turned to being our demographic," Vasos said.

As department stores like Sears and Macy's have struggled to grow sales, dollar stores and other super-budget retailers are dominating.

From 2010 to 2015, dollar store sales grew from $30.4 billion to $45.3 billion in the US. While retailers close thousands of stores across the US, the WSJ reports Dollar General is planning to build "thousands more stores, mostly in small communities that have otherwise shown few signs of the U.S. economic recovery."

Dollar stores' success is based on their ability to provide what lower-income households need when they have no other options. Instead of selling items in bulk that allow for long-term savings, dollar stores sell small quantities of items that customers can afford — even if they end up paying more on a per-ounce or per-item basis in the long run.

"Essentially what the dollar stores are betting on in a large way is that we are going to have a permanent underclass in America," Garrick Brown, director for retail research at the commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, told Bloomberg.

Brown continued: "It's based on the concept that the jobs went away, and the jobs are never coming back, and that things aren't going to get better in any of these places."

Pew Research Center defines "middle class" in America as households with two-thirds to double the national median income. While that still includes roughly half of American households, it's a shrinking group — from 2000 to 2014, middle-class populations decreased in 203 of the 229 metropolitan areas reviewed in a Pew study.

While the average household income for the wealthiest 20% of Americans grew by about 60% from 1980 to 2015, the rest of America has lagged significantly behind. The mean income of the lowest-earning 20% grew by just 10% in the same time period.

 

[Working Poor]

I have been hatching an idea for Apocalypse Vacations.

 

[Raginfridus]

I have been hatching an idea for Apocalypse Vacations.

As long as I don't have to drink tang or shit my pants, launch me in a rocket into the stars.

 

[Raginfridus]

Kid Komrade at 1 mo.

Kid Komrade at 1 yr.

 

[fedupinmo]

As long as I don't have to drink tang or shit my pants, launch me in a rocket into the stars.

Whatchu gotta gainst Tang?

 

[Raginfridus]

As long as tang on Poon has lots of pulp, I'm OK.

 

[euphemia]

Back to the OP. I'm watching a report on "retail-tainment," or experience retail, where stores are creating experiences like golf simulators, exercise try-outs, whatever, to "delight" the customer so they will come into b&m stores.

Dear Retailers: I would be delighted to walk into a store, find the product I want, and then be able to pay for it and go home without waiting in super long queues. I would also like to have cashiers who actually know how to count change because I don't use your store's credit card, so please don't make them try to upsell me one. All I want is service.

 

[DamianTV]

Back to the OP. I'm watching a report on "retail-tainment," or experience retail, where stores are creating experiences like golf simulators, exercise try-outs, whatever, to "delight" the customer so they will come into b&m stores.

Dear Retailers: I would be delighted to walk into a store, find the product I want, and then be able to pay for it and go home without waiting in super long queues. I would also like to have cashiers who actually know how to count change because I don't use your store's credit card, so please don't make them try to upsell me one. All I want is service.

Dear Retailers: Dont send me to your website when I am physically standing in your store.

 

[LibForestPaul]

Somebody is filling up the retail space. Vacancies have been declining.

That is vacancy rates. What is happening to the total available retail space? Is it growing, remaining flat, or declining?
And why did you not post this to begin with? Almost if your presented a statistic to only persuade, not inform.

 

[devil21]

That is vacancy rates. What is happening to the total available retail space? Is it growing, remaining flat, or declining?
And why did you not post this to begin with? Almost if your presented a statistic to only persuade, not inform.

Good point about rates. In my mid-size Agenda 21 city, a lot of the retail space that was once strip malls and stand-alone units has been demolished and replaced with mixed use Agenda 21 condo developments. More is demolished daily. The total square footage of retail space has definitely been reduced. Then there's the low-profile gray-area-of-legality gambling parlors taking over from spaces previously occupied by retailers like carpet sales and other services no longer needed because of the condo developments. This is also why delivery services are being pushed onto everyone.

It's a combination of less money to spend and less options to spend at, not some giant demand for online commerce. All very intentional, of course, as part of Agenda 21 and the loss of dollar global reserve status.

 

[AZJoe]

Sears announced it will be closing an additional 64 Kmart and 29 Sears stores

 

[timosman]

Barnes & Noble layoff in the works

https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/barnes-noble-layoff-in-the-works/

Feb. 15, 2018

The holiday season didn't prove to be a boon for beleaguered bookseller Barnes & Noble, and the retailer is laying off workers.

In a statement, company officials stated it was "adjusting staffing" to meet needs of existing business and customers and that as “the business improves we'll adjust accordingly."

The news comes following reports of healthy retail sales increases at the end of 2017 compared to 2016, and as companies are doling out bonuses and pay raises primarily due to the federal tax reform. The National Retail Federation expects the robust retail sales trend to continue this year, as Retail Customer Experience previously reported.

Barnes & Noble did not provide the number of workers being laid off, according to a USA Today report, or which roles and markets may be impacted.