Online Shopping Causing Retail Real Estate Decline?

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While online shopping is no doubt a contributing factor here, I think the overall crap state of the economy is the biggest reason for the death of brick & mortar shops.

As we do more and more of our shopping while sitting on our couches in our pajamas with an Ultrabook, we’re destroying a glorious American institution: the mall. Realspace retailers large and small alike have gone bankrupt and shut down or scaled back: a process that the recession only sped up.
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Saw this article earlier. The transition from brick-and-mortar to online retailing is a good thing all round. I'm sick of seeing the landscape dotted with malls and minimalls and all the rest of the monoliths of consumer excess. Perhaps the land can be put to better use, like providing affordable housing, or building businesses that actually produce goods and services, rather than just repackage imported Chinese crap.
 
I don't know. I hardly shop in B&M anymore. I order so much online, and it is so convenient, that I am spending more than I was before shopping online.. Grocery stores & home improvement stores seem to be the only thing I need instant gratification for.
 
hhhhmmmm....
Most of my shopping is never done at the mall. There are quite a few here but none are a few blocks away. Malls just don't have the things I'm usually shopping for. It's not about the internet at all.

If I'm looking for a nice outfit, jewelry, or something from one of their specialty shops....I'll make the trip. But your not likely to find a 3U server case there. Then there are the better deals had from other places (many that are online) that do actually have what I want.
 
I thought malls were for teenagers to look at each other and whisper to their friends.
 
It's evolution, same thing happened to the horse and buggy. We don't need as many malls as we used to, a more efficient system is now in place, time for old businesses to get with the new age, they don't need hand holding.
 
Another reason is price. Why would I pay or other people pay 10, 20, or more for item that is far less online, with shipping usually no tax included. I would not mind spending $5 more for an item I want in the store as opposed to online, amazon. newegg etc. But when they jack up their prices it doesn't make sense to buy it in the store. So far Micro Center is really good on prices very comparable to newegg so I usually shop there often. They need to come down with there prices or they will not last long nowadays the future is online.
 
I've always loathed the mall, well except when i was a teenager and that was the best place to look for chicks :) but other than that I found it to be a huge pain in the ass and I hail the glory of the internet for bringing me online shopping..
 
Techx said:
I've always loathed the mall, well except when i was a teenager and that was the best place to look for chicks :) but other than that I found it to be a huge pain in the ass and I hail the glory of the internet for bringing me online shopping..
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It can still be a good place to look for chicks. Just be sure to leave with one who can keep her mouth shut. :D
 
I think laziness is the reason, customers have been fooled because low prices online reason is now bullshit. You can generally find a better price in a retail store than online, unless you only buy items simply because it's a promotion or on sale. Fact: Most Newegg prices have been higher than a lot of B&M stores on common items for the last three years (IE: I bought a Sony 17" 1600x900 Core I5 6GB ram 640 HD with Blu-Ray drive laptop for $560, Newegg and Amazon had the same model for $800.)

Basically...I see online shopping once had a price advantage so the stupid...err 'lazy' people continue to buy online simply because they are so accustomed to 'thinking' that's where the best price is.
 
Sad but true: B&M or Mall Shopping = more pain & suffering than going to the dentist.
 
BBA said:
I think laziness is the reason, customers have been fooled because low prices online reason is now bullshit. You can generally find a better price in a retail store than online, unless you only buy items simply because it's a promotion or on sale. Fact: Most Newegg prices have been higher than a lot of B&M stores on common items for the last three years (IE: I bought a Sony 17" 1600x900 Core I5 6GB ram 640 HD with Blu-Ray drive laptop for $560, Newegg and Amazon had the same model for $800.)

Basically...I see online shopping once had a price advantage so the stupid...err 'lazy' people continue to buy online simply because they are so accustomed to 'thinking' that's where the best price is.
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Not really my experience. I think your anecdote was fun, but hardly scientific.
 
BBA said:
I think laziness is the reason, customers have been fooled because low prices online reason is now bullshit. You can generally find a better price in a retail store than online, unless you only buy items simply because it's a promotion or on sale. Fact: Most Newegg prices have been higher than a lot of B&M stores on common items for the last three years (IE: I bought a Sony 17" 1600x900 Core I5 6GB ram 640 HD with Blu-Ray drive laptop for $560, Newegg and Amazon had the same model for $800.
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Where did you buy it, and what time of year was it?
 
BBA said:
I think laziness is the reason, customers have been fooled because low prices online reason is now bullshit. You can generally find a better price in a retail store than online, unless you only buy items simply because it's a promotion or on sale. Fact: Most Newegg prices have been higher than a lot of B&M stores on common items for the last three years (IE: I bought a Sony 17" 1600x900 Core I5 6GB ram 640 HD with Blu-Ray drive laptop for $560, Newegg and Amazon had the same model for $800.)

Basically...I see online shopping once had a price advantage so the stupid...err 'lazy' people continue to buy online simply because they are so accustomed to 'thinking' that's where the best price is.
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Don't really know what you are talking about, B&M sometimes has better deals but MOST of the time online is the way to go. Ex, whenever I want a cable I go to monoprice, those things are marked up to hell at retail stores.

Newegg's deals aren't are good as they used to be, true, that site went downhill years ago for me. Still plenty of deals to be had elsewhere though.

Besides a lot of the stuff I buy can't even be found in retail stores. When a new graphics card comes out online is only way for me to get it, BB doesn't start stocking them until way after release and they are always at MSRP or more.
 
Most retail stores have to repay millions in real estate and then compete with their own stores just a couple miles down the road.
 
Malls around here are infested with gangs. They hunt in packs talking on cell phones to communicate. Not only does my closest mall have its very own Police station at it but employees at the mall have even been tied up and robbed after the mall closed. It took the cops 30 minutes to get to them. I never go there anymore without my concealed carry or my brother who is a Fed Special Agent. There have even been murders outside another close by mall that the media downplayed as gang related and for the average person not to worry about. Yeah, don't worry, you might not get hit by stray bullets. When seconds count, the police are minutes away. I'll take my chances with Amazon.
 
I think a lot depends on your location and situation.

For me personally I only shop online if the price is cheaper (a notable amount relative to the item) with shipping included. Otherwise it is retail or online orders with local pickup.

1) No tax savings for me. Unless it is cheap (<$20) items from the US/Internationally.
2) Secured building so I have to be home to accept anything other than small parcels.
3) Nearby retail locations as I am in a city. They also all have price match policies that actually work.
4) Easier returns/DOA/RMA resolution (no need to worry about return shipping costs, shipping times, etc.)
5) Less worry about individual package shipping issues/damage (eg. Hard drives).
 
Stiletto said:
Saw this article earlier. The transition from brick-and-mortar to online retailing is a good thing all round. I'm sick of seeing the landscape dotted with malls and minimalls and all the rest of the monoliths of consumer excess. Perhaps the land can be put to better use, like providing affordable housing, or building businesses that actually produce goods and services, rather than just repackage imported Chinese crap.
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Right? Moar projects!
 
just within a mile of me, 4 new strip malls have opened since early last year and so far 2 stores opened and closed within 3 months and only one out of the roughly 24 spaces are open and its a beauty salon. I even order my coffee beans online now and just started brewing my own beer with all of the supplies bought, again online. B&M have become showrooms or replaced parks, somewhere I go to leisurely take a stroll and ogle at all of the eye candy and window shop. Hell I would do my grocery shopping online if someone offered a reasonable delivery charge and the same selection, even the sport arenas, stadiums and movie theatres in my area are now offering Amazon like seat services, no need to even wait inline at a concession stand anymore nowadays.
 
Before the economic collapse I think I read stats that said the USA had about 4x the retail locations as it should compared to most other countries. This is not a problem with anything but the fact that we were way over built. I live a in a medium sized town and we have at least 4 malls, plus at least that many shopping centers. Ya lots of stores are empty duh. Some malls have stupid things like 2 younkers in the same mall where they separate the mens stuff and womans stuff.

On top of that malls themself became stupid, they did not understand the point of the mall and the whole concept was lost. The very business model that made malls successful was forsaken.

What is the point of a mall? Get people to stay in it and do everything in one place, in doing so they are comfortable, (AC / Heat) can let their teens run free, everyone is tempted to buy stuff all around them, and basica things like getting a drink become profit. Instead all the stupid new malls threw that whole concept in the trash and started doing things like putting nice restaurants on outplots. So now, instead of me hanging out in the mall while I wait for my seat on saturday night, I just make a reservation. Same with movie theaters my closest mall made the theater detached, once again no kids dont hang out in the mall and buy junk while they wait for a show. What is even worse, there was a new fad in malls that started I think in california where they would make these outdoor malls. They thought it was a great idea because people could anjoy the weather, feel like they were ina down town area, the problem? Well the weather isnt nice in michigan 9 months out of the year, and they built these stupid malls all over America, those malls, well once again no one hangs around, they go, get what they want from the one store they want and leave. The entire concept of making a nice single unified environment where you can do everything was lost in blind stupidity and fads. Its like if walmart tried to go upscale, it just wouldnt work. So its no surprise they thought it was working when the economy was in a bubble and it fell apart shortly after.

There are other trends that have compounded the problem, such as no one goes to the arcade anymore. But malls should have seen that coming they should have adapted. Instead they followed fools down silly fads without any thought of how it fit in the business model. And due to thier old success from decades ago they long lost sight of the partnership between a mall and its stores, they would sit there and keep trying to rip off new stores as they moved in. I personally dealt with several malls and the management was stupid in every one of them. The whole economy is collapsing around them and we are offering to rent a spot and they like dont bother communicating with us till after we are no longer interested, come back with outrageously high rates that no one could ever make money on. They never once thought, if we get someone who has a sustainable business in, well then that will fill up spots and make more people come to the mall and eventually we might pull this back together and be able to raise rates. So the tenants that fell for the scam lost their shirt. And year after year since 08 many spaces remained vacant in all of them. New people would come and go with in a years time.
 
bbvdd2 said:
Malls around here are infested with gangs. They hunt in packs talking on cell phones to communicate. Not only does my closest mall have its very own Police station at it but employees at the mall have even been tied up and robbed after the mall closed. It took the cops 30 minutes to get to them. I never go there anymore without my concealed carry or my brother who is a Fed Special Agent. There have even been murders outside another close by mall that the media downplayed as gang related and for the average person not to worry about. Yeah, don't worry, you might not get hit by stray bullets. When seconds count, the police are minutes away. I'll take my chances with Amazon.
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You live in DC or Camden???
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Not really my experience. I think your anecdote was fun, but hardly scientific.
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Also bought a Samsung HD camera (a real one with lenses) from Sears...was almost $120 cheaper than any price I found online.

So...as far as science goes...it pays to actually shop around.
 
BBA said:
Also bought a Samsung HD camera (a real one with lenses) from Sears...was almost $120 cheaper than any price I found online.

So...as far as science goes...it pays to actually shop around.
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Yea. I've also found dozens upon dozens of things cheaper online vs. retail. Less overhead often translates to better prices. When it doesn't, go to the store.

All I'm saying is that your experiences don't match most peoples.
 
I should also note that malls made huge gains at a time when most shopping was done in over crowded city centers with hardly any parking, as time went on those city centers adapted and expanded parking and ease of access in many cases, or went bankrupt and were replaced by new malls. The malls did not adapt well to having real competition.
 
BBA said:
Also bought a Samsung HD camera (a real one with lenses) from Sears...was almost $120 cheaper than any price I found online.

So...as far as science goes...it pays to actually shop around.
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1 anecdote is pretty useless. Look at this too, for an average item how much money in time and gas do you lose running around to shop around, on the internet you would get better deals even if all prices were similar just because you can actually surf sites and find what you are looking for way faster. Maybe you call that laziness but that is outright wrong, efficiency is not laziness.
 
rudy said:
The malls did not adapt well to having real competition.
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The overhead for a server and a warehouse is a hell of alot cheaper than all that entails with a retail presence. Good customer service and competitive prices are all that stands in the way of success with todays global infrastructure and Amazon has all of that covered. Wal-Mart was the slayer of mom and pops, but Amazon is an even bigger behemoth right now.
 
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we’re destroying a glorious American institution: the mall.
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Good riddance, I make a concerted effort to avoid Malls.
Can’t remember the last time I actually went into a mall (the inside enclosed part).
 
since I am from the 80s and 90s and grew up in malls I will find lufe really fucking dull ig I can't shop or browse a damn msll there is not fucking.much else to fo in this state any more. no arcade anymore . don't want to spend money on crap like basketball tickets. every reasons I had to leave the fucking house and do something is going slowly.
 
Shopping online is just better all around .. except when shipping issues become a factor or you have to return an item.

But I hardly ever go anywhere to shop. Retail stores are going to suffer ..plain and simple.
 
I agree, screw malls. I think what will happen is we'll have a lot few locations of retail stores and beefed up online stores. I don't think B&M will ever fully go away and they shouldn't, as it's nice to browse sometimes and find things that you normally wouldn't have. Stores that sell clothes are a good example of B&M that will stay around, as it's easier to browse through and check sizes onsite. That's just an example, but as I said, I do think that there will be far fewer locations.

Stiletto said:
Saw this article earlier. The transition from brick-and-mortar to online retailing is a good thing all round. I'm sick of seeing the landscape dotted with malls and minimalls and all the rest of the monoliths of consumer excess. Perhaps the land can be put to better use, like providing affordable housing, or building businesses that actually produce goods and services, rather than just repackage imported Chinese crap.
Click to expand...

The only problem I see with this is, instead of houses and such, I think what you'll see is a lot more warehouses for the online stores. They don't have the same amount of overhead as B&M stores, but that inventory still has to come from somewhere, or be staged from somewhere before it ships out. Amazon is already putting in more warehouse locations all over the country and I think other online stores will follow suit.
 
rudy said:
1 anecdote is pretty useless. Look at this too, for an average item how much money in time and gas do you lose running around to shop around, on the internet you would get better deals even if all prices were similar just because you can actually surf sites and find what you are looking for way faster. Maybe you call that laziness but that is outright wrong, efficiency is not laziness.
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Driving to the mall 10 minutes away and saving a few hundred dollars...I guess I got the bad end of that deal because I actually got my ass out of my computer chair and drove my car?

Geez...what else can be said. :rolleyes:
 
I stopped caring about the malls around here when they stopped caring about men. The main one just finished renovations, and now it's filled with purses, jewelry, and baubles of all sorts as far as the eye can see. The others are hardly any better.
 
I personally hate malls, parking is terrible and it just has awful prices. But I can see the "good" in them. They can be a decent place to hang out for other people.... sides, if they hang out there, it might let me have a decent parking place in places I actually need to go to.
 
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