Retail

When I was a kid, we went window shopping. That entailed a stroll down a sidewalk lined with stores. We gazed at the windows and saw the goods being sold within. We were not buying, just walking and looking. It was a thing to do those days. This practice morphed into the days of malls. Teenagers know what I’m speaking of. Gather in malls, walk around to store windows, stop for a coke or a slice of pizza, continue to stroll and gather in a group at some point. Talk, mingle, become a more social being.

Today, this has all changed. It was already changing when COVID arrived on the scene. With the pandemic we shifted our shopping and purchasing to online stores. Later, we fully shopped online outlets just for the entertainment value. Not the same thing as window shopping, but similar. Just a lot less social.

Now, when we are interested in buying something, we research the products and features online from several sources. We compare prices and delivery options, and costs. We make an informed decision with all of this information. Then we return to the online e-tailer and make the purchase.

E-tailing has caused far reaching effects. One of those is commercial real estate. Stores are less likely to expand or multiply. Rather, they are more likely to contract both products and services. Finally, they are likely to close some stores to save funds. Malls are even demolishing commercial spaces and building apartments and condos. Their lobbies open to the mall area. Shops are switching from selling goods to providing services like shoe repair, lawyers, banking, and medical offices. Retail is shifting away from real estate in favor of online outlets. Small shops return to walkable areas where point of service and trade is quite likely.

Elder shoppers continue to replace in-person shopping with online shopping. Less mobility is their primary reason. Even grocery shopping is gaining volume online with pickup of goods at curbside. This is not for convenience but reasons of restricted mobility. Yes, it is convenient for many who use this service. Saves time as well. It still doesn’t solve the problem of lugging the goods into the house or up to an apartment. Or sorting the goods and packing them away in the fridge or cupboards.

Online shopping is here to stay. It is not relegated to pandemic responses. It is related to convenience and smart shopping decisions. This helps explain the downsizing of main street shopping areas, malls and even scattered store sites. Pharmacies are very busy dispensing medications but far less the other goods in the front of the store. So, their operations will change significantly with fewer drugstores and more online services. Watch for it to happen. Most of us are already seeing it. What other industries are likely to be affected thusly?

October 21, 2024

 

 

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