How the mighty have fallen

[CarolfromTX]

There's a store in Austin called Fry's. It sells electronics, appliances large and small, toys, books and magazines, CD's, and more. It really used to be the hot ticket, especially this time of year. They had a couple dozen cash registers, all working, and a line a block long.

Last Saturday, while DH and I took the grandkids to Fredericksburg, my daughter texts me and tells me that she and her husband stopped into Fry's and it was like a ghost town. She sent me pics of empty shelves and blank spaces on the walls where appliances once stood. She asked a clerk if they were closing the store, and the answer was no.

So what happened? My guess is that video games are all downloadable now, movies and music are live streaming, books are electronic, and then there's Amazon. I'll do most of my Christmas shopping from right where I'm sitting. And when I think about it, DH and I haven't set foot in Fry's in a couple of years. Just goes to show that things can change on a dime, or a whim, and if you don't keep your business model current, you're cooked.

 

[hollydolly]

My concern for these (what we in the UK call High street stores), who are losing out to online shopping and closing down, is that, there are still a lot of people who don't use the internet..don't know how to use a computer , and or.. don't want to shop online. What happens to these folks, where are they going to shop if we lose all those high street stores?...

Further to that , once every High street store closes, and we're left with just internet shopping, are we all going to walk around like clones of each other eventually, wearing the same type of clothing, owning the same type of goods in our homes because there won't be any choice, simply because the internet has no bricks and mortar stores with which to compete ? Just a thought!!

 

[JustBonee]

Brick and mortar stores are having a very hard time competing with Amazon, etc. ... I wonder what will happen with all the huge Malls that are left standing all over? What will they become?

 

[hollydolly]

Brick and mortar stores are having a very hard time competing with Amazon, etc. ... I wonder what will happen with all the huge Malls that are left standing all over? What will they become?

In the UK they're likely to be turned into housing because we have such a lack of homes..and it upsets me to see everything being made into housing because we don't have the other infrastructure to cope with it, hospital, schools etc..

I'd love to see these malls either turned into hospitals or entertainment centres. There's such a lack of the latter here, so the majority of people go to the Mall for entertainment ( shopping).. unlike the USA..only a very few of our Malls in this country contain cinemas and bowling alleys, etc.. so everyone shops or goes to the pub for entertainment. Nothing wrong with that but we need more of a variety of things.

 

[JustBonee]

Some of the Malls in the US are insanely huge ... like the Mall of America..... probably a place that won't even notice when the stores all close ..lol

 

[Lvstotrvl]

My concern for these (what we in the UK call High street stores), who are losing out to online shopping and closing down, is that, there are still a lot of people who don't use the internet..don't know how to use a computer , and or.. don't want to shop online. What happens to these folks, where are they going to shop if we lose all those high street stores?...

Further to that , once every High street store closes, and we're left with just internet shopping, are we all going to walk around like clones of each other eventually, wearing the same type of clothing, owning the same type of good in our homes because there won't be any choice, simply because the interent has no bricks and mortar stores with which to compete ? Just a thought!!
[/QUOTE
hollydolly....you are so right! I enjoyed shopping on line but not so much anymore, I’m sick to death of returning clothes that don’t fit, furniture that’s junk....blah, blah, blah! I’m enjoying shopping at the stores now, there needs to be a place for both.

 

[doat]

You change with the changes and adapt to what is in place at the time.

 

[Liberty]

Brick and mortar stores are having a very hard time competing with Amazon, etc. ... I wonder what will happen with all the huge Malls that are left standing all over? What will they become?

There are some contests going on in the northern areas - like come up with an idea on what to do with the mall. Except for the upscale ones, malls are dying out. The big percentages the businesses have to cough up can kill them now that the foot traffic is so low.

 

[Ken N Tx]

I wonder what will happen with all the huge Malls that are left standing all over?

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[Keesha]

I agree Ken. I think that they will be left abandoned and taken over by the homeless.

 

[hollydolly]

Absolutely, I totally agree !!

 

[DaveA]

And once companies such as Amazon have NO local competition, watch their prices creep up and up as they will be the only choice that we have. Today, with the cost of maintaining the physical buildings and their various costs, taxes, heat, security, etc., walk-in stores are at a decided disadvantage but when their gone . . . . . . . who knows what online prices will be?

 

[Camper6]

My concern for these (what we in the UK call High street stores), who are losing out to online shopping and closing down, is that, there are still a lot of people who don't use the internet..don't know how to use a computer , and or.. don't want to shop online. What happens to these folks, where are they going to shop if we lose all those high street stores?...

People without a computer are at a disadvantage when it comes to pricing, deals on airfare, etc.
They just have to get someone else to do it for them.

Further to that , once every High street store closes, and we're left with just internet shopping, are we all going to walk around like clones of each other eventually, wearing the same type of clothing, owning the same type of good in our homes because there won't be any choice, simply because the interent has no bricks and mortar stores with which to compete ? Just a thought!!

If there is a demand, it will be filled by someone. The market determines everything.
I have a computer and know how to use it but I have rarely shopped online.
I like holding the item in my hand before I buy it.
I have no idea how people can buy shoes online now. The sizes seem to be all screwed up.
And how do you know if they are comfortable.

How the mighty have fallen always reminds me of this poem.




My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”




https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/ozymandias/

 

[rgp]

Well, one thing about on-line shopping , as opposed to mega-malls.

No roaming bands of teenagers to harass & mug shoppers, no more smash & grab,& or regular robberies of the stores, no more purse snatching & car hijacking in the parking lot , etc.

 

[oldman]

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There was a segment on one of the cable channels (Viceland) not long ago about vacated malls and some pretty good pictures were shown along with the narration that illustrated the issue at hand. Some were being imploded, while others were just left abandoned. The way I see it is that some huge corporation owns these dumps in disaster and are paying taxes on the property and even more if there are buildings on the property. I know it's a write-off, but still, it comes down to just throwing away money.

One of the malls shown was located just outside of Cleveland in Euclid, Ohio. There are other malls in that same area sitting empty, as well. For example; the Randall Park Mall.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I never really liked malls. I'm a discount store type of person. If I need X, and I can get X , at the same price-shipped right to my door. Why not? No time driving there, no parking, no walking a mile through corridors, no waiting in line to check out. Duh, you have a problem with that??????

 

[Mike]

The shopping center/mall in Kirkaldy, Fife, Scotland was offered for
sale in January 2019 for £1, it went to auction I believe in February
and sold for £310,000, the new owners would have to take on any
debt I suppose unless the previous owners were bankrupt at the time
of the sale.

Full Report Here.

Mike.

 

[Camper6]

Well, one thing about on-line shopping , as opposed to mega-malls.

No roaming bands of teenagers to harass & mug shoppers, no more smash & grab,& or regular robberies of the stores, no more purse snatching & car hijacking in the parking lot , etc.

Wow! it hasn't got that bad here yet. Isolated incidents. There's more problems in liquor stores with people stealing liquor and harassing staff.

 

[Mike]

Whatever happened to the unwritten "Golden Rule" for shop
workers that said:

The customer never interferes with anything that you
are doing, the customer is the main reason for you being
here, the customer is always right, (this I don't like), be polite
to any customer.

There is probably more but I can't remember them.

Shop assistants in the not too distant pass seemed to have forgot
the golden rules and in many cases were rude to customers, hence
the move to online shopping where nobody is rude as you don't
communicate with anybody.

Mike.

 

[rgp]

Wow! it hasn't got that bad here yet. Isolated incidents. There's more problems in liquor stores with people stealing liquor and harassing staff.

Awhile back that sort of thing was at a fever pitch in certain areas locally, But from what i hear on talk radio, and from friends , now the malls are damn near empty. Not just of shoppers, but empty of retailers as well.

Not first hand info, as I really do not shop, and the few things I do need from time to time, I do get on-line.

 

[Gary O']

Well, one thing about on-line shopping , as opposed to mega-malls.

No roaming bands of teenagers to harass & mug shoppers, no more smash & grab,& or regular robberies of the stores, no more purse snatching & car hijacking in the parking lot , etc.

.....and no more shooters

but

there'll be one that'll miss the special season....

 

[Pecos]

We do our best to always shop at brick and mortar stores if there is any chance that we can find what we are looking for. Having the big malls dry up is one thing, having our downtowns dry up is another.
One of the problems for local stores is that it is generally much easier to find specific things. The advantage of local stores is that you can touch things and try them on. When you are looking for hardware, a local store enables you to visualize alternative solutions.
I think we need both.

 

[Catlady]

I'm not a ''shopper'', now usually buy online, mostly at Amazon or Walmart. But, I remember in the 80s before internet I used to go to malls. They were so packed with people that I used to bump into a few even when being careful. I felt like a sardine in a can, couldn't wait to get out of there.

 

[Gary O']

The advantage of local stores is that you can touch things and try them on. When you are looking for hardware, a local store enables you to visualize alternative solutions

You got that right

I'm rather dependent on the local hardware stores


...and clothing

Now, if Amazon could develop a try on room.....

 

[Knight]

Brick and mortar stores are having a very hard time competing with Amazon, etc. ... I wonder what will happen with all the huge Malls that are left standing all over? What will they become?

Considering that there are fast food places that could be turned into places to cook food and plenty of space to divide into living quarters for the homeless. Re purposing all that empty space instead of letting it deteriorate might be an option.