The Retail Blues
Capitalism is alive and well in America, so much so that staying in business has truly become—or remains—survival of the fittest.
With national trade issues unsettled between China and Mexico who knows what the future will look like for businesses and consumers. As tariffs rise so will prices on those goods that we love to buy. Economic forecasters are predicting that we won’t see the stark increases until mid-fall, many encouraging consumers to buy now for the holidays or any items you may think you are interested in to avoid the inflated costs particularly on electronics.
Not knowing exactly how the tariffs will effect the future, I do know the retail industry, already suffering, won’t be done any favors. If you had told me three decades ago as a kid that in adulthood Toys “R” Us and Kmart would be out of business, I would have given you the crazy look, chuckled and kept it moving.
No kid could resist the temptations of the “big T in the sky,” not my generation and certainly not my kids’. It offered everything you could imagine and some you couldn’t as a kid wondering around in a huge organized display of toys. I wasn’t much into dolls as a youth and that’s o.k. because my favorite toy store offered so much more.
It was every kids dream and often a parent’s nightmare. I know that to be true because up until last summer every time my son asked if we could go by Toys “R” Us “just to look” I would hear the dollars ringing up on the register in my head. He was a lover of Toys “R”Us much like his mom as a kid and more so. He had his favorite sections and if we ever got separated I always knew where to find him—in the legos or the action figures.
Our “just to look” sessions always turned into a buy of some sort despite me insisting it wouldn’t. He would use the tactics on me that I used on my dad as a kid. Our big sad brown eyes in the toy aisle would lead to excitement and giggles with a bag in our hand in the parking lot. Even now as we drive by the former Stonecrest location, he will look and ask with sadness why it went out of business and will it ever come back.
Now Kmart wasn’t big on my list but it was my parents “go to” place when I was kid. Needed a winter coat…headed to Kmart. Back to school shopping…headed to Kmart. It was a place where they could buy for five kids of varying ages and sizes and themselves. Now on special occasions like homecoming or prom we would venture to Belk or specialty shops.
I remember being fascinated as a kid by seeing my first blue light special event at Kmart. The salesperson pushed a cart into women’s sportswear, turned on the light, and a swarm of people like bees was there in seconds shoving to get to the merchandise. My mom never cared much for the blue light special, she said no simple sale was worth that hassle and I agreed with her.
Retail is definitely not what it used to be—the landscape has changed tremendously. Brick and mortar old fashioned malls are dinosaurs. I hadn’t been to a mall in years but with some urging from guess who—my son, I found myself at Gwinnett Place a few weeks ago. All I found was yet another barren building that offered two or three anchor stores with very little else between their path— the current trend for a majority of malls today. The new trend is for open outdoor shopping centers, set up like outlets but much nicer, that incorporate lush green spaces.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has revamped the way the world shops. Why spend more and drive anywhere if you don’t have to when you can select from a variety of like products at competitive prices and then have it delivered to your door within hours. Bezos has revolutionized and digitalized shopping much in the manner that Sam Walton did with the introduction of Walmart SuperCenters in the late 80s offering everything from A to Z under one roof.
Who knows how the tariffs will pan out, so just be a smart shopper until we know.