Is American Retail at a Historic Tipping Point?

[elleng]

'Along the cobblestone streets of SoHo, Chanel handbags and Arc’teryx jackets are displayed in shops like museum pieces, harking back to the height of the neighborhood’s trendiness. But rents there are softening, and the number of vacant storefronts is rising.

Today, some of the most sought-after real estate by retailers is not in SoHo, but five miles away in Red Hook, a gritty Brooklyn enclave with a shipbuilding past. E-commerce merchants are vying to lease part of a huge warehouse space, spanning 11 acres, that would allow them to deliver goods the same day they’re ordered online.

The profound reordering of New York’s shopping scene reflects a broad restructuring in the American retail industry.

E-commerce players, led by the industry giant Amazon, have made it so easy and fast for people to shop online that traditional retailers, shackled by fading real estate and a culture of selling in stores, are struggling to compete. This shift has been building gradually for years. But economists, retail workers and real estate investors say it appears that it has sped up in recent months.

Between 2010 and 2014, e-commerce grew by an average of $30 billion annually. Over the past three years, average annual growth has increased to $40 billion.

“That is the tipping point, right there,” said Barbara Denham, a senior economist at Reis, a real estate data and analytics firm. “It’s like the Doppler effect. The change is coming at you so fast, it feels like it is accelerating.”

This transformation is hollowing out suburban shopping malls, bankrupting longtime brands and leading to staggering job losses.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/business/retail-industry.html?

[democratisphere]

1. But I thought 'we' were getting more and higher paying jobs.

What do you mean that's NOT true either!?¿

[Warpy]

2. Online sales didn't affect that high end stuff

A changing neighborhood and escalating rents did.

Even with moderately priced clothing, people would really rather go to a store and try the stuff on to make sure it fits. Online buying is a crap shoot and returns are often cumbersome and mean you'll wait a long time for your stuff. The online purchase of shoes is especially chancy.

So why are the stores closing, leaving malls looking like meth mouth? It's because wages have been allowed to fall too far to support them. People aren't buying fashion and they're not trying to be all that trendy. They can't afford it in most places and that is having a ripple effect.

They can howl about online retailers causing the death of bricks and mortar stores, but the real decline didn't start until 2008.

If these newspaper yappers want their stores back, they need to address the real problem: AMERICA NEEDS A RAISE.

[safeinOhio]

3. I suggest if you are thinking about selling a home,

do it now and don't wait. Hang on to the money and wait a little while.