Quote:
Originally Posted by BTinSF
They all are--downtowns and big boxers alike--because I hardly ever buy anything locally anymore. For $50 a year I can have an Amazon premier account and have it all: prices as cheap as you can get, free second day shipping and no tax (buy it at a store in CA and you pay another 9.5%).
As far as I'm concerned, only the strip mall (and it's urban equivalent--"neighborhood retail") may survive as a place to get take-out food and things you can't even wait 2 days for (sold mostly by Ace Hardware).
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I will believe this when I get my paperless office and can telecommute from home.
Certain things are suitable for online retail, other things are not. For instance, anything with a tactile component or that you have to try on. I order dress shirts online because I get the same colors and sizes over and over again, but for anything else, I'll still go to the store. When I bought home theater speakers, I wanted to listen to them. When you buy a sofa, you want to sit on it.
There's also a social component, particularly when it comes to clothes. Online will never replace the ability to browse the shop, check out what others are wearing, ask a friend or a reassuring salesperson how something looks on you... and to shoppers (particularly women shoppers, the most important demographic) these things are absolutely necessary.
But yes, Circuit City went bust, and Borders, and Virgin Megastores everywhere, because there's absolutely no reason not to buy your books, music and movies online. There's a niche for a good independent bookstore with a comfy chair and volumes you don't find elsewhere, or a local independent record store, but the big mass market brick & mortar guys are screwed.