How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by pesto

An OK article, but let me tell you about Amazon and local retail: the battery for my home alarm died. The "local retailer" wanted $52; Amazon (and other sites) wanted $12-18.

Forget this article; it's not sales taxes, it's not delivery costs, it's not gas or anything else. The internet and Amazon (and a thousand others) is a BETTER SYSTEM for distributing goods and that saves money for every consumer. It's simply called "effective competition".

The local retailer relies on creating ineffective competiition: he gets a prominent, expensive location, he emphasizes brands and not buying "inferior" generics, and on the fact that you are ignorant on the subject, haven't got time to investigate, and are missing your time off to shop around in bad traffic and long lines. He is exploiting the "transaction costs" at the edges of the system to turn your lack of time into his profit. The internet reestablishes competition in an easy, accessible form; the results are obvious.

Yeah, I pretty much agree, but local retailers surely still have a place. In order to survive, some might have to figure out what they add to the customer's experience that online retailers can't. A lot of people don't want or know or have time to investigate products themselves; local retailers, at their best, can provide this kind of expertise.

Recently, I had to buy a new pair of running shoes (my old ones had been causing some physical pain), but, because I know next to nothing about foot anatomy and movement, I decided to go to a brick-and-mortar store. I found a place with a huge selection, very competent sales staff, and technology to which I wouldn't normally have access (e.g., foot-mapping machinery and software). I ended up with an awesome pair of shoes that solved the shin and back problems I was having, and I'm confident they were a good investment. For me, that guidance (and subsequent satisfaction) was worth the ten dollar mark-up.

The thing is, the internet is the reason that I chose this store: It had a bunch of rave reviews on Yelp. The web works both ways.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by Doug

Why all the love for local retail? Big box stores have better selection, better pricing and longer hours. Amazon layers in the convenience of not having to leave home. Maybe local retail will evolve into pick up depots for online retailers.

For me, it is because in city neighborhoods the local retail is what makes them different and interesting, and places that I want to go, visit and live in.

It isn't always about the bottom dollar.

SSDD

[brickell]

To be honest, I despise online shopping as much as I do the brick and mortar type. Different products require different strategies, but I find myself actually going to stores for most stuff.

[jd3189]

Never went online shopping before so I may be threatened by this.

[J. Will]

I've bought stuff online maybe 5-6 times in my life. And in every case it was something that would be very difficult if not impossible to find in a store. Would you really trust someone else to select your fruits and vegetables?

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Doug

Why all the love for local retail? Big box stores have better selection, better pricing and longer hours.

the love is due to the fact that big box stores are physically unattractive, and most of us are here because we enjoy the aesthetic of the crowded, urban city.

[mhays]

....And smaller stores support a culture of store owners (potentially you and me even) vs. a culture of assistant night managers. With smaller stores there's more potential for upward mobility. And creativity.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by mhays

....And smaller stores support a culture of store owners (potentially you and me even) vs. a culture of assistant night managers. With smaller stores there's more potential for upward mobility. And creativity.

and customers care...how?

[mhays]

Many don't. That's why most towns and cities have lost some or most of their mercantile class, and many towns don't have walkable main streets anymore.

But an urbanist should care.

[Hed Kandi]

Originally Posted by Wizened Variations

US in 2030

Each metro-area has one Walmuck outlet per 10,000 residents.

Amazon has decimated the small internet retailer just as WalMuck destroyed the small brick and mortar retailer.

Packages in Amazon warehouses are handled from arrival via trunk to departure with packages by robot. Average wages of those laborers needed: 1.2x minimum wage.

All 1,000 cable channels are owned by 3 or 4 corporations.

Housing space stabilizes around 200 square foot per person.

Halographic room filling comptuer/cable screens with all visually represented perversity available at a price....

In 2022, a Chinese consortium buys Walmuck and Amazon.

Was this supposed to be funny?

[WanderingQueen]

Originally Posted by mhays

Many don't. That's why most towns and cities have lost some or most of their mercantile class, and many towns don't have walkable main streets anymore.

But an urbanist should care.

Well said. It's hard for me to understand how anyone who values vibrant cities could fail to grasp this very simple concept. But they do. At the same time, I agree that it is up to all of us who own mom-and-pop stores to make the extra effort to add value to each transaction in exchange for the higher prices we cannot help but charge for the same merchandise. We can't compete on price but we can definitely compete in other ways.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by mhays

....And smaller stores support a culture of store owners (potentially you and me even) vs. a culture of assistant night managers. With smaller stores there's more potential for upward mobility. And creativity.

Eh, not really. I think kool maudit hit upon the actual reasons why we decry it.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by mhays

Many don't. That's why most towns and cities have lost some or most of their mercantile class, and many towns don't have walkable main streets anymore.

But an urbanist should care.

Urbanists need to come to grips that certain types of small businesses are no longer feasible in the light of changing consumer trends. People are more value driven in the light of increased competition and variety. Household goods, groceries, electronics and books have been ceded to the chains. Small businesses still have a lot of options for carving out their own niches that the chains (and the internet) could never fill and thrive.

Restaurants, clubs, bars, used book stores, nail/ hair salons, coffee shops, boutique, art galleries, specialty stores, convenient stores, etc have long since replaced the TV repairmen, butcher shops, furniture reupholsters and 5 and dimes in thriving walkable areas.

[M II A II R II K]

Pre-war commercial streets outside the gentrified areas still have those butchers and barbers and fruit shops and individual restaurants. So in those places you could always start that kind of small business.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

why can't American states collect sales tax on internet purchases? everything here in Canada is subject to the same taxation (HST, or PST+GST, depending on your province) and this applies to almost every purchase online or offline, from local and foreign websites, stores, etc.

The dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. The commerce clause grants Congress the power to regulate commerce between the states; the flip of that is that states cannot interfere unreasonably with interstate commerce. Physical presence in a state is only one factor... But suffice it to say, the federal courts have determined that states cannot tax online purchases flying across state lines when the retailer has no other connection to that state... unless Congress allows for it. We'll get a bill sooner rather than later, I think.

We do not have a federal sales tax, VAT, or any of that. All sales taxation is local here. And it can differ from street to street depending on what local jurisdiction you find yourself in.

[Shawn]

My fiance and I are Amazon Prime members. If we order something by noon, it's at our doorstep by 6PM same day, every time. I cannot stress just how amazing this is in a place like Tokyo, where hauling a big box onto to the Yamanote is both an incredible pain in the ass and socially unacceptable.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by JManc

Urbanists need to come to grips that certain types of small businesses are no longer feasible in the light of changing consumer trends. People are more value driven in the light of increased competition and variety. Household goods, groceries, electronics and books have been ceded to the chains. Small businesses still have a lot of options for carving out their own niches that the chains (and the internet) could never fill and thrive.

Restaurants, clubs, bars, used book stores, nail/ hair salons, coffee shops, boutique, art galleries, specialty stores, convenient stores, etc have long since replaced the TV repairmen, butcher shops, furniture reupholsters and 5 and dimes in thriving walkable areas.

Groceries haven't been ceded to chains, in cities at least. Not entirely. If you live in a denser neighborhood there are probably owner-operated corner stores nearby. Many urbanists can and do shop in them. You pay more but they're extremely convenient. In and out in less than a minute.

I'm not "pure." I shop at chains too sometimes...whole foods, Metropolitan Market (a local grocery chain), Office Depot, Nordstrom, Amazon, Macy's, NikeTown, etc. I'll drop by the new Downtown Target when it opens in a couple weeks (!). Never anywhere with surface parking of course. Ok, except Uwajimaya, a pan-Asian supermarket that's also a locally owned chain. But most of my money goes to locally owned stores at least.

Yes some people do think this way. Maybe not in some cities as much.

[McBane]

Always found it interesting how Wal-Mart became a lightning rod for all things evil in this world, while Target and Amazon managed to remain hip and trendy.

At least Wal-Mart and Target hire local employees and has a physical presence.

Now don't take this to mean I love Wal-Mart and think Amazon is evil. I don't shop at Wal-Mart ever (Target is much closer to work and home) and I give plenty of business to Amazon.

Will online retailers be the death of brick and mortar stores?

Electronics - toast

Cars - Online presence means dealers not only compete with the guy down the road but all dealerships with XXX miles, however far a car buyer is willing to drive. For the right car at the right price, I'd drive up to 150 miles. The cost is that when something goes wrong and only the dealer will service you, you're SOL.

Clothes - often thought as the last bastion of hope, I'm not so sure anymore. Most online shoe sellers offer free shipping AND return shipping labels. My wife will buy a few shoes, try them on, keep one, and return the rest.

Furniture - I could never buy a couch or mattress without testing it out, but who knows? I'd buy other furniture online like a bedroom set or dining room table. Any piece of furniture where "comfort" is not a factor.

Hardware - online stores could impact the big boxes, particularly non-hardware products (appliances, light fixtures, patio furniture, etc.), but mom n pop hardware stores are always needed for quick hardware needs. These purchases are mostly on-demand and must be fulfilled instantly.

Pharmacy - everyone who can buys there drugs online but that only works for 90 day prescriptions i.e. daily meds, not 10 antibiotic scripts or other meds that, ideally, you want to start taking ASAP. People will still run to the drugstore for quick buys, greeting cards, etc. Sometimes these stores are more convenient (location/hours) than a "convenience store".

$1 stores - their products are cheap and often times, low quality but there is definitely a market. These products would never sell online because of their price makes it inefficient to ship. Plus, could you imagine the Amazon ratings?!

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by Doug

Why all the love for local retail? Big box stores have better selection, better pricing and longer hours.

....and shitty/deceptive/disinterested/non-existent customer service.

[Buckman821]

Originally Posted by JManc

Urbanists need to come to grips that certain types of small businesses are no longer feasible in the light of changing consumer trends. People are more value driven in the light of increased competition and variety. Household goods, groceries, electronics and books have been ceded to the chains. Small businesses still have a lot of options for carving out their own niches that the chains (and the internet) could never fill and thrive.

Restaurants, clubs, bars, used book stores, nail/ hair salons, coffee shops, boutique, art galleries, specialty stores, convenient stores, etc have long since replaced the TV repairmen, butcher shops, furniture reupholsters and 5 and dimes in thriving walkable areas.

Nailed it right here. Old fashioned retail is not an urban/suburban issue. In fact, much of the renewed enthusiasm for urban living seems to coincide with old Main Streets reinventing themselves as entertainment districts. Even the retail that is thriving seems to have an entertainment angle.

Retail will change like everything else. People, including urbanists, must deal with it.