Stores are closing but, that won’t stop us from shopping
We usually spend our money during the weekend. Aside from the necessary expenses, our money tends to get spent on our hobbies. Recreation is a hallmark of the retail experience. Frequent weekend-shoppers search for products not because they need them but because they have built a habit out of shopping. They enjoy visiting malls and looking for deals.
Even if we do most of our shopping online via Amazon, Walmart, and eBay, there are malls throughout the world. Families go to enjoy more than just window shopping. Restaurants, movie theaters, and arcades also grab their attention — and their money.
The retail experience won’t go away, although it is changing. The stores that are going bankrupt aren’t adjusting to the change fast enough.
Other stores are aware that their digital presence is a necessary investment. Yet, that doesn’t mean that they are going digital-only and forsaking their physical locations. Certain products are better bought in person after all. There’s a reason that Amazon purchased Whole Foods even though they also sell groceries online.
The supermarkets and retail outlets of the future will certainly look different. We may not be able to predict how the experience will be nor how that experience will change our spending habits. However, to assume that retail is dead is an inaccurate way of looking at how the industry is moving. It isn’t the apocalypse, just a change of scenery.