Many blame the “online” shift for the death of the mall in America. Although the “online” commerce is growing but let us ask a more fundamental question, how did we get here.
The reason retail shoppers move to online shopping is because the store experience is no longer worth it. Taking clothing for example. One used to go to a store, be greeted by a person who is knowledgeable of that particular section, he or she will understand what you are looking for and help you find it, he or she will make recommendation and give you pointers, finally he or she will offer to make final tweaks to the item you found to make it fit as close as possible to your liking.
But when the store became nothing but a show room, there was no need to go to the store anymore. You can see a whole lot more online from the comfort of your screen while sitting in bed if you would like. Moreover, you can compare items from different stores and prices from all over much faster and easier. And what put the nail in the coffin is the same or next day delivery. The one thing that was a huge advantage to the store is the fact that you can get it “right here and right now”, will that is gone as well.
The commoditization of the retail market forced a reduction in the profit margin. True some stores are still charging ridiculous amount of money for pair of work out pants, but in general that is all going to disappear. After all the crowed will wake up and realize that 95% of the products they buy, regardless of brand, are probably made in the same area, perhaps factory and might even be the same person, in China, Mexico or Bangladesh.
The pressure on prices will accelerate as the jobs disappear and we become “service economy”. And while we are on the subject, that is also going to go. Take medical field for example, the quality of the care is deteriorating so fast that you are better off consulting a “nurse” online rather than going to see your doctor. Soon the latter will be out of business for the same exact reason the retail went out of business, they lost their mot. By the way telemedicine was introduce over 10 years ago, but at that time it sub-threshold. But now, the threshold has taken a dive and people are willing to give it a shot.
And after the Auto industry, the “best medical system” in the world and the “best education system” all go down the drain, we still have the bull of “the American dream” to brag about.