Posted on 06/01/2017 5:41:40 PM PDT by Signalman
Consider this before you assume you can have a long or lucrative career in the retail industry:
Up to half of all current jobs in the retail sector are likely to vanish because of e-commerce, automation of jobs and the closing of brick-and-mortar stores.
Millions of retail jobs — as we now know them — are going the way of gas station attendants. Just as ATMs replaced many bank tellers, automated check-out stations are supplanting retail clerks.
And have you watched in-store “shoppers” who do Amazon price checks while they’re standing in the aisles? Have you noticed how many of them leave the store without making a purchase when they found savings by buying online?
But more important to the overall economy than the disappearance of mostly low-income, entry-level jobs in the check-out lane is that the retail jobs likely to remain are requiring different skill sets.
And — another big consequence — the funnel is narrowing through which retail workers are able to get promotions to better-paying, career-type jobs.
One recent analysis, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, estimated that 7.5 million retail jobs are at risk due to computerization. That matters.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
For those who want to help customers find value, and do it with a smile and a good attitude, there will always be plenty of sales opportunities.
Computerization? Or, internet sales? We buy about 75% of what we used to buy at retail stores on the internet now. I never dreamed we would be doing that.
Brain dead work.
Much easier to have a customer interact with a program which answers their questions and points them to a product.
I could write the program...develop the app.
No big deal.
Humans need to develop skills to stay relevant.
It's always been this way.
Retailers must improve in three key areas or they are going to continue to attrit and lose market share to the online stores:
1. Make it easy to do business with the retailer and efficient acquisition of products by the consumer
2. Clean up your stores and make them organized in a rational and easy to understand manner
3. Train sales people to be professional sales people understanding what the customer wants or even guiding them towards something that makes sense to them and makes them happy.
Help the consumer accomplish something very important or even make a dream come true
There will always be a need for the brick-and-mortar stores, especially when they online stores are taking advantage of people by hoping they keep believing that the online stores are selling for lower prices.
My experience tells me that, Amazon and eBay and all of the other online stores are not undercutting the prices I can find at Wal-Mart of Target or the dollar stores or places like local furniture stores or discount “big lots” type stores.
I have actually bought from online stores, but those online stores have been Wal-Mart and Target and online pool stores, who all happen to have brick-and-mortar equivalents where I can pick up the stuff I bought.
Nope! Gave up on Amazon and eBay and Zulily and other such overpriced online stores.
It doesn’t make sense to spend money on gas and your own time to go shopping, then going on-line to price compare when you have to pay for shipping. If you’ve committed to drive to a brick and mortar store you have invested money already. Online shopping only makes sense if you stay home to justify the cost of shipping.
Where should “government” response be. It should mostly be in education, in all grades and in post-high-school education.
And yes individual initiative for post-high-school education to remain relevant in the work force is also a top priority, because that alone can achieve positive result to the expected changes, and government efforts in that area fail without it as well.
Wal-Mart has good prices on DVD’s but if you keep checking back at Amazon for the prices to eventually drop, you may be pleasant surprised. Free shipping on orders above $25.
I don’t buy online unless shipping (and handling) is FREE. BTW, I do take notice if free shipping is free only because it has been included in the price of the item(s).
Nevertheless, when I do purchase and I need to pick up an item as the local franchise store, I will leave the picking up for a time when I happen to be going around the area.
IN addition, there are many times (I would say most times) when shipping is directly to my home. If I need something faster, I’ll have the item shipped to the local store for pickup.
In any case, I still end up ahead with spending less than if I ordered from Amazon or eBay or some such other online store. I do take into consideration ALL costs. In fact, I won’t go get a hair cut unless I happen to be going around the area of the barbershop. I’m frugal and practical.
I bought this pair last night
https://www.schuhplus.com/herrenschuhe/halbschuhe/pantofola-d-oro-herren-sneaker-allassio-uomo-low-grau-schuhe-in-uebergroessen/a-10821/
After I already got brown Nike a month ago.
It’ like a sickness. Now I need a green/greenish/greenly pair.
If that Amazon store concept takes off, it will be 95%.
With happier, better paid, employees who are no longer ruthlessly exploited by evil greedy capitalists productivity will skyrocket and maximize the retailer's return on investment.
/hahahahaha
and blue
My thoughts exactly. I can find better stuff at lower prices online...usually at Amazon. And the Internet has all sorts of product descriptions and user verifications. Oh, gee I do shop at thrift stores. More at thrift stores than at full price retail stores.
“Carl’s Jr. Computer: Thank you! Your account has been charged. Your balance is zero. Please come back when you can afford to make a purchase.” —the movie, “Idiocracy”
In other words, so? And the point is? Build more robots and self-crashing cars full of batteries. Have fun. Enjoy the slide.
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