Retail Apocalypse: 2016 Brings Empty Shelves And Store Closings All Across America

EAD ^ | 02/01/2016 | Michael Snyder

[GOPJ]

Liberal elite stores in malls without proper security - in a world filthed by elites...

Nah, I don’t want to shop in your stores anymore.

[GOPJ]

Even if I had to pay extra tax with Amazon - at least I’m not spending my money in stores owned by liberal elites.

[i_robot73]

Exactly. Aside from the staffing (loss of jobs? move to order fill?) it WOULD appear to be the way to go.

Add similar/smaller ‘outlets’ for damaged, returned (too $$ to ship back), etc.

[ponygirl]

Wow Apex is moving on up. I remember when the entire retail section of Apex used to be the Piggly Wiggly, the Grocery Boy Jr. and the Tastee Freez.

[tbw2]

Part of this is a shift to spread out drive-up shopping centers, so you don’t have to walk past 20 stores to get to the one you want.
Part of it is the devolution of malls into teenager and unemployed adult hang-outs, to the detriment of shoppers.

[Covenantor]

Loss of jobs...might be a prickly problem...but lower number of necessary employees allows the able to rise with incentive to stay. Retail sales has a very high turn over rate with a double hit, severance package, search expense, training costs.

Net effect would be very positive across several levels.

[FreedomPoster]

That’s a really good insight. It is stuff like that, that keeps me coming to Free Republic.

[i_robot73]

Not sure about that, esp. w/ the automation these days that are available: Unload into rack ABC/slot XYZ, customer comes, robotic forklift/etc. retrieves from ABC/XYZ for delivery.

Anymore (see: fast food), there’s little incentive for customer service, hustle, friendliness, etc. That robot can do a better job all around.

[redangus]

Or the ever increasing violence of Obama’s peeps that goes on anywhere large number of people congregate. If you are an older say over 50 shopper why expose yourself to that crap. Just go online and wait for the nice UPS man to stop by. Today my wife tried online shopping/drive up pickup from Kroger.

[fwdude]

This sounds like a retro idea, but Wards actually STARTED as a mail-order catalog company, and moved to retail stores later.

They were ahead of the game from the beginning. Maybe they should have stayed there.

[sheana]

I don’t usually shop at Walmart but this morning I woke up to a plugged up head on our boat. Took a quick trip to Walmart for some white vinegar and a plunger. Found the plunger but the space for white vinegar was empty. I stood there 20 minutes and asked every employee I saw if they’d go check the back for me. I waited and waited and never saw any of them again. I was getting ready to leave my basket sitting there when another employee turned down the aisle and I asked him. He was gone about 5 minutes and I was turning to leave when he came down the aisle with one bottle of vinegar for me. Lol

[Chgogal]

FYI

[usconservative]

It wasn't too many years ago, as Walmart stores were popping up across the country, that many people, primarily libtards, would hold protests at the new Walmart building sites, decrying how Walmart would bring doom and gloom to all the local mom and pop stores.

To be clear, my motivation in buying on-line is twofold:

1. Best price.
2. No Sales Tax (Starve the Government beast!)

That's it. The first is being an informed consumer. The second is to keep as much of my own money as possible, preventing it from feeding our corrupt government.

Don't know anyone who wouldn't want to do the same.

[varon]

All over the country, shoppers are noticing bare shelves and alarmingly low inventory levels. This is happening even at the largest and most prominent retailers.

Prevue of the coming Communist/Socialist Utopia...........

[usconservative]

I wouldn't go around talking too loud about that, since most likely you were required to pay a Use Tax.

While the State of Illinois does send out use tax forms, collecting use tax was ruled un-Constitutional here in Illinois back in 1998.

Smart/Informed taxpayers in Illinois throw the form out.

[steve86]

Except that the majority of people incur only incidental medical expenses in a typical year, if any at all, so the amount of the deductible isn’t usually a factor. Different around child-rearing time and in old age, as I said earlier.

[redcatcherb412]

snip - “Usually a partial benefit will be available the day after your application is processed. Ongoing benefits are available monthly. SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) are distributed from the first of the month through the twentieth, depending on the last four digits of your Social Security Number. Cash benefits are issued on the first of the month, even if it falls on a weekend or on a holiday. Any benefits you have left over at the end of the month will be carried over to the next month.”
.
ebt cash is first of month like clockwork. The snip is from the NM HHS website.

[steve86]

Thanks for being honest and posting the SNAP part for which benefits are distributed over the first three weeks of the month. I love visiting your state, BTW.

[BobL]

THE WORLD IS ENDING!!!

(either that or Amazon is growing)

[PAR35]

Not on your list, but Kohl’s is closing its oldest store in JCPenny’s hometown. Given the relative stealth of that closing, I have to wonder whether there aren’t other Kohls closed/closing/to be closed.