Well I don’t understand what’s going on. My spouse has returned to shopping at Penney’s, but I don’t know how people, or analysts, can say that online is killing retail. Some retail? Maybe, but unless you can always and consistently buy stuff off the rack, I can’t imagine how people buy assorted clothes online at, say, Amazon.
My personal sense is that Penny’s, like Sears and others, got great deals when malls were booming and at that time signed long-term lease agreements that are now killing them.
Huge stores in high rent and now low volume malls would kill anybody. If they weren’t tied to these leases you would think that these types of retailers would move out of malls and create smaller, boutique stores in anyone of the millions of lower cost strip malls.
Sears, K-Mart, Boston Store, Penney’s, Macy’s, all these formerly big mall-centric retailers are going the way of newspapers.
I buy my husband’s dress clothes through JC Penney online and I’ll miss them when they’re gone. Their shirts are the best.
There will always be a need for brick and mortar stores.
Example last week: In the midst of very rainy weeks of weather, my basement sump pump failed. The backup took over, but it’s smaller capacity, and was running almost nonstop.
Off to Home Depot. Amazon had the pump $10 cheaper, but I couldn’t wait, not even for next day.
Same is true of people needing last minutes clothes or shoes for a funeral, etc...
Easy return policies, better online measuring instructions are your answers. I’m going to guess you’re an older couple - most people in the prime 18-34 demographic are no longer seen at malls. All demographic ages are appearing in malls and in brick and mortar stores less.
Even physical stores in low rent situations are struggling. The drop in profitability is not linked to rents.