Malls are Less-Crowded Today
I was much younger with the first ‘mall’ opened near where I lived in Los Angeles. To build it, developers destroyed a golf course on which I occasionally played a round or two. Progress? I visited the mall for the first time about two weeks after it opened. It was a little exciting. Seeing two levels of various types of shops were inviting. Nearly everything I could want was under a single roof.
Online Shopping Continues to Grow
In the 21st century, Amazon and other online shopping companies began to sell anything and everything anyone might want, and it was delivered to our homes, often with no shipping charges.
I was reluctant at first, but after my initial purchase, I began to buy online more frequently. Today, nearly everything my wife and I need is delivered to our home with the exception of food, clothing, and shoes. Our experiences with the latter two items resulted in a serious problem with sizes.
There are many advantages to online shopping. The prices are usually lower than those offered by brick-and-mortar stores. Of equal importance to me are the reviews. Comments made by others who purchased the item I wanted to inform me of the good and bad. If one of my primary concerns was listed in the ‘bad’ column, I looked for another brand. I buy nothing unless it has at least 100 reviews and the average rating is four-and-one-half stars. Most of the time I am extremely pleased with my purchase.
Pandemic Hit Hard Including Malls
Then the pandemic hit hard in 2020. Home food delivery became normal for many. We continued to shop, preferring freshly cooked, healthy food over fast or pre-prepared meals.
However, millions of Americans began to purchase items online. I wondered how it affected the Christmas shopping season this year, and this is what I found.
A survey revealed that at least 57 percent of all Americans planned to do some or all of their Christmas shopping online. 43 percent planned to shop in stores and malls.
Convenience is Important
Here’s the difference for me. My daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters live in southern Florida. The girls are 16 and 14, fairly difficult to buy for unless you or part of the seven percent of our nation’s people can afford literally anything. However, with a little assistance from their mother, I searched the internet until I found items I hoped they would enjoy. I’m told they did.
Not only did I find what I wanted, at a reasonable price, but It also cost me nothing extra to ship them to the Sunshine State.
I admit that at 76 and suffering from a couple of physical problems, online shopping is much easier for me. Considering all factors, I doubt that I will step inside a mall for the remainder of my life.
The End of “Shopping?”
Thinking about the future, I doubt if malls will exist after the middle of this century. No longer will our nation’s people decide to park in large parking lots, walk into a mall, and begin the process of looking for the “perfect gift.” Even when many items are on sale, they are more expensive than the price I find online. There are also many questions about the quality of products that cannot be answered by a sales associate who does not own this exact item.
I was watching a program on television, and it will soon be possible for many Americans to conduct doctor’s visits online. Now if I can find a way to perform dentistry on myself.
By The Wise Old Fart
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Sources:
Forbes: Retail Sales Slow But, Holiday Sales Are Ahead Of Last Year
Statista: Holiday shopping plans among consumers in the United States from 2015 to 2022, by channel
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of JJBers‘ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
