topic Re: Stores Closing. in Community Chat

Stores Closing.

FlowerBear — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 18:51:13 GMT

Stores in our town keep closing. It is so sad and pretty soon there will be no place to shop!!!

Sears is closed, HH Gregg closed, Kmart is closing and Elder Beerman is closing!

Do you think it is because most people shop online now? There are still alot of us that like to shop in real stores and try on before we buy.

Re: Stores Closing.

SeaMaiden — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 18:54:26 GMT

@FlowerBear wrote:
Stores in our town keep closing. It is so sad and pretty soon there will be no place to shop!!!

Sears is closed, HH Gregg closed, Kmart is closing and Elder Beerman is closing!

Do you think it is because most people shop online now? There are still alot of us that like to shop in real stores and try on before we buy.

@FlowerBear It is the future of shopping I am afraid to say....if stores are losing money.....then why would they keep them open? It is always hard to deal with change the older you are. I understand how you feel......

Re: Stores Closing.

FlowerBear — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 18:55:04 GMT

Yea that is true. Im not older lol just hate to see stores closing.

Re: Stores Closing.

SahmIam — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 18:59:02 GMT

What stands out from your post are 2 things:

1) These are chain stores

2) These are discount/lower priced items type of stores

It's something that I noticed in my area and in articles regarding retail. In my area, the small, boutique/unique stores are doing very well and they don't have an online site for their wares. In the malls near me that are thriving, it's the high end department stores that are the anchors and the stores in the malls are made up of companies I've never heard of or are very unique/not found everywhere. The grocery stores that are always packed are Costco, Aldi's and Trader Joes and NOT Wegmans, Whole Foods, Giant or Safeway. Walmart isn't as brisk a business as it once was but the three hardware stores are jumping far more than ever. It makes me wonder if we're going to see a revival of smaller, privately owned stores instead of the massive chains again.

Re: Stores Closing.

patbz — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:07:56 GMT

To me it's all about customer service, available variety of goods, price and return policy. Speaking of K Mart, I'm surprised the chain didn't go bottoms up 20 years ago (in my local store you couldn't even get 4 cans of paint in the same color and clothes were cheap and tacky). I am rural and do a lot of online shopping (Amazon and Costco) plus an occasional trip to Phoenix to fill in the gaps!

Re: Stores Closing.

happycat — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:10:14 GMT

About five years ago, my small town was suppose to get a big mall. That idea went by the wayside.The land was bought and nothing has happened. The mayor said it was because of the economy.

If one primarily likes thrift stores, antique malls this is the place to be.

We do have a small JC Penneys, Belk, a Wal Mart, a Kmart, and TJ Maxx and a Ross. Its downright depressing and I go out of the area to shop or order on line.

My son got married a few weeks ago, I ended up ordering 3 different outfits on line and wound up returning every one of them. I really need to try stuff on, just don't have good luck.

Re: Stores Closing.

ScrapHappy — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:16:37 GMT

@FlowerBear wrote:
Stores in our town keep closing. It is so sad and pretty soon there will be no place to shop!!!

Sears is closed, HH Gregg closed, Kmart is closing and Elder Beerman is closing!

Do you think it is because most people shop online now? There are still alot of us that like to shop in real stores and try on before we buy.

Our Sears closed too. There are no Kmarts near me, but I did see the one close to my MIL closed when I was in NJ. We had a Toys R Us and Babies R Us, but they're closed now too. I heard on the news the the toy business is really taking hit because of Toys R Us. Many manufacturers depended on Toys R Us to sell their goods, like Mattel and Fisher Price, etc.

Re: Stores Closing.

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:17:54 GMT

The only place I order on line is QVC, (and any more very little from QVC) and occasionally HSN....that's it.

I still enjoy walking the mall, and am not so busy that I cannot work it into my schedule.

Onine shopping is not for me.

Re: Stores Closing.

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:27:32 GMT

Once I was able to figure out my size (generally) it became easy to order on line (QVC entirely).

I haven't worked in 40 some years, but every time I go out I dress as if I was going to work (Denim & Co, Isaac's, etc).

My point is I think it's easy to order on line if you understand the clothing line and they are consistent.

I think I'd have trouble though if I had something in particular I was looking for and it needed to be for a specific time or place.

Teenagers still like to go shopping in stores (at least my granddaughters do, as well as all of their friends). It's mostly a social thing though.

My daughters still shop on line for most things. When I visit my youngest (unmarried) daughter she and I go shopping together (just for her). Again, it's fun and something WE enjoy doing together.

I live in the Va/DC area where there's no limit to stores. My youngest daughter I mentioned lives in the city (Denver) so she could shop anywhere but prefers otherwise to shop on line (unless I'm there). Even when she goes into the stores and I'm here in Va she'll still do face time with me WHILE she's trying on clothes (try it, it's fun).

I definitely think more and more people just aren't interested in shopping in stores. Clothes don't hold the value and interest they once did (just look at the way people go out of the house these days).

I have 7 living grandchildren. Except for the youngest one's most of them want gift certificates for their birthday (as opposed to opening actual gifts). They then use those gift certificates to order on line.

I just gave my son-in-law (as I do for everything) $100 gift certificate for Amazon. He NEVER shops (like most men) and orders everything on line.

Again, I guess it's the way of the future....I don't like it, but then I don't think we have a choice (just like everything that's happening)...UGH!

Re: Stores Closing.

Q4u — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:27:50 GMT

We've also had the usual store closings, KMart, Sears, etc, but the other stores seem to be doing very well. Carnival Shoes opened, Bed, Bath & Beyond, TJMaxx and Kohl's are always jammed and Dillards here seems to be doing very well. We've also had a Sephora added to our Pennys (which was failing under the 'one lowest price' thing they had... went back to coupons and they're doing good again. Also an Ulta was added. And a newer/bigger Hobby Lobby opened a couple weeks ago and it's still hard to get into it because of al l the shoppers. We're a small town too, around 45k. I honestly think that there are certain stores that people just can't stand going into anymore.... maybe they just can't shake their 60's-70's images, I don't know, but other stores seem to be thriving..... we'll just have to see what happens.....

Re: Stores Closing.

bikerbabe — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:40:29 GMT

Sears and KMart have been so atrociously managed I’m amazed they both are not out of business. It’s probably coming soon. Around here, they are still open but the stores have trash for sale.

Re: Stores Closing.

mac116 — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:42:59 GMT

I do a lot of my shopping online these days. The Department stores in my area would remodel/refresh quite often. If you shopped in March on the first floor, that department might be on the second floor in June, or split between two floors. The petite department always seemed to be moved. Macy's has women's apparel on two separate floors, and in various sections of each floor. It was difficult to compare items, so I compare within websites now.

Re: Stores Closing.

OnlyShopsOnline — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 19:55:52 GMT

I think some of the cause may be online shopping. But I think a lot of the problem is due to over-expansion and changing demographics.

The malls continued to cater to a very young population, even though the population with the most buying power was growing older and buying different things. I stopped going to the malls when I was in my mid-forties. My daughter was out of college. And, the malls were still filled with stores like Claire's and other similar stores. Except for a few anchor stores, there was not one store in the local mall that interested me at all.

Decades ago, Macy's was buying out Bloomingdales, Bamberger's, etc. And, they all became Macy's stores, and Macy's still continued to expand. And we had at least 3 K-Marts within 7 or 8 square miles. Also, how many Toys R Us stores were there across the country........too many!

I also remember a big change in retail shopping a couple of recessions ago, when stores reduced the amount and selection of merchandise they carried. That continued, and as I grew weary of traipsing all over town to find one item, I realized how much easier it was to shop online.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided to go to a B&M store to buy "something." I don't even remember what it was, lol. But, I'm sure it had something to do with our current renovation projects. After wasting half a day, we ended up returning home and ordering "it" online.

I don't think there's just one reason. I think it's like the perfect storm.

Re: Stores Closing.

jeanlake — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 20:34:52 GMT

More shopping options affect destination stores. Dropped in local, new, shopping mall this morning. Our state has zero tax weekend for back-to-school and Macy's had a sale. Drove past Penneys, which resembles a K-Mart on the inside. Now the outside looks discount with tacky signage in the windows. Parking lot bare. Didn't go inside but I would guess this store will close soon.

Re: Stores Closing.

Ifeelwicked — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 20:44:40 GMT

@FlowerBear wrote:
Yea that is true. Im not older lol just hate to see stores closing.

I’m older . . . . what was the question?? 🤣

Re: Stores Closing.

151949 — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 21:04:48 GMT

My small town has a Bells and a walmart. The walmart is one with a grocery store and is jammed all the time. I avoid it as much as I can and grocery shop at Publix. The nearest mall is about 25 miles away in a high traffic area, but has all the stores you'd expect - JCPenney, Nordstroms, Macys, Kirklands, hobby lobby etc. The city of Sarasota is only about 40 miles away in the opposite direction of the mall.Of course , anything we need we can get there.

Re: Stores Closing.

Big Sister — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 21:54:52 GMT

Before I had a computer and learned how to shop online I often thought, "what about all of us who don't have a computer?" After I learned to shop on line I don't go into malls, etc.

So I feel for the many thousands of people who don't or don't know how to use a computer. Eventually, they will be fazed out

Re: Stores Closing.

DiAnne — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 22:01:05 GMT

Two malls in the city I live in (PNW) are being remodeled - new stores, new movie theaters, mixed use with offices and either condos or apartments included. Next city over (15 minutes out of traffic) is a large high end mall that is crowded all the time. I hear about all the empty malls on this forum and see it on the news but it is not evident here.

Re: Stores Closing.

Nataliesgramma — Sat, 04 Aug 2018 22:52:48 GMT

Our Sears and K Mart just closed in the last month or so.....I am surprised they lasted this long...

Re: Stores Closing.

Hooty — Sun, 05 Aug 2018 00:01:15 GMT

Our K-Mart closed in our area several years ago, but in it's place came Publix, which is about 2 miles from me and I love shopping there! Our Sears store closed about 3 yrs. ago, and in it's place, came At Home, a great home decor store, only about 4 miles from me! HH Gregg, closed about a yr. ago, never went there, and they just recently opened an Ollie's discount store in it's place! I'm glad they are not leaving these buildings empty!