Future Predictions (No-Politics)

[dpAtlanta]

With on-line purchasing, I could see in 5-10 years that that the only brick & mortar stores selling to the general public would be as follows:
- Grocery Stores
- Gas Stations
- Hospitals/Health Care facilities
- Recreational Facilities
- Car repair facilities

Could everything else be bought on line?

What else needs a brick & mortar in the future?

The wife & I were discussing & had plenty of thoughts, thought I would find out how much we missed.

Thoughts?

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[First Stang]

Restaurants….with smaller portions and costs going up combined with tipping getting out of control, I see it headed more towards delivery/self pickup service.

 

[dpAtlanta]

Boy, times are changing… my memories included malls which are about extinct now.

 

[The Demon]

Restaurants….with smaller portions and costs going up combined with tipping getting out of control, I see it headed more towards delivery/self pickup service.

I agree with you about the pick up of food but not delivery. I have never used any of the delivery services like DoorDash or Uber Eats because I’d like my food to be spit free. I apologize to anybody who does this on the side but I would never have those guys/girls touch my food. I get it that it can still happen in the restaurant for pick up but I’ll take my chances there.

 

[key01]

Not all malls are dead. People still like to walk and shop at various malls ( I.e., Woodfield in Schaumburg Illinois). People also enjoy drinking and dining out, rather than dine on delivered cold food. I live in Home Depot and can only order so much of their merch online. I fill up my Tacoma with mulch, lumber, paint, and other supplies almost weekly. I live in a 120 year old Victorian. I do buy on Amazon, but their prices are far from always being a deal. Costco has great prices and deals and we shop in store every few weeks to stock up.

 

[Balr14]

Not all malls are dead. People still like to walk and shop at various malls ( I.e., Woodfield in Schaumburg Illinois). People also enjoy drinking and dining out, rather than dine on delivered cold food. I live in Home Depot and can only order so much of their merch online. I fill up my Tacoma with mulch, lumber, paint, and other supplies almost weekly. I live in a 120 year old Victorian. I do buy on Amazon, but their prices are far from always being a deal. Costco has great prices and deals and we shop in store every few weeks to stock up.

I'd say 5% of what I buy is online. Traditional malls may be dying, but modern "strip" malls seem to be doing great. Buying something locally is always my first choice. Plus we like to eat out a couple times per week. Admittedly, I am older and don't do things the same way as young generations. But, there are a lot of us and we will still be around for awhile.

 

[sirben711]

I think there will always be a place for brick and motor retail stores. I see there being less stores in the future - but they become larger. Imagine a supersized Home Depot (4 or 5 times larger than normal) that services an entire city.

^That's another thing, I don't think online shopping can replace any home improvement / gardening stores

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Bozo’s would hope so but it won’t happen.

 

[The Demon]

Dirt, dirt I say. People old as dirt.

 

[khlifhummar]

Online shopping is crazy convenient, and it’s easy to imagine most things moving there. But some stuff just feels better in person. Like once, trying to pick out a gift without seeing it in real life was a mess until a quick Psychic Online Reading from www.trusted-psychics.co.uk helped guide the choice—it added a personal touch that online photos can’t always capture.

 

[sk47]

Grocery Stores
- Gas Stations
- Hospitals/Health Care facilities
- Recreational Facilities
- Car repair facilities

What else needs a brick & mortar in the future?

I live in Home Depot

I don't think online shopping can replace any home improvement / gardening stores

Hello; I was beaten to hardware type stores. I do not see big box stores such as Wal-Mart going away.
I am the sort who wants to hold something in my hands. I avoid online shopping. I do not put credit card nor banking information online. I also do not have such information on my home computer. I do not use a smart phone.
Even with the above precautions I was part of a data breach about a year and a half ago thru an AT&T breach. Needed to freeze my credit and have signed on to a monitoring program. I gather from close friends who continue to do online shopping that the convenience outweighs the risks.
There is an additional extra cost I suspect to online shopping over brick and mortar which has not yet matured. I get that brick and mortar have big overhead coast such as rent, utilities, labor and such. For some time, free shipping and free returns has undercut brick & mortar operating costs.
I read recently of restrictions on returns. A few years ago I ordered boots from a Sportsmans Guide. The boots did not fit so i called to get a return slip. Got a lot of pushback. On top of that they had started charging state sales taxes on a purchase. So add another store to the list - places where we can try on shoes & clothes.

Last thought this morning. Looks to me there will be another round of hard times for many. Actually there are hard times for some already. Guess the analogy is a sinking cruise liner, depends on which deck level you exist at. If you are not already maxed out with the minimum credit card payment, some of your neighbors are. Can you afford to pay off the credit card bill in full each month? Do you know the interest rate for credit card loans carried more than a year?
Have a neighbor facing a dilemma. Took in two dogs about to be put down. Now cannot afford the vet bills. Was not raised poor so cannot embrace having to put down a sick pet the way some of us had to.

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