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Between stuff like this and the juggernaught that is Amazon, it's hard for me to see how traditional retailers are going to survive outside of certain small nic

Between stuff like this and the juggernaught that is Amazon, it's hard for me to see how traditional retailers are going to survive outside of certain small niche markets.

jbob2000 11y ago
There are a few areas where brick and mortar still beats online. I can't buy clothes online because I don't have a "standard" fit and I'm picky, so I need to try everything on. I would never buy raw food online, again, I'm picky and I want to make sure I get optimal quality fruits and veggies. Alcohol can't reasonably be sold online, and shipping liquids is pretty sketchy anyways. I'd only buy flowers online if I didn't really care about the person I'm giving them to, so I'd rather pick the bouquet out in person. Really, the only thing online retailers have killed or will kill is electronics and knick-knack stores.
hrayr 11y ago
Where traditional retailers can thrive, is in the H2H (human-to-human) market. Make traditional retail be a destination for the local community by organizing events related to their business, and make the actual business (retail) be the side affect of it. It may not be as profitable as they used to be, but they can remain relevant and even thrive. Radioshack comes to mind, they could have reclaimed their #1 destination for hobbyists by repurposing their shops as hacker spaces.
- jonlucc 11y ago
  I think this is why bookstores even still exist. I know they've reduced greatly in number, but every time I'm in one, I see people sitting with friends, drinking coffee, browsing books.
  - hrayr 11y ago
    Fewer stores, stronger community, larger profits :) It's like email newsletter marketing... give away your content free to the 98%, the other 2% will buy your premium priced items and more than make up for the rest.
antidaily 11y ago
Not to worry. All feeds and types of feeds will soon be polluted with sponsored posts from the traditional retailers you speak of.
makeitsuckless 11y ago
Depends what you mean by "traditional". Traditionally, retailers have always been about niche markets in one form or the other, originally simply geographically. The massive chains are going to get buried, but I wouldn't call those traditional. And I won't miss them polluting the high streets either.

Between stuff like this and the juggernaught that is Amazon, it's hard for me to see how traditional retailers are going to survive outside of certain small niche markets.

jbob2000 11y ago

There are a few areas where brick and mortar still beats online. I can't buy clothes online because I don't have a "standard" fit and I'm picky, so I need to try everything on. I would never buy raw food online, again, I'm picky and I want to make sure I get optimal quality fruits and veggies. Alcohol can't reasonably be sold online, and shipping liquids is pretty sketchy anyways. I'd only buy flowers online if I didn't really care about the person I'm giving them to, so I'd rather pick the bouquet out in person. Really, the only thing online retailers have killed or will kill is electronics and knick-knack stores.

hrayr 11y ago

Where traditional retailers can thrive, is in the H2H (human-to-human) market. Make traditional retail be a destination for the local community by organizing events related to their business, and make the actual business (retail) be the side affect of it. It may not be as profitable as they used to be, but they can remain relevant and even thrive. Radioshack comes to mind, they could have reclaimed their #1 destination for hobbyists by repurposing their shops as hacker spaces.

jonlucc 11y ago
I think this is why bookstores even still exist. I know they've reduced greatly in number, but every time I'm in one, I see people sitting with friends, drinking coffee, browsing books.
- hrayr 11y ago
  Fewer stores, stronger community, larger profits :) It's like email newsletter marketing... give away your content free to the 98%, the other 2% will buy your premium priced items and more than make up for the rest.

antidaily 11y ago

Not to worry. All feeds and types of feeds will soon be polluted with sponsored posts from the traditional retailers you speak of.

makeitsuckless 11y ago

Depends what you mean by "traditional". Traditionally, retailers have always been about niche markets in one form or the other, originally simply geographically. The massive chains are going to get buried, but I wouldn't call those traditional. And I won't miss them polluting the high streets either.