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Toys R Us is closing all stores and liquidating their inventory.

This makes me wonder about the future of retail stores of the world today and what may happen in the next few decades.

Internet giants like Amazon already have the market cornered and even Walmart is utilizing the web to let customers click & buy to drive to the parking lot to have their orders hand delivered.

What are your predictions?

Retail brick and mortar stores are definitely in trouble. As many industries will be in the coming decades as the world changes. They'll have to adapt or die out. And most will die out, unfortunately.

I'm sad to hear Toys R Us is going out of business. I grew up loving that store and going there all the time, I have fond memories of buying my video games and toys there, and always felt excitement as we arrived in the parking lot. That's where I bought my N64, the first console I paid for myself and that I got at launch. The store I went to is still open and I'm going to make sure to stop by at least one more time before they close it.

Dunno, they'll be losses, but I still feel retail will go on. While the convenience of Amazon can't be ignored, you do a few clicks and 48hrs later a box arrives at your house, people still like to touch, feel and see in person certain items. Maybe not their laundry detergent bottle, but something like a television or decorative item.

I remember when eBooks first started out and it was expected that the bookstore would go the way of the dodo in 'X' amount of years because why go buy a book when you can just download it onto your Kindle or other device in a matter of seconds. But people like the feel and smell of books when reading; they like browsing around in an actual bookstore, so the bookstores remain, though arguably scaled back some.

I can relate to BF's story, Toys R Us going under hits a soft spot in my heart. I have very fond memories of going as a child and the unrestrained exciting when pulling into the parking lot and then taking my own children decades later and seeing them glow with the same joy.

Retail is generally more expensive than buying online and you need to waste time to actually go out and get it while you can usually easily find what you want from home. Its easy to see why retail is struggling to compete.

I think a lot of things will change relatively soon and in the future most products will have a greater online presence than street presence. We may see a downsizing in physical stores to a minimum.

Originally posted by BackFire
Retail brick and mortar stores are definitely in trouble. As many industries will be in the coming decades as the world changes. They'll have to adapt or die out. And most will die out, unfortunately.

that's it really. the old model of shopping is coming to an end and these companies can no longer survive by dryhumping customers with email blasts, resting on their laurels, and dreaming of that new boom just around the corner. . i think there will be a positive effect in that much less leasing space would be required for department stores, if they kept customers and inventory separate and no longer needed giant spaces to showcase products, they'd have a much more manageable and sustainable business model. as it stands, super expensive leases are part of what's been crushing retail outlets.

Originally posted by Robtard
I can relate to BF's story, Toys R Us going under hits a soft spot in my heart. I have very fond memories of going as a child and the unrestrained exciting when pulling into the parking lot and then taking my own children decades later and seeing them glow with the same joy.

They had Toys R Us stores in the 1950's?

Some things people want to see in person until the virtual reality part of online shopping catches up. (e.g viewing angles on TVs, audio quality of headphones, fitting of shoes/clothes, etc)

It's a gradual change, not a rapid one.

Think I can grab some sweet deals while Toys R us is liquidating assets?

Liquidation sales have been rumored to be up to 30% off of select items, but don't think that it will apply to major items like a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X.

Originally posted by Impediment
They had Toys R Us stores in the 1950's?

Originally posted by Impediment
They had Toys R Us stores in the 1950's? Originally posted by BackFire


You both have made a powerful eEnemy today!

Sorry, didn't mean to wake you from your nap.

We joke, but Rob is actually in much better shape than either Imp or I.

nonsense. round is a shape.

I'm more oval.

i'd just like to point out that you and imp have done an especially shitty job of keeping discussions on topic as of late. kinda the opposite really. IMPEACH NOW

Because you all just troll each other all the time now. And I think it's funny. And sexy.

Amazon is the new Wal-Mart.

Imo, online is much worse for consumers, because logistics is no longer a factor to conquer every square inch of every region.


Which has already happened. Price fixing is unnecessary, when you ARE the market, like in the case of Stream or Amazon..

I remember the way Toys R Us did videogames. You looked at the games. They had slips. You took the slip to some dude, he went into the back to fetch your game, then you got it.

I think clothing stores should do okay for a while, people do generally prefer to try things on and know how it feels and looks straight away. I suppose if VR and CGI advance rapidly enough we'll have an app where we can scan our bodies onto a screen and see what we'd look like wearing various potential outfits in a variety of settings, sailing a boat, celebrating with work colleagues, flying a kite with a child, etc.

Originally posted by Surtur
I remember the way Toys R Us did videogames. You looked at the games. They had slips. You took the slip to some dude, he went into the back to fetch your game, then you got it.

Lol, I remember that. Bought plenty of Intellivision and Game Boy titles that way.

And you could hang out and try games before buying. Smaller shops during the comic boom took the concept and ran with it, all but encouraging kids to bring their friends and make a day of it.

It was fun, and we did buy our share if games (10 dollars was probably too much for NES TMNT. The owner also gave me a free guide after he closed up shop at the end of the boom..)

I'm actually surprised that Barnes & Noble is still open with Amazon, eBay, and digital books in competition.

Originally posted by Impediment
I'm actually surprised that Barnes & Noble is still open with Amazon, eBay, and digital books in competition.
The liberals treat it as a social hotspot. They gotta have their coffee and converse with other "intellectuals"

Originally posted by Kurk
The liberals treat it as a social hotspot. They gotta have their coffee and converse with other "intellectuals"

bitter much? kinda

Originally posted by Impediment
I'm actually surprised that Barnes & Noble is still open with Amazon, eBay, and digital books in competition.

The one near me is always packed. People just sitting around reading books like it's a library. Not clear if they actually ever buy anything or not, though.

Book stores are awesome for making people feel awkward. Go in and find the most offensive title or cover you can find then buy it with a huge smile on your face then walk out with it in your hands saying loudly "I can't WAIT to masturbate to this".

Originally posted by jaden101
Book stores are awesome for making people feel awkward. Go in and find the most offensive title or cover you can find then buy it with a huge smile on your face then walk out with it in your hands saying loudly "I can't WAIT to masturbate to this".

Ironic, as this is what I do when I go to Toys R Us.

Not anymore.

Still got a few months left.

Incidentally, I actually did the above while buying American Psycho.

Great movie to masturbate to.

Originally posted by BackFire
The one near me is always packed. People just sitting around reading books like it's a library. Not clear if they actually ever buy anything or not, though.

I used to do that in my younger days, hanging out with more artistically oriented friends and nervously pretending I got why they found an art book so interesting.

Bought a lot of King (Dark Tower!), some historical biographies, and various odds and ends..

In fact, the last time I went was that Wrestlemania in Jersey. Ran into an elderly russian woman clearly suffering from dementia that randomly started teaching us a nursery rhyme, and handed out flash cards on the poems (I have it in my sock drawer.)

Originally posted by BackFire
Ironic, as this is what I do when I go to Toys R Us.

*did

Physical movies and video games have, maybe, twenty years left until everything is completely digital, IMO.

Nah. Skynet will have happened long before that.

Originally posted by Flyattractor
Nah. Skynet will have happened long before that. I'm working on that

Originally posted by Kurk
I'm working on that

Oh well then.....my faith in the Skynet-apocalypse just fell in value a quite a few notches.

The "people prefer to buy {X} in physical stores" argument rings a little hollow for me. The level of online shopping that happens today would have been inconceivable 15 years ago. And look at what's happening: groceries can be bought and shipped from online purchases. Clothing is becoming more and more online. Hell, I've purchased well-made, good-fitting suits online. And I'm in my 30s. B&N is the only non-indie book store with a significant retail presence, and it's been squeezed mightily as well in recent years. I go to B&N plenty, and there's lots of people. But not to buy books. It's a place where you can buy a coffee and biscuit, work on your laptop for hours on end without interruption, and you don't smell like a coffee shop by the end. Super convenient, but not a great business model long-term imo. And look at how Kindle has destroyed Nooks.

And once current teenagers hit the market in 5-10 years, how much more market share will shift from retail to online with their market entry? Now add in some better quality controls - which Amazon already has in the form of verified purchases and their reviews - and what's stopping us from clothes shopping? Or grocery shopping? Or...anything?!

I'm also embedded in the board gaming hobby, and this is an issue. "Support your local FLGS!" is a common mantra (friendly local game shop). But we all have bills to pay, and Amazon is objectively cheaper for the same stuff. And "board game cafes" are opening that recreate most of what we use FLGSs for (shared gaming space, occasional impulse purchases), but with a more sustainable model that includes legit F&B. So they're adapting and surviving, but it's no longer "retail" per se.

There's a fear that we turn this into "no retails stores" vs. "retail stores are fine" which is of course a false dichotomy. Retail store will always exist. But collectively, they're in huge trouble imo. Toys R Us is getting headlines atm. But the decline in shopping malls has been going on for years. Tech closures are common. And we'll continue to see these announcements until only the "too big to fail" crowd remains (Wal-Mart, etc.) along with local hybrids with a sustainable-but-not-scalable model (like the board game cafes I mentioned, or other indie shops with huge markups but "local" appeal), and online retailers.

Originally posted by Impediment
I'm actually surprised that Barnes & Noble is still open with Amazon, eBay, and digital books in competition.

People love the feel and smell of books, the feel of turning pages; reading one on a tablet doesn't compare if you need the physical and olfactory inputs to immerse yourself in the story/topic.

Originally posted by Bashar Teg
bitter much? kinda

I like that he implied that non-liberals don't really read much; are not into books.

Originally posted by Robtard
People love the feel and smell of books, the feel of turning pages; reading one on a tablet doesn't compare if you need the physical and olfactory inputs to immerse yourself in the story/topic.

Imo this is going away too. I do still run into this sentiment, and actually used to have it myself (until I actually discovered the convenience of e-books). So it will be slow to die. But think about the types of kids who read a lot: their socioeconomic status is usually pretty good, and those parents are buying tablets that can do 100 things for their kids. Those eventual teens and adults won't give two sh*ts about the olfactory input.

Not sure what Kurk was talking about earlier Re: socializing in B&N though. The place is quieter than a library when I go, even with dozens of people around.

Originally posted by Robtard
I like that he implied that non-liberals don't really read much; are not into books.

Well it is your side that tends to BURN BOOKS.


is that a "BINGO" Moment?

I actually love the smell of books.

Originally posted by Digi
Imo this is going away too. I do still run into this sentiment, and actually used to have it myself (until I actually discovered the convenience of e-books). So it will be slow to die. But think about the types of kids who read a lot: their socioeconomic status is usually pretty good, and those parents are buying tablets that can do 100 things for their kids. Those eventual teens and adults won't give two sh*ts about the olfactory input.

Not sure what Kurk was talking about earlier Re: socializing in B&N though. The place is quieter than a library when I go, even with dozens of people around.

Yeah, eventually, just not anytime soon, imo. But they'll always be books in some facet even far into the future. eg Look at records, they're still a thing. I transitioned to eBooks probably around 8yrs ago (whenever the Kindle Touch came out) and I still miss the feel/smell factor. But the convenience of having all my books in one small device does it for me. My wife tried for about 6ish months, she didn't like it, she went back to paper books.

Same, I live close to a B&N, it's always fairly quiet. Some people talking in the dining area, but they're not loud. They tend to almost treat it like a library when it comes to etiquette. Conclusion: Kurk's just being his immature teen self again and talking nonsense

If Teen's are "Immature" then why do Democrats/Leftists want to give them the Vote?


Oh wait....

Originally posted by Impediment
I actually love the smell of books.

Same, why bookstores and libraries do it for me even though I mostly read eBooks now.

I prefer books I don't need to have a battery to read.

screens strain the shit out of my eyes and I tend to get distracted by the device they're on (e.g e-textbooks on computer; I get distracted by KMC)

I also enjoy taking margin notes in a physical copy. As for smells...ehh not really my thing.

Make no mistake, e-textbooks have their pros (just ask my back and shoulders)

Originally posted by Kurk
screens strain the shit out of my eyes and I tend to get distracted by the device they're on (e.g e-textbooks on computer; I get distracted by KMC)

I also enjoy taking margin notes in a physical copy. As for smells...ehh not really my thing.

Make no mistake, e-textbooks have their pros (just ask my back and shoulders)

Use a device that simulates paper and has no glare or light emissions. Why I stuck with my old kindle touch. Sure I need a light-source when reading at night, but that's the same as if reading on paper.

Yeah, and even non-specific tablets have apps with night-mode reading. The difference on the eyes is negligible from physical books.

I like taking notes in books as well, so that's a transition, I agree. But it's not without e-solutions as well.

Originally posted by Robtard
Use a device that simulates paper and has no glare or light emissions. Why I stuck with my old kindle touch. Sure I need a light-source when reading at night, but that's the same as if reading on paper. The lit screens have their perks. For example, I use my phone to read Raven smut while I fap at night. It'd be hard to do that with a paper copy or old Kindle with a second light source on me.

Originally posted by Kurk
The lit screens have their perks. For example, I use my phone to read Raven smut while I fap at night. It'd be hard to do that with a paper copy or old Kindle with a second light source on me.

Dude, just lock your door so your mother can't come in. Besides, you're an adult now, she should be knocking first. This guy.

Originally posted by Digi
Yeah, and even non-specific tablets have apps with night-mode reading. The difference on the eyes is negligible from physical books.

I like taking notes in books as well, so that's a transition, I agree. But it's not without e-solutions as well.

Eh, still feel that even in night-mode my iPhone and iPad still don't compare to my zero- light emission Kindle, when it comes to eyestrain and making one restless. But night-mode is defo an improvement to standard viewing if you have to read on a back-lite device.

Originally posted by Robtard
Dude, just lock your door so your mother can't come in. Besides, you're an adult now, she should be knocking first. This guy. It doesn't lock anymore; the wood frame is split. Long story short, my mom broke it down last time I tried to lock her out

Originally posted by Kurk
It doesn't lock anymore; the wood frame is split. Long story short, my mom broke it down last time I tried to lock her out

FFS, Kurk. Then I guess she'll risk one of these:

https://media.giphy.com/media/R4TNKaLCysd6o/giphy.gif

Originally posted by Robtard
FFS, Kurk. Then I guess she'll risk one of these:

https://media.giphy.com/media/R4TNKaLCysd6o/giphy.gif Nah man. I'm discrete and quick af. We're talking about less than 30 seconds. I'm a cautious man, remember?

Originally posted by Robtard
FFS, Kurk. Then I guess she'll risk one of these:

https://media.giphy.com/media/R4TNKaLCysd6o/giphy.gif

That is how Robbie's Mom made Him.

I wanna try the Walmart pickup just once so I can say I did it.

Click, buy, pick up.

I do the click, buy , pick up thing. It rocks when the weather is really crappy out.

Originally posted by Impediment
I wanna try the Walmart pickup just once so I can say I did it.

Click, buy, pick up.

If you're talking about picking it up in-store, be careful. They have an asinine policy where they'll lie about their inventory, and stores are able to offer you a "reasonable replacement" with a similar item if they don't have your purchase. You can turn down the replacement and pay nothing, but it could waste you a trip to the store. They bank on customers thinking it's a sunk cost and taking whatever replacement is offered.
Source: I worked for a company that worked out of Wal-Marts for a bit, so I'd get all the employees sharing Wal-Marts sh*t with me, knowing that it was safe to b*tch if it wasn't another Wal-Mart employee who could snitch.

I doubt retail will die out totally. Sometimes there are things that people need to buy IMMEDIATELY. A ton of people are no good at planning and may need an item quicker than delivery of said item would allow. Never underestimate the amount of people that run out of baby food, toilet paper, deodorant, etc. with no back up and need to go and buy it right away.

That said, they will likely be scaled back quite a bit.

Originally posted by Digi
The "people prefer to buy {X} in physical stores" argument rings a little hollow for me. The level of online shopping that happens today would have been inconceivable 15 years ago. And look at what's happening: groceries can be bought and shipped from online purchases. Clothing is becoming more and more online. Hell, I've purchased well-made, good-fitting suits online. And I'm in my 30s. B&N is the only non-indie book store with a significant retail presence, and it's been squeezed mightily as well in recent years. I go to B&N plenty, and there's lots of people. But not to buy books. It's a place where you can buy a coffee and biscuit, work on your laptop for hours on end without interruption, and you don't smell like a coffee shop by the end. Super convenient, but not a great business model long-term imo. And look at how Kindle has destroyed Nooks.

And once current teenagers hit the market in 5-10 years, how much more market share will shift from retail to online with their market entry? Now add in some better quality controls - which Amazon already has in the form of verified purchases and their reviews - and what's stopping us from clothes shopping? Or grocery shopping? Or...anything?!

I'm also embedded in the board gaming hobby, and this is an issue. "Support your local FLGS!" is a common mantra (friendly local game shop). But we all have bills to pay, and Amazon is objectively cheaper for the same stuff. And "board game cafes" are opening that recreate most of what we use FLGSs for (shared gaming space, occasional impulse purchases), but with a more sustainable model that includes legit F&B. So they're adapting and surviving, but it's no longer "retail" per se.

There's a fear that we turn this into "no retails stores" vs. "retail stores are fine" which is of course a false dichotomy. Retail store will always exist. But collectively, they're in huge trouble imo. Toys R Us is getting headlines atm. But the decline in shopping malls has been going on for years. Tech closures are common. And we'll continue to see these announcements until only the "too big to fail" crowd remains (Wal-Mart, etc.) along with local hybrids with a sustainable-but-not-scalable model (like the board game cafes I mentioned, or other indie shops with huge markups but "local" appeal), and online retailers. I rarely buy anything from a physical store these days, just food, toiletries etc. Everything else I buy 90% of the time online.

this is what killed toys r us, and what is killing most of retail. mismanagement, and debt, debt, debt.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/15/news/companies/toys-r-us-closing-blame/index.html

wrong, the millennials are to blame.

Toys R Us sucked ass. Even as a kid I never liked the store and got weird vibes (maybe b/c the one I went to was in a run-down area lol). It was dirty, I could tell everything was over-priced, cashiers were slow, unpleasant experience in general, etc.

You won't be missed. I had better times in WalMart actually

https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2018-03-16/retailers-stuck-in-the-industry-s-middle-are-in-danger

That brings some data into the discussion, which is always welcome. The tl;dr version is that "budget" stores and "high end" stores are doing fine, while the bottom is falling out on stores in the middle of the spectrum. The article cites online shopping, but also suggests that the overall economic disparity in America - where "the middle" is quickly disappearing - may have something to do with it.

Good points, everyone. I still shop @ brick & mortar stores for food & clothes/shoes, but that's about it. I feel like I need to see the food before buying this (check the expiration date, make sure everything is in good shape, etc.). And, I like to make sure clothes & shoes fit before I buy them.

However, I dislike shopping & will definitely shop online if I have a choice. Online shopping is so convenient/inexpensive in comparison - there's also the time factor. Do people really want to have to go find somewhere to park, and then spend a good amount of time shopping at stores these days?! I was never a fan of brick & mortar shopping when that was the only option out there, and I like it even less now as I've gotten older.

That being said, here are some of my specific memories of some retail stores:

Toys R' Us - went under this year, which is no surprise. That being said, as a kid in the '80's, I used to really enjoy going to that store - it was pure heaven.

Barnes & Noble: Never been a big fan of this store, but it's one of the only chain bookstores still around. They rarely have sales & though they have a cool toy section, everything is overpriced. That being said, they do have Starbuck's

Border's Books & Music (defunct): Though their CD's were overpriced, I really dug their book & graphic novel section.

Blockbuster Video (defunct): They couldn't keep up with the new home video technology (i.e., streaming) & because of this they just went by the wayside. If they had gotten on the streaming bandwagon early on (like Netflix did) I think they could have competed...maybe. As it stands, there's no reason to go through the hassle/inconvenience of going to a video store to rent DVD's (and worry about late fees, etc.) if you can just stream them from the privacy & convenience of your own home.

Best Buy: This is another retail store that is also a sad shade of it's former self. This was my go-to store back in the '90's & early 200X's if I wanted any kind of music CD's, DVD's, electronic equipment, etc. Now, I don't even like going to the store because they have an extremely poor selection of CD's & DVD's - i.e. shelf space is about a third of what it was back in the day. And, they have a sub-par selection re: their electronics. What they do have is extremely overpriced....despite the fact that they used to have the best prices around for electronic equipment!

General comment about music CD's: I used to collect CD's (though have cut way back these days). However, if you want new classic rock CD's from the '60's - '70's, you will be hard pressed to find any in regular retail stores like Target, Wal-mart, etc. - unless you come across a small quantity somewhere...but they almost certainly won't have the entire catalog of a specific group/artist, i.e. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, etc. You'lll probably have to go online for these.