The Joys of Holiday Shopping
As you do your your holiday shopping at the corner convenience store on Christmas Eve, you might have reason to contemplate the demise of what online retailers call the “brick and mortar” retail store. The term “brick and mortar” is loosely applied to the places where you buy stuff instead of on Amazon. This is a cruel disservice to both bricks and mortar, the literal foundation on which our country and our economy was built.
Unfortunately, not many stores are actually made of bricks and mortar any more. Most retailers long ago moved on to more advanced construction material involving steel, glass, security cameras, muzak and unusual lighting. These grand structures used to be called shopping malls but are now know as Amazon distribution centers.
The other major evolution from brick and mortar is the big box retailer. You can easily identify these stores because they look like a big box. They also sell stuff that comes in big boxes like major appliances, TVs and military-grade weapons systems.
The only places you are likely to find authentic brick and mortar stores these days are in the gentrified enclaves of metro urban areas. These former textile mills, buggy whip factories and slave markets have been transformed into fashionable boutiques, coffee shops and upscale bars and restaurants. Retailers in these areas can charge enough to cover exorbitant rent, endless maintenance costs, and then some.
Retail work used to involve greeting customers, helping shoppers find what they were looking for and generally cheerfully transacting business. Today, being in the retail industry means toiling for hours on end in a massive warehouse, throwing stuff into boxes as managers check their stopwatches to make sure every one is making quota. Somehow it seems to be missing the human touch.
Whatever your brick and mortar experience, there is comfort in the fact that you can actually see and feel the merchandise you are about to buy. At one time, consumers insisted on this in-person shopping experience. It was a real barrier to getting people to shop online. Online merchants solved this problem by offering stuff so cheap it doesn’t really matter if the quality is poor or even nonexistent. It only needs to last as long as it takes to ship from China.
Online shopping proponents say this is good for consumers because it creates more competition. What they really means is that they have the opportunity to flood the market with fake, counterfeit, and dangerous goods without much in the way of upfront capital investment.
The online merchants have perfected delivery service to the point where they can get a product from China to your front porch before you even know you need it. Somehow they know you are going to buy it and are ready to offer 5 minute delivery as soon as you hit the confirm order button. And that is what you call a great retail experience.
