In The Wake Of Amazon, Trophy Retail Properties Fall Short
The retail world is in a state of transition. Over the last few years, several retail giants, including Sears, Kmart, JC Penney, Macy’s, Payless Shoe Source, Radio Shack and The Limited, announced multiple store closures or filed for bankruptcy protection. Overall, the number of retailers with debt rated at Moody’s most distressed level has tripled since 2009 – and Moody’s predicts this list will grow longer over the next five years. Meanwhile, online retail giant Amazon generated $80 billion in sales in North America alone. The idea that consumers might one day move away from traditional brick and mortar shops and conduct business primarily online is not new. But online shopping grew more slowly than projected for several years. Now, experts predict we’ve reached the point where the wave of people that have resisted e-commerce thus far may finally be ready to take the leap. Statistics seem to support the fact that we’re reaching critical mass when it comes to online commerce. According to TechCrunch, 79% of U.S. consumers now shop online, up from just 22% in 2000. And Statista says 217.1 million people in the U.S. are online shoppers, with those figures projected to reach 224 million in 2019. What will critical mass mean in terms of changes to the market and the retail landscape? Read more at Forbes.
