Yes, the Web IS a "Location" (And increasingly the preferred location of shoppers!)

We're continuing to read and also hear anecdotal reports from retailers about foot traffic being way down, especially in the malls. Currently, the shoppers are just not showing up as they once were. 

How to account, then, for the increases in retail sales? Yep, it's the internet. 

Shopping isn't declining. People still need to buy what retailers sell.  But to survive, retailers must be where the shoppers are. And that means being on the internet.

However, having a robust e-commerce capability can be very daunting. And expensive. But not having those choices for your customers can be fatal. And that's where "shopping platforms"  - like Amazon Merchants - must be considered.  

We know. Some retailers reject this as a matter of principle. "That's like getting in bed with the devil", they grumble. 

We understand that concern. But, in our view, retailers should regard these shopping platforms as the contemporary shopping mall. 

It used to be that when considering where to lease space for your store, you would compare a shopping mall to a free-standing location. The mall required higher rent, plus CAM charges. And rules about what hours to be open. Grumble, grumble.

But, that's where the shoppers were! As a free-standing store, even a "destination retailer", your advertising budget was just a drop in the bucket versus the mall's presence.

Retailers always must be where the shoppers are. Today's shoppers increasingly are on the web, not in the malls. If you are not already there, or need to expand your presence, we urge you to investigate the increasing array of options. Not just Amazon and eBay, but now Facebook and Pinterest, for example. 

Retailers...Don't Be MYTH-LED!

As Retail Strategists, we follow retailing trends and their impacts on 55 retail segments. In so doing, we've identified that some of the accepted "truisms" in retailing actually are myths. We are exposing them as myths, to prevent retailers from being myth-led.

Here are three examples:
Amazon will eventually run all retailers out of business.

Don't Be Myth-Led! The customer has the final say. 

Until Amazon solves the fact that 90% of customers want to touch, feel, test, try on or taste before buying, their growth from retailing will be limited.

Because of the soft and disappointing Back-to-School sales, 2013 Holiday sales are commonly predicted to be lackluster.

Don't Be Myth-Led! What matters is how consumers are spending.

BTS results were affected by the uptick in sales of homes and cars. In November and December, houses and cars will not suck disposable dollars away from Holiday spending.

Struggling malls can be turned around as the economy improves.

Don't Be Myth-Led!  Probably 15-20% of them have no future as malls.

How to get the highest and best use from that real estate? Retrofit them into retirement homes!

Hasn't Every Mall Lost its "Real" Anchor?

Retail is a mirror of society. And "society" is moving away from malls.

Consider the important social networking role that stores - and malls in particular - have played since their inception. They were the place that people would go to see and be seen, to meet with friends and neighbors; they were the new, clean, comfortable "Main Street", the new "Town Centre".

And many retailers and malls especially served this "social networking" role for teenagers, or for senior citizens walking their laps in a safe, climate-controlled environment. Pedestrian traffic was assured.

So, what's different today? Digital social networks. Malls as social networks have been supplanted. Now we have Facebook. Twitter. Texting. Even email for those a bit older. Socializing has not gone away, but it has moved away from malls.

In fact, when you are in a mall or shopping district, have you noticed which stores actually are busy? Yep. The Apple Store! Then, the cell phone stores. Are we suggesting that all retailers must sell smart phones in order to succeed? Not at all. But clearly, shoppers still seek social networks, and the tools that enable them to accomplish that.

We believe that every mall has a new kind of competitor; it's no longer the development at the next interchange, but the new emerging forms of social networking that engage the time and attention of customers.

Retailing IS a mirror of society. Isn't it time to bring more of a social networking experience into your stores? Malls aren't going to do it for you.