Quote:
|
Then there's cyberbusiness. We're promised instant catalog shopping—just point and click for great deals. We'll order airline tickets over the network, make restaurant reservations and negotiate sales contracts. Stores will become obselete. So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month?
|
Fast forward a few years and... check, check, check, check.
We still have four malls within 20 minutes of where I live. The MOST successful is on the brink of filing for bankruptcy. One I don't bother to go to any more since it's going downhill fast. The next nearest one is not so bad, but still way more empty space than ten years ago, lots of smaller storefronts changing hands on a regular basis, and the variety and "name recognition" of its retailers is on a steep decline. The closest has had maybe 5-6 owners since it was built 25 ago and has changed hands at least 3 times in the past five years. It's 80% empty and the only thing keeping it open is one fairly decent Kohl's and big sports/outdoor supply store that has no real competition anywhere around here. Guys I know from local police/fire depts say they are on "unofficial alert" over the possibility of arson taking the place down, and not because some firebug kid finds a dark corner to play with matches in.
It's really a shame, because there are some things I prefer to see and handle before I make a purchase, but overall I wouldn't trade internet shopping for anything.
Quote:
|
the network is missing a most essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople.
|
And most people probably consider that its number one attraction, lol.