Jubenhimer
Member
You hear analysis and tech savvy people say it all the time. Stores/Restaurants/Movie Theaters/etc. are dying, Our internet overlords are the future. And while nobody can deny the success of companies like Amazon or Netflix, I feel like people are still stuck in their "new and shiny" phase whenever new conveniences are introduced. Sure, loading up a Movie to Stream on Netflix, or ordering something on Amazon will always have ease of use at their disposal. But all these things lack one key ingredient, a social element. When you walk into a store, you walk into a building that has a bunch of others there for the same reason, to buy something, or look at thing they can buy. You might meet up with a friend, ask an employee, or just enjoy being in company with other people. Humans are biologically social people, so there will always be a desire to spend time with family and friends on a night out, and brick and mortar places like stores and Movie theaters will always have that in their favor. In the case of stores, another benefit is that you can look at the product in person first, before deciding to buy it, and once you do, you have it immediately, and don't have to wait a day or two to arrive at your door.
We can see in the success of places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy that people still do like physical brick and mortar stores in addition to their online shopping. I don't think anybody seriously believes that all stores/restaruants/movie theaters will just go extinct, because then they'd be asking for a future where we're all just fat isolated shut-ins with no desire or need to leave their house like a distopian Wall-E Future. I don't think anybody wants that at all. Of course, whenever a store or chain is declining, people will always blame the internet alternative, and while that does play a small part, its an oversimplification of often times much larger problems. Blockbuster didn't die because of the Internet, they died because they failed to provide a service that both addressed the rise of streaming, and helped differentiate them from the online alternative.
Do you think Brick and Mortar can co-exist equally with online shopping, or am I being too optimistic?
We can see in the success of places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy that people still do like physical brick and mortar stores in addition to their online shopping. I don't think anybody seriously believes that all stores/restaruants/movie theaters will just go extinct, because then they'd be asking for a future where we're all just fat isolated shut-ins with no desire or need to leave their house like a distopian Wall-E Future. I don't think anybody wants that at all. Of course, whenever a store or chain is declining, people will always blame the internet alternative, and while that does play a small part, its an oversimplification of often times much larger problems. Blockbuster didn't die because of the Internet, they died because they failed to provide a service that both addressed the rise of streaming, and helped differentiate them from the online alternative.
Do you think Brick and Mortar can co-exist equally with online shopping, or am I being too optimistic?