America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:32PM (#15654652)

You know, people said that about furniture and clothes and now people buy them online without a second thought.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by falcolas on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:43PM (#15654791)

And return them just as quickly. My wife will go through 4-5 online orders to find clothing that fits as advertised, returning a majority of each purchase.

Hard for anyone but Amazon to maintain that kind of return throughput.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by snowpanda on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @01:44PM (#15655547)

I learned recently that even Amazon is banning people for returns. My first thought was that they must have returned a ton of products, but after a quick "banned from amazon" search online it showed that many people with a return rate as low as 9% have been banned. Which doesn't seem like a lot especially if we're talking about clothing. Here's one example, but there's plenty more if you do a quick search:

http://cbs4indy.com/2016/03/21/amazon-bans-customer-for-retu...

Apparently the cut-off lies somewhere around 10%, they ban you for life though.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @01:56PM (#15655692)

One-in-ten is a pretty high rate of returns.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by lovich on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @03:53PM (#15656914)

I don't know that it is for online purchases. My wife is buying clothes and shoes off Amazon lately and we are on our third return for one pair of shoes because their size guide online doesn't correspond to what they send us at all. That's a 200% return rate on a single item, and that's only if we get the correct one shipped to us this time. Non commodity items have turned into a major crapshoot online.

Online shopping has spoiled me for convenience compared to shopping in person though. What's happened is that I've just ended up not buying as many things because I was trained to expect convenance and then it was taken away

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:25PM (#15657208)

I buy on Amazon a lot and I don't think I return more than one or two things in a year, typically. Even buying shoes online (I usually use Zappos) I haven't returned that many.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by lovich on Thursday November 09, 2017 @01:08PM (#15664457)

Do you buy clothes or shoes? Ive never had to return toilet paper, but we got a pair of boots that were a different size from the listing when they arrived

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by fhood on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:44PM (#15654802)

Plus most of us don't feel that returning five orders is more convenient than going to the store.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by lotsofpulp on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @01:39PM (#15655494)

Also depends on how often you can find your size. The return packaging is usually pretty easy and a label is inside too.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @01:43PM (#15655534)

Is that typical behavior though? I have to imagine no. Personally I can hardly be bothered to return defective merchandise

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by fhood on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:44PM (#15654798)

Sure, to a degree, but these are different. And people that really care about clothes and/or furniture probably don't buy them sight unseen. For a lot of people, any good couch or shirt is probably good enough. But a guitar needs to be right for the individual. The difference between the right and wrong guitar can be significant, and is also something that will bother you every day.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @01:44PM (#15655560)

Furniture is probably, next to a house and a car, among the most expensive things most people will purchase. And frankly I'm sure a lot of people just buy whatever guitar anyway, especially thinking back to the never-used one I used to have.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by Floegipoky on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @03:38PM (#15656738)

>> And frankly I'm sure a lot of people just buy whatever guitar anyway, especially thinking back to the never-used one I used to have

Surely you recognize that your mindset while purchasing that guitar was different than that of a serious musician investing a substantial sum in an instrument they'll play for thousands of hours.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:25PM (#15657216)

Yes, my (well, my dad's, actually) mindset was different, but what percentage of people buying a musical instrument are actually serious musicians?

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by bamboozled on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @03:47PM (#15656841)

Things I won’t buy without trying on or looking at in person, unlesss as a last resort:

- Wetsuits - Ski gear - Shoes - Bikes

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by emodendroket on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:46PM (#15657394)

I think the key point here is that that set is probably small for most people and also differs from person to person. Someone else might insist on trying their keyboard but be happy to buy a bike online. And that's before we take into account people trying out goods in-store and then buying them online.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by timthelion on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:36PM (#15654697)

If only stores would let you test audio equipment! I've yet to see an electronics store where most headphones/earbuds could be tested.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by falcolas on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:41PM (#15654766)

I've, ironically, had the best luck lately with the small shops in the airports. They're much more willing to let you test their top-of-the-line headphones than any big box retailer.

Yes, to me, it is worth the slight price premium to reward that convenience.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by Fricken on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @12:55PM (#15654919)

I guess when people walk into an airport shop looking for headphones, they aren't just window shopping, they absolutely intend to buy a pair because they need it for the flight.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by usrusr on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @04:16PM (#15657135)

That could quickly change once people get fully accustomed to in-flight wireless: browse the web for a shortlist on the first leg, feign interest at the stopover shop, price-compare and commit on the connecting flight.

The logical consequence would be manufacturer stalls replacing shops in the waiting areas (like a permanent trade fair) and Amazon adding pick-up warehouses to the exits.

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Re:America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning by corey_moncure on Wednesday November 08, 2017 @06:51PM (#15658337)

https://goo.gl/images/L53u9i

This is still the reality in countries where the social fabric hasn't disintegrated.

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