Retail merchants have just received another hard blow. News of the closings of 138 Jc Penny stores was recently announced. This comes behind the knowledge that 30 Sears and Kmart retailers are shutting their doors on March 24th. Cyberspace is replacing the retail space that most people are used to shopping in. There was an era when Kmart, Sears, and JC Penny were considered the big 3 retailers.
Cyber shopping is to blame for the store closings
If there is any one reason to blame for all the closings, it would have to be cyber shopping. There was a time when teenagers loved to hang out in the malls.
That day is no more. Increasing numbers of teens as well as adults are doing the majority of their shopping online. Without customers entering the retailers' doors, the employees of JC Penny and other stores are like the Maytag Repairman -- they are standing idly, waiting for something to do.
If no one is shopping in the stores, there is no money to pay these associates, nor is there enough income to maintain the rent for the building. This decrease is most notable during Christmas. Black Friday used to be the day that many people found the best holiday bargains, and the day retailers made the most holiday money. Now Cyber Monday (in some cases Cyber week) is gaining speed and eclipsing this once popular day.
Black Friday no longer has the status it once did.
The end of an era
JC Penny and other department stores are collateral damage. Their demise is the result of a world that is doing everything online. Banking, grocery shopping, ordering prescriptions, and paying bills can now be done from a computer and even on some cell phones.
In this life change is inevitable. It is the one constant, and retailers are reeling from one blow after another.
The closing of 138 JC Penny stores is only a continuation of a growing trend. The harsh truth is that increased cyber shopping is here to stay, and not going anywhere. And, based on current trends, there will more than likely be more retailers to follow.
