The death of brick-and-mortar retail is exaggerated. Retail isn’t dying; it’s just changing!
A Retail Round-Up
Over the past decade, there’s no denying the fact that customers’ tastes, demands, and purchasing patterns have changed quite drastically, compelling the retail industry to change with them. The change in the industry’s dynamics is primarily perceived as a ‘retail apocalypse,’ leaving thousands of brick-and-mortar retail stores to close. However, there are other reasons. Ever-evolving preferences and inclinations, lack of wisdom to run a retail establishment in the competitive environment, sizeable upfront investment botches, and increased trust in e-commerce retail stores like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and other similar online retail stores are a few of the primary reasons causing retail establishments to shut down at a massive rate.
The surge in the popularity of e-commerce retail stores bears testimony that online shopping is growing among millennials. They love to buy their favorite products online and get them delivered to their doorsteps with easy payment schedules. They have found an easy way to save more time for themselves without having much to worry about. It is undoubtedly one of the factors causing the death of brick-and-mortar retail stores. However, when we look at the bigger picture, we are surprised to find that online shopping equates to only 8.1% of the total retail sales in 2017.
What Do Statistics Say About The Retail Meltdown?
According to the survey results compiled and revealed by one of the leading international retail agencies, worldwide retail sales accounted for $23.45 trillion in 2017 and are expected to grow and reach a whopping $27.73 trillion mark by 2020. Undoubtedly, brick-and-mortar retail is perhaps never going to die as long as this planet Earth exists and people are alive.
Sometimes, a business or an industry has favorable grounds to thrive and vice versa. The brick-and-mortar retail industry may have seen a retail meltdown for the past few years, but that doesn’t mean it has no chance to survive hard times and fight back to retain its lost image.
Why Retail Store Chains Are Facing The Most Closures
Significant upfront investment failures are the predominant reason for the death of brick-and-mortar retail stores. Retailers, when they see profit margins and achieve success in any specific locality, get excited about opening more retail stores in different areas. This excitement often leads them to set up more stores and spend carelessly on improving their in-house customer experience and facilities.
Most retailers largely misunderstand the significant sums paid to create an ideal shopping environment. They often spend impractically and unreasonably on creating an extravagant shopping environment, increasing their investment and costs. Besides expanding their operations, this causes the death of a brick-and-mortar retail store.
What Should Be Done To Prevent The Closure?
To maximize cost reduction, you must first cut down your sizeable upfront investment and allocate adequate resources to get things moving seamlessly in the right direction. Secondly, you must provide an exquisite shopping experience with a unique in-store service. Also, you must hire a professional accountant for bookkeeping services who will give you a clear picture of your finances, tax details, bank loans, etc., for better financial decisions. 
Moreover, you must reevaluate your retail objectives and retail establishment’s strategic mission, especially your supply chain channels. Last, you must analyze each problem’s root-cause and develop a relevant strategy to recover from the crisis. By taking all of these practical measures, you can expect to prevent the death of your brick-and-mortar retail store.
Brick And Mortar Retail Is Still King!
The death of brick-and-mortar retail is nearly impossible. Although thousands of brick-and-mortar retail stores may be closing their doors due to bankruptcy or lack of creative wisdom to stay competitive, online retail stores and their total earnings can never come near to the overall earnings of brick-and-mortar retail stores around the globe–at least any time soon. It makes it safe to say that brick-and-mortar retail is still king (or queen!), and all of the stories associated with the death of brick-and-mortar retail are baseless.
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