About Me

My photo
Blogging about gardening in zone 4, marriage, our golden retriever and life in general.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Why retail is dying

A friend of mine commented last winter that retail is dying. It took me until Saturday to really get what he meant.

We hosted a BBQ on Saturday night, and while the wind kept everyone inside, I still wanted to wear a party dress. My favorite black summer dress is just a little too boob-y to wear when there will be kids around. Heck, it's too boob-y to wear pretty much anywhere. Thus, I was going to justify to myself purchase of a Patagonia dress I've had my eye on for, oh, eight years or so. The Morning Glory halter top:

I planned to pick up the dress while running some errands on Sunday morning. We live in a sporty, athletic town, and I've seen this dress in practically every shop for the past 10 years. Checked REI first; they only had the pink one in my size. Went to Chalet sports; they didn't even carry the dress. Went to Barrel Mountaineering; nope. Went to Northern Lights; nope. Called the Bozeman Angler, a flyfishing shop, for christsakes, where I'd seen the dress before; they only had an extra small left. 

I struck out in five different places. In trying to find a dress I've seen everywhere for a decade. 

And then I figured out what Ben meant when he said retail is dead. Why spend two hours running around town not finding what I want, when I can order it online, have it shipped to my door within 24 hours, try it on in the privacy of my own home and in some cases ship it back for free if the item doesn't work?

Well. If you already know what you want, and you don't want to wear it that afternoon, then yeah, ordering stuff online is just easier. And less time consuming. Shopping isn't all about the hunt for me; I'm a buyer. If I see what I want, I buy it and be done with the process. Hunting online, where I can read reviews and price shop while drinking my morning coffee, sounds like a much more enjoyable process. 

No comments:

Post a Comment