Opinion: Boomer Economics

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[opinion=mine]

From my perspective, the rise and fall of brick-and-mortar stores (especially shopping malls) coincides with the rise and fall of the Boomer generation for both store-owners and customers. Most of us are now of retirement age, and it is much more convenient and easier on our aching bones and tired muscles to order our goods on-line and wait by the door for the delivery.

Mall-walking? Window-shopping? Casual strolls through downtown to engage in a little impulse-buying?

Forget about it. We Boomers need to save as much of our money as possible, spending it only for necessities like food, clothing, housing, and medical care.  Many of us now live on "fixed incomes", and our life savings have to last as long as forty years.

The younger generations wanted us Boomers to step down and let them have their chance, and so we have. Now all they do is complain that "their" stores are closing down due to lack of foot-traffic -- BOOMER foot traffic.

You never realize what you have until it is gone, do you?

[/opinion]

Your first sentence is absurd.

"The rise and fall of brick and mortor stores coincided with the rise and fall of the Boomer generation."

Brick and morter store started a thousand years ago in Medieval Europe. Long before the Post WWII "Boomer Generation".

Its true that "big box stores" are recent. But big department stores got started at the end of the 19th century.

The "fall" part coincided with the rise of the Internet, but you might somehow also correlate it to Boomers retiring. But not the "rise" part.

Millennials were/are the first generation to be worse off than their forebearers.

It isn't uncommon for boomers to have paid off their mortgages in their forties or fifties, something which would be a dreamy dream for millennials, or Gen Z. And that fact was because house prices used to be 2 or 3 times a yearly salary several decades ago, whilst now they are more often 10x a yearly salary, or more.

As well as anything else, boomers didn't endure a financial crash (2008), (Brexit in the UK 2016), Covid-19 ruining the economy or a cost of living crisis that boomers are only going to see the tail end of. Boomers weren't in the midst of the decline of western countries as clear, dominant economic superpowers that they once were.

Boomers had the chance to have reasonable private pensions, which are sparingly existent now. Boomers could simply ignore higher education and if they did have it, it was cheaper several decades ago, compared to now, even accounting for inflation.

In regards to the OP, in-store retail shopping is dwindling, and not only because boomers don't shop in person, but because young people shop online increasingly, too.

There is a nearby upscale mall in West Hartford Connecticut that is doing well.
Lots of nice things to buy. Luxury stores like Tiffany & Co.

My company did a pension disbursement, which was perfectly timed for me to invest into the stock market!

I paid off the mortgage before I was fifty. Retired before I was 60 as I had so much money invested.

Sorry, my small ass town does not carry my exclusive items from Japan, thus my shopping online contributes to the downfall of brick-and-mortar stores!! !.

((joking))

Meh, doesn't bother me that mall retail stores close. I almost never shop in malls - maybe once a year for Christmas gifts.. but I can do that elsewhere or online.

I remember reading an article about some statistician/actuary they call the Oracle of Retail or something like that and this guy figures mall space has been overbuilt by at least 20% across the USA and Canada and we'll see entire shopping malls close down and get turned into something else. Housing would be good.

There's currently a massive development project going on at a fairly major shopping mall called Oakridge Centre. They're building several condo towers and an entire new community above it. The developer is well known for these sorts of mega projects that change entire areas. It's not exactly for locals and mostly being marketed to wealthy Asians overseas.. as the cheap ground floor condos start at something like $2M and go to $5M+. Not exactly the type of housing I meant above lol I'd rather see mall properties turned into housing that local working people can afford to live in.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I hope all strip malls fail.They are all ugly ,built crappy , cheap goods, and a eyesore.
They are not Ma and Pa stores.

i dont really understand why people use these labels (boomer millenial gen z etc) they are so generalized and cover alot of people who may or may not have related life experiences.

stores have been closing down for as long as i can remember. population centers shift...new areas to shop show up (like the internet)...supplies for certain things become available or dissapeer. there are alot of factors as to why stores shut down.

people dont like change. so of course they will have something to say when something changes. of course it seems like people are complaining more now because there are more avenues for people to do so now.

if we really want local shops to survive we have to support them by shopping there. that doesnt guarentee that they wont shut down as each of us are individuals but if we got more people going to these shops then its more likely they wont.

Spencer's was a cool store! You could find lots of things in there that would have shocked the parents!

I remember "Spencer Gifts". Didnt realize that they were gone.

We still have "Hot Topic" - even more edgy that Spencer's. Lots of goth jewelry.

Online shopping is killing off bricks and mortar retail stores.

Even more reasons to stress that "boomer" and "millenial" generations mean completely different collective experiences in East Europe than they do in North America.

BTW, "medieval" European urbanistics where stores and services occupy ground floors of apartment buildings seems to work well here, no signs of decline, new buildings keep being designed according to this paradigm and it works. You have almost everything you need for your life within walking range. I like it much more than spreading fields of lawns, villas and parking lots.