subject: To Shop Or Not To Shop, Is That The Question? [print this page] Shopping, the great American past timeShopping, the great American past time. For the last 50 years, people have enjoyed going out to their local mall to hang out, chat and do a little shopping in their favorite stores. It is really this social aspect of shopping that has been one of the driving forces behind local economy for all this time. However, in recent years things have begun to change.
The internet has become the new social outlet, allowing you to be both anonymous and share your real opinion. At the same time, gas prices have been skyrocketing and the economy has become a self-possessed roller-coaster ride that could dive or loop upwards at any time. Malls are floundering and shops are going out of business left and right. So is shopping dead or has it just found a new outlet?
Getting Thrifty
Once Wall Street hit rock bottom and the worth of paper money was suddenly up in the air, everyone went into spend-thrift mode. Of course, here is where the paradox comes in. If everyone stops spending money to prepare themselves for retirement, school fees or just a rainy day, doesn't that also stop the economic cash flow? The answer is an emphatic yes, but only in the short-term. Business has a way of adapting to these kinds of situations and knows how to cut costs; both in places that hurt, like layoffs and in places that help, like creating a greater online presence.
With the internet, stores have found ways to advertise and create simpler and easier ways for people to find what they are looking for. It becomes a lot easier to spend a few extra dollars if you don't have to spend the gas money to get to the store and you get free shipping on top of that. The internet has become the new thrift superstore and it isn't just for no-brand names.
Evolving the Modern Shopping Mall
Don't think that the real deal is out for the count just yet though. There are plenty of advantages to having a good shopping mall within range. Being able to have physical contact with what you want to buy and actually being able to try it on before buying is something that the internet has not been able to match yet. There is also the fact that malls have gone through an evolution over the years to a place for the entire family. Many malls have created full theme parks, added large movie theaters and generally made going there an affair that lasts the entire day. The traditional mall has become a weekend extravaganza, where the kiddies can play and mom and dad can get a feel for something they want to buy, whether right away or later on at home.
There is also the new type of mall that is gaining in popularity, the online shopping mall. Many smaller online stores have begun to bind themselves together to help create one stop shopping and reviewing sites so that you can get in, buy and get out without having to sift through search links.
It all comes back to whether to be shopping or not is really the question that you should be asking? Perhaps the real question should be which outlet you should shop with, online or off?
