Brick & mortar retail is trying its very hardest to kill itself.
The bigger a tremendous fucking hassle it is to go to the store instead of ordering online, the fewer people are going to come in.
Supermarket window: "we now use anti-shoplifting face and license plate tracking" [e.g. auror.co ]
Supermarket aisle: can't see any products, have to open every door to look at actual products instead of TV ads
Supermarket aisle: e-ink price labels; can no longer flip up to see how much the thing cost before it was on "sale".
Supermarket aisle: e-ink label is down, no idea how much product costs
Supermarket checkout: always scans shit at the wrong price
Plus we've got covid, drive time, smaller selection, unknown stock levels [sold out].
Any old man could tell you giving a shit about your customers' experience is going to benefit you in the long run. But no. It'll be too late by the time they realize what they've done.
I'd argue that the design of cities to optimize for nothing and emphasize driving long distances to the store is a greater contribution, but I see your point ;) Though that's not retail's problem, that's the city's problem.
It takes me 5 minutes to walk to my grocery store at most. Hard to beat
If you think these are the things killing brick-and-mortar retail when it would otherwise succeed, then you should be founding a company doing the exact opposite of these things and capture the market.
This was always the problem with capitalism based on short-term gain, it will inevitably sacrifice loyalty for a quick buck. The same will happen or is already happening to online stores who do the same, eg by showing ads.
That said, at some point a failing business will realize the end is coming and cash out as much as possible, accelerating its own end in a calculated profit maximization scheme. Brick and mortar stores might as well self-destruct if they also believe they're going down anyway... It's not like anyone works there for the fun of it.
The bigger a tremendous fucking hassle it is to go to the store instead of ordering online, the fewer people are going to come in.
Supermarket window: "we now use anti-shoplifting face and license plate tracking" [e.g. auror.co ]
Supermarket aisle: can't see any products, have to open every door to look at actual products instead of TV ads
Supermarket aisle: e-ink price labels; can no longer flip up to see how much the thing cost before it was on "sale".
Supermarket aisle: e-ink label is down, no idea how much product costs
Supermarket checkout: always scans shit at the wrong price
Plus we've got covid, drive time, smaller selection, unknown stock levels [sold out].
Any old man could tell you giving a shit about your customers' experience is going to benefit you in the long run. But no. It'll be too late by the time they realize what they've done.