That Amazon article about "retail apocalypse" made me laugh after working at a mall store for 2 years

I was reading this piece on CNN about how malls are dying and everyone shops online now. But the reporter didnt mention that my store in Phoenix had a 20% sales bump last month from people who just wanted to touch the fabric before buying. The article also skipped the part where 3 new stores opened in our wing this year. Did the person who wrote that actually walk through a mall lately or just look at numbers from a desk?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan7936d ago

Started sweating just reading this because I worked at a mall kiosk for like 6 months and I'm pretty sure 90% of our sales came from people who needed to escape their kids for 10 minutes lol. But yeah, real humans still exist and they need to touch stuff.

evan_davis6d ago

People who needed to escape their kids for 10 minutes" is maybe the most real thing I've ever read on this site. I'm just picturing some exhausted parent handing over a credit card for a $60 salt lamp because they'd rather stare at it than their toddler having a meltdown over a stuffed animal. Honestly, that's genius business strategy right there. The mall kiosk hustle is basically a survival game for both the seller and the shopper.

miller.diana6d ago

Wait is that why the kiosk by the food court always has a line of parents with that thousand yard stare? Maybe it's just me but I've noticed the same thing at my local mall where the candle kiosk is basically a therapy station for adults who just need five minutes of quiet and a nice smell. The workers there must be part-time counselors at this point, handing out free smells while someone vents about their day. It's kind of smart when you think about it - malls aren't dead, they've just turned into paid break rooms for overwhelmed people.