Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

I'm not really into shopping malls (much prefer online) but in Perth alone, about $5 billion is currently being invested in upgrading shopping malls - and I'm sure that this is not only happening here. 2 years ago I was in Manchester and on a Saturday afternoon, I went to a ginormous shopping mall called the Trafford Centre. It was f**king rammed and I struggled to get parking (the place is a bit of a shithole BTW and is to be avoided - I'll never go there again). America, ground zero for online, has thousands of malls which I'm sure are packed on weekends

Where I'm going with this is that there is a place for both online and physical shopping. I know businesses can often get things wrong but I'm sure the people behind the billions being invested into malls have done a bit of due diligence

It is problematic buying some things online - shoes, furniture, cars, jewelry spring to mind and there will always be a need for physical stores in some areas

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Malls are excessively high overhead business platforms

- Staff costs are higher because you need to align with mall hours regardless of foot traffic
- Landlords have legacy thinking on rates and are happy for churn rates.


As entertainment hubs sure they can perhaps survive but people walking enjoying air-conditioning, eating in food court, going to the movies not really a flow on to rest of mall tenants.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

I agree.

There are lots of goods where people will want or need to touch, feel and physically try before buying. Clothes is another prime example.

I wonder if we might see stores holding just one of every product for the public to test and try but where no physical supply is made. The purchase would be supplied direct from warehouses. No need to hold expensive inventory at prime locations.

On a similar footing did I read somewhere that Amazon were investigating machinery to make clothes at a touch of a button upon receiving an order? Again reducing inventory and warehouse space.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Got a feeling that fast and free return will kill that one.

Maybe, but even then, it's difficult to make it pay in that 10% they have to fit within.

Yep, they have a patent even. Of course there's a major plus point on that - tailored clothes that exactly fit. Which you aren't going to get a bricks'n'mortar retail...

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Not really. Once people see the risk to their health on all the other sneezing, coughing customers trying before them.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Problem is that even measuring yourself doesnt work initially:you need to get a template then store it and modify it (if you can)...ive had shirts conscientiously measured by tailors and made; then still wanted to tweak parts of the shirt to suit shoulder drop, chest etc
.and some models dont allow that. Chest and collar not enough sometimes particularly if you are athletic.

Fitting is one thing: silhouette is another. There are mobs out there that are quite sophisticated and people spend a few sessions buying a few to get it right.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

The tech that will pull 3D data out of 2D images, or 3D sensors, will pull every possible measure - more than any tailor will.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/03/am...s-for-50m-70m/

Throw in a little machine learning for what those measurements mean in terms of the right sizes and I think they'd be able to nail it without too much hassle.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

..... and lock themselves inside the Werribee McMansion through fear of a cold. Being locked up sounds pretty unhealthy to me.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

I reckon there will always be a demand for physical shopping in real stores (I personally won't buy a pair of shoes without trying them on). What these stores will resemble is yet to be seen

Go to any major mall on a weekend and you will see plenty of people walking aimlessly around not buying anything. People seem to enjoy the shared, interactive experience of shopping - or at least going to the shops. I was recently in Tokyo - a city that is as technologically advanced as any, yet go to any major shopping district such as Ginza, Akihabara or Shibuya and they are rammed all day, every day

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

So we need a new washing machine and I am really trying hard here to find an online store with a discount. No cigar unfortunately - bricks and mortar offering the best prices. I really really gave the online a try.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

... and this really really upsets me the most. It's bloody Harvey Norman for the one we want. I am actually tempted to go Good Guys and pay a little bit more just to piss Gerry off.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

They'll all price match :)

You need to get yourself a regular goto sales person in one of the alternatives to HN.

My regular Salesperson is a actually young lady at HN. Actually caught me out one day, lowered the price on one of those Tefal, Thermomix clone things to such a degree I would have looked like a real-time wasting twat if I didn't buy it. Something like a 600 dollar discount on their list price.

She'll always beat the Officeworks list price, even on small items like memory cards.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Office works the guys who tried to charge $0.20 per page for scanning a document to a USB drive

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

That is true. They will always price match.

Re: Amazon incoming ...
 

Probably the best thing about Aussie shopping, that and no fuss returns.