Where do you shop, another store closing

[KimberlyS]

I knew things were going to be tough for brick and mortar stores with Covid. Some people just shifted their shopping to the online version of their favorite stores. Today when looking at the Catherine's web site, which I shop at both in person and online, I was sad to read they are going to be closing their stores. A sister stores to them, Fashion Bug and DressBarn stores were already closed several years ago and last year due to more and more people shopping online. And the parent company for these stores and Lane Bryant has filed for chapter 11.

For me my preference is to shop in person as I find it easier to get the correct size when I can shop and try on clothes before buying them. I have shopped at all of these stores and sad that it has come to both of them having to close down. Yes Covid was the last straw for Catherine's but I know that they were already struggling due to on line sales.

My question for others is, where do you shop? I know online can be easy and cheaper. But is the amount we are saving worth loosing all of our brick and mortar stores? I see my local malls becoming bare. Sears, Yonkers, JCPenny, DressBarn, and others leaving big holes. I am sorry but wallymart is not good quality clothes over all. Yes I have a few wallymart clothes also. But my preference is better quality clothes. In five - ten years what will we have for local clothing stores to shop at where we can go in and try on clothes?

Just some rambling thoughts. I would like to hear thoughts from others.

Kimberlys

[Diana Michelle]

The demise of brick and mortar is truly sad for many reasons not the least of which is the loss of jobs that comes with it. Let us be brutally honest here ladies most of of us are guilty of shopping online be it Amazon, Ebay, or a store's website. I certainly am. Couple of months back my Keurig coffee maker started acting up so I checked several local brick and mortar stores' websites for availability and price. Then I went to Amazon and found the exact same unit that the cheapest local price I could find was $169 and that was a "sale" price for $130! Obviously I ordered it from Amazon. Being a Prime member it was free shipping and after ordering it on a Tuesday evening I had it Thursday afternoon.

Buying things like kitchen appliances, auto parts, toilet paper and other staples online is one thing but at least to me clothes falls into a different category. First off I enjoy the hunt for that "perfect" dress. Many times I have started out with something in mind and ended up with something completely different because it caught my eye. Secondly most online descriptions do not tell one how something feels or how well made a garment is made. I like to touch and "feel" something I am going to wear. Next I think we all know particularly when it comes to women's sizing it is at best a guesstimate. In other words not all size 10's are created equally! Last but not least I like to try things on not only to check for fit but also to see how it actually looks on me. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have found something that looked so cute on the hanger and so awful on. Now with all that said I have purchased both clothes and shoes online. Sometimes it is because they didn't have my size in stock and sometimes it is because of "online only" specials but I have yet to purchase something online just because "it caught my eye" while surfing..

I am sure the coronavirus has had an effect and will cause more than one store to close up, particularly smaller ones like the Mom and Pop shop to close but let us be honest here there have been many who closed were struggling before all of this started. Think Payless, Sears, K-Mart, J C Penney, and others here. I am sure there are countless others but those jump to mind. In another thread here I spoke about a family owned upscale women's shop I shopped at many times that called it quits because they couldn't compete with online pricing as well as with the shift to casual attire people didn't "need" many of the things they specialized in but IMO there is more.

For the bulk of my working career the attire for women in my line of work was a skirted suit. I had quite a few as I nor most women would ever think of wearing the same suit twice in a week. Also I had suits of varying weights and colors for different seasons. Nowadays a professional woman can wear the same black slacks 3 days in a row and be varying her top, shoes, and accessories can accomplish a completely different look and no one will think twice. It becomes infinitely easier with a pair of khakis or jeans. Also remember those same black slacks or khakis or jeans can be worn year round. Need drives clothing sales.

The other reason IMO is the priorities of younger generations is changing. For the bulk of our parents the driving priority was material things. Bigger and better houses and cars and fancier clothes were their way of showing others they had "made it." I can still remember how proud my father was when he finally got the promotion that allowed him a company car, a Lincoln Continental, and how proudly my mother wore her mink stole. Many of us grew up in this atmosphere and whether we admit it or not are guilty of these beliefs in at least some instances. Today the younger generations are driven by far different priorities. While for some it is the label that drives their attire choices it is not as much in the past. They are much more apt to save to purchase the latest in technology or an "experience" vacation than a new house or car.

There is a classic example of these changing beliefs in my own backyard. Growing up in the metro Detroit area many had cottages "Up North." A place that could be as simple as a basic cabin or as elaborate as a second home. What it was is not the point but just about every Friday night in the summer the man of the house would get home from work, load the car with stuff and the kids to fight the traffic going north for a day and a half or so only to have to repeat the process Sunday afternoon to head back home.

Now I live "Up North" on an inland lake. While there are year round homes and residents here I would venture to guess probably half or so are summer homes, snowbirds as we call them, or just cottages. When we first moved here lakefront or properties with lake access would be on the market maybe 2 months and demanded premium prices. Was talking a few weeks back with a neighbor who is a real estate agent and she told me while lakefront and lake access properties still demand higher prices the premium has shrunk and overall the market for "cottages" has been in decline for several years now.

As I said earlier I am sure the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown has something to do with struggling and the failure of some retail operations IMO in most cases it was just the final nail in the coffin. I am not saying this is good or bad for to quote my late boss "It's not right, it's not wrong, it just is." I have spelled my thoughts on why we are seeing more and more retail bankruptcies and closings, curious to hear what you girls think.

[DonnaT]

Dillards and CJ Banks
Haven't been in a while, however.

I've not done business with this online shop, but things look nice. https://www.airycloth.com/sale/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Heather W]

I never really thought about it but many times I have been looking at something for the house or some sort of staple and asked myself "Wonder what I can get for on Amazon?" I do agree I far prefer to touch, feel, even try on clothes and the like but I have also ordered things from particularly a store's website and had delivered then if it is not right just returned it to the store. Also I prefer shopping for certain food stuffs like meat and produce myself though I have used online ordering and even delivery for certain things like canned goods or cleaning supplies. Guess I am part of the problem.

Someone mentioned stores running "online only" specials. I can understand the theory behind this it brings traffic into the stores and hoping something else catches their eye but wouldn't having it on special in the store do the same? Don't know about the rest of you but if I am going to a store to pick up something I have ordered I am more concentrating on where I am going than looking around. On the other hand if I go to a store to buy something regardless of what it is I am far more apt to shop around and see what else is there. How many times have you been walking the mall or down the street and something in a store's window draws you in and you leave with something completely different? Maybe it is just me?

[Lauren]

While I am guilty of shopping online for many things for the most part I prefer to shop for clothes, shoes, etc. in person for many of the reasons listed above.

I tend to shop at smaller shops for many of my clothes as I like the service levels and don't find them that much more expensive considering the quality of clothes available. My biggest concern here is the health of the smaller shops rather than the larger chains. I know of more than a couple of small shops that have closed as well as restaurants and fear many more before we get through all of this.

[Joan Grey]

For most things, I prefer to shop in person at a brick & mortar store. If I am sure of quality and fitment, I'll sometimes shop online. I simply will not use Amazon, as I prefer dealing directly with the seller, often getting as good, or better, prices.

[Ralitsa]

I very rarely buy anything on Amazon because I have a huge problem with their business model, their CEO, and pretty much everything about them. But I do buy things on-line, directly from the manufacturer as much as I can.
Mostly though I buy things in person. My dresses I always buy in person, at Dress Barn usually until they went out of business. But I still have a large collection of dresses so I don't NEED TO buy any new ones for a while. I am seriously thinking about buying one from a shop on Etsy that custom makes them according to your measurements, but I'm not quite ready to try that. For now I have a dressmaker in northern Wisconsin who had made some for me before, and she is working on one now for me. I've looked in JC Penny, Kohls, and Ross but haven't seen anything lately that I like at all.

Except for nylons and shapeware, mostly I buy that online.
So like the rest of the ladies here I want to try on something before I buy it to see how it will fit and look on me, if it's something that will be seen or where fit is a concern.

[KimberlyS]

Another store closing. Christopher & Banks closing stores, files for bankruptcy due to ‘stress’ of pandemic. I did not shop there a lot but have some things from there. A lot of their clothes make me think teacher.

So sad to see.


Kimberlys

[Lauren]

Christopher & Banks is closing? Where are the teachers going to buy their clothes now?

All joking aside I agree with you Kimberly. Never shopped at one but every time I walked past one I would think teacher

[Ralitsa]

Maybe it's just me but I'm finding it a lot harder to find things that I like, whether in-store or on-line. I used to like Kohls and JC Penny but now I can find hardly anything I like. The one great deal, my daughters and I were shopping over Christmas break and I got a dress I really like from JC Penny for $12.
So yeah, the local stores have some local employees, but nothing is made locally; it all comes from China any way so how much does it really help. And in the case of a chain like Kohls or JC Penny or Ross, is it something like 10% of the actual purchase price that stays in the community? I'm not sure it matters all that much financially, but I really want to try it on first.

I've mentioned that my favorite business model is to buy handmade from an actual person. I've bought things on Etsy with great satisfaction. But recently I've reconnected with my dressmaker in Wisconsin and had her make me a few more things. My daughters and I are going on a road trip this spring/summer, and she will make us coordinating traveling dresses. (not matching, coordinating was as good as I could get agreed)

Yeah, I will still buy the super deal that I find at one of the major chains, but mostly I think I'm going more in the direction of hand made.

[Bernice]

I buy all my new dresses from E-Shakti , online, even though it all comes from India. They custom make every dress to my measurements, and they fit perfectly. Their dresses have pockets! Despite their large offerings, it's hard to find ones I like enough to justify the high cost. Most of my collection came from garage and estate sales, but oh, what an investment in time and effort to find them. I have made my own, but my skills are limited, and my vision is deteriorating.

Hugs,

Bernice