The decline of department stores

I joke that I was raised in a Nordstrom and Macy’s by my mom when I was young. She would pick me up from school, bribe me with Burger King, and then go shopping. I hated it, but I loved Burger King so I put up with it and would find places to try to nap in the store.

When I went shopping as a kid, my parents would take me to Nordstrom or Macy’s to pick out some new clothes. I still don’t like shopping, but I do always have fond memories of these large department stores holding big events for celebrities or decked out for the holidays. It was part of my childhood.

It was a bit sad to hear that both Nordstrom and Macy’s were closing in San Francisco. I didn’t visit them much as an adult, but I had good memories there growing up and didn’t want to see them gone.

Big department stores have seemed to continue to struggle as shoppers turn online. I suspect most of the new generation that’s hitting the workforce today grew up shopping differently than I did as a kid. It’s a trend that’s been happening and will continue to happen.

I don’t expect many of these big stores to stick around for too much longer. People find it more convenient to shop online with the larger inventories and easy returns nowadays. Along with shopping malls, I’d probably guess that department stores will go largely extinct in the next 10 years.

I’m interested to see what the new trends in shopping will be.

So far, I haven’t seen virtual try-ons take hold yet despite that being a big hype in the startup world a few years ago. I’m wondering if that will eventually become a normal thing soon as technology improves.

I wonder if custom made clothing starts to take a foothold in the market. Imagine a world where you can take a picture of yourself and then have an app build you a custom set of jeans that fit you perfectly in which you can customize.

I can also see a world where department stores like Nordstrom have many more, albeit smaller outposts meant for trying on clothes by appointment and providing that bespoke shopping experience that people still love.

Perhaps I’ll start to like shopping more in the few years ahead.