Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Past of Shopping

I see some reports at news online (murdoch, don't visit) that people are shopping online too much and that the retailers of Australia are in despair. People apparently feel a retailers contribution is worth 5%; many retailers routinely mark up furniture etc by over 100%. Something has to give.

And what is giving way is the non-internet market. All the hand-wringing won't help - as long as rents and labour costs are high, internet marketing will win. This has been obvious to me for years. The property boom and the commercial property boom with it have probably set unrealistic rent goals. The only thing opening or continuing to run a shop had to recommend it was that people are creatures of economically irrational habit. But economics is only possible because that breaks down, because rationality breaks through.

I will be interested to see whether the IT revolution really leads to devaluation of human labour, or whether we find ever-more connectivity that demans judgment and skill available only from human beings. I am inclined to read the destiny of human labour under dwindling demand from the destiny of people in film and tv. There is less work overall, and more of that little is low skill (reality tv), degrading (reality tv, 2.5 men, home shopping), and false (home shopping, current affairs). There is always room for some highly creative, highly skilled work, but only a small proportion of people actually see success through coincidence of their skill and the world's need.
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2 comments:

  1. JoannaMay 26, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    I think the fact you are ignoring, my introvert, is that shopping in actual shops offers many people a social and aesthetic experience that is highly valued. Think of all those pensioners popping out daily to buy milk and chatting to the checkout person. Or hipsters congregating in retro stores on Brunswick St. I don't doubt that online shopping is gaining ground, but I don't think old-style shopping is going to disappear any time soon.

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  2. Absurd Project 0May 26, 2011 at 9:05 PM

    True, shopping and the mall experience work for people, but unless they spend money there, they will eventually be reduced, heaven forfend, to the natural environment. People can shop on the internet and browse, hang out and play in parks.

    Of course, actually seeing, touching, trying is a benefit. Apple stores and Ikea stores can still make a lot of sense. Retailing less so.

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