The Internet Age: the end of retail stores?

The Internet age officially began in 2000. Every year, online sales have grown and companies doing business online only without a retail store has increased. In 2004, Blockbuster Video was a multi-billion dollar company with almost 10,000 stores. Netflix, the internet only video rental competitor to Blockbuster was a small struggling multi-million dollar company. In 2010, Blockbuster fell in bankruptcy and in 2011, was sold in bankruptcy auction for only 320 million dollars. Netflix today is worth more than 12 billion dollars and has more than 20 Million subscribers. In 2004, Borders Bookstores and Barnes & Noble Bookstores were thriving. In 2010, Borders filed for bankruptcy and has been unable to find a buyer and has closed 30% of its stores. Barnes & Noble is only doing slightly better, but not because of its bookstores because of its online reader – the Nook. In 2012, eBook sales will pass paperback sales. In 2000, Amazon.com was a struggling online only equivalent of a mail order store. In 2011, Amazon.com is worth more than 80 Billion dollars and rapidly growing each year. Even the world’s largest company Wal-Mart, recently reported that it’s in store sales have been stagnant the last two three years and they have been unable to significantly grow. Meanwhile www.walmart.com sales is growing faster than in store sales.

Is this good for our society? The impact so far has meant substantial loss of retail jobs. It has also increased cheap foreign imports. Face book has 500 million users. Society has begun to have much less physical interaction and only meet virtually. As a matter of fact, you cannot find this blog in a retail store, only online.

Source:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-08/blockbuster-lehman-vitro-accredited-home-bankruptcy.html

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/13/why-barnes-noble-should-go-from-bookstore-to-nookstore/