Financial Advisor Rockville MD

By Ryan Wibberley, Chief Executive Officer of CIC Wealth

Summary

In this article Ryan Wibberley, Chief Executive Officer of CIC Wealth, discusses the inevitable downfall of brick and mortar stores like Macy’s and Sears. Many of the retail giants have announced multiple store closures and even filed for bankruptcy protection. While retail giants like Sears are going out of business, online retail giants like Amazon are thriving. Although online shopping had grown slower than expected at first, experts now believe the people that originally resisted e-commerce, are ready to take the leap. Online shopping is very convenient as you are able to stay at home, avoid traffic, and skip the endlessly long lines at giant retailers. But online shopping isn’t the panacea. Due to the increase in e-commerce more cardboard has been required to ship products. Much of the recycling process is done in China, who is cutting down on handling our recycling because of the negative environmental effects in their country. China has banned the import of certain plastic wastes for recycling purposes and cardboard could be next. On top of this, 6.2 million retail employees are in areas that are targeted by e-commerce. So there are many jobs at stake. Also, due to companies like Macy’s and Sears closing many stores, there are many empty properties. If we cannot fill these empty buildings fast, even premium properties could take a huge hit. If brick and mortars don’t change their ways quickly, we could see even more closures.