The dramatic decline of shopping malls, a trend we forecast in 1997 when we warned that mall culture would degenerate in coming decades, often is attributed to online shopping’s rise. But as the Trends Research Institute has been forecasting, shifting demographics, a stagnant economy and an overbuilt retail sector – created decades ago for a thriving middle class that has dramatically shrunk – also have fueled the trend.
As the “bigs” struggled to survive during the last decade, mergers and acquisitions swept the retail landscape. Cutting costs to enhance profitability and focusing on a one-size-fits-all corporate strategy, rather than producing diverse and creative products, have resulted in a deeply homogenized retail landscape.
- Source, Gerald Celente via King World News
