Jump to content

I went on a major shopping trip


maddmaxx

Recommended Posts

for the first time in about a year.  The mall was about 40% occupied and most of those stores had minimum staff.  Lots of blank windows and empty store fronts.  I was looking for track pants or athletic pants in a summer weight because mine are simply worn out.

Winter stuff at full price.  No restocking in any large scale.

The economy has not recovered not matter what you're being told.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

The mall 

I think this might be a big part of it. Malls were failing before Covid and I’m sure the shut down hasn’t helped.  

We haven’t seen locally what you are experiencing.  My commute is nearly pre Covid levels as the freeways are quiet busy again and the parking lot at my business complex is much busier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was at the mall over the winter of 2019/20. I went there to walk after surgery, when the weather was frigid. The mall was aboot 5% full. Walking to my vehicle, I was approached by a dude who " just got out of prison" and want a ride. Um yeah no. Another occasion while inside, a dude wanted me to insert my driver's license into a machine so he could renew his phone card. Um yeah no. Both of these incidents were early afternoon. I hate to see what happens at night. Malls fucking suck. I have no idea how they are in business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Malls are dead.  Our local economy is rocking but there are some things that are not in stock.

 

We don't have a jump if 4.2% in the Consumer Price Index for April with out a heated economy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

We don't have a jump if 4.2% in the Consumer Price Index for April with out a heated economy.

We don't???  Why not?

Can you use your mad skills to tell me when the housing market will change?  It seems overheated, but no one is ready to call it a bubble or near a peak.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Kzoo said:

We don't have a jump if 4.2% in the Consumer Price Index for April with out a heated economy.

Parts of the economy are improving.  Other parts are simply contributing to more poor.  It's good that you work in the heated part.  It sucks for those who sell things in retail shops, work in theaters, had jobs in closed restaurants or owned small shops on main street.  The unemployment numbers were horrible in spite of all the spin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our last mall is all but dead. They converted the other into an open air shopping center. Pretty sure they could do it to the other mall with only slight disruption in business. 
Retail and food service are struggling to get help. Many people who were laid off found work in other sectors and didn’t return. Our unemployment numbers are around 3%. A labor expert says that at that level, the unemployed are basically the unemployable. 
We have a housing boom, but still 15 years behind demand. Makes it hard to recruit new people to work here.  Interesting times..   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, groupw said:

Our last mall is all but dead. They converted the other into an open air shopping center. Pretty sure they could do it to the other mall with only slight disruption in business. 
Retail and food service are struggling to get help. Many people who were laid off found work in other sectors and didn’t return. Our unemployment numbers are around 3%. A labor expert says that at that level, the unemployed are basically the unemployable. 
We have a housing boom, but still 15 years behind demand. Makes it hard to recruit new people to work here.  Interesting times..   

We still have drive through food banks that service a thousand or more cars a day.  Signs in all the store windows indicate that they are hiring but not getting the help they need.  There is a shortage of cooks for restaurants.  There are shortages of qualified help everywhere.  The word in italics says it all.  Some of our manufacturing, Electric Boat for one, are starting up the apprenticeship programs that they killed back in the 90's, because Management was cutting budgets, because it's the only way they are going to get trained help.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...