Last week Rocky Agrawai of Venture Beat noted the simple painful fact that big box retailers have more online competition and need to upgrade. He then documents his own painful big box experiences which you really don’t see in online retail (often because they’re screwups caused by being there).
Big Box retail needs an upgrade, he concludes. I concur myself; most of my experience with Big Box these days is Frys, who has wisely chosen their own focus (crazy selections and sheer enthusiasm in bulk).
In fact, Rocky then went on to discuss how department stores need help too. I imagine if he is going to fully explore businesses who are behind the times, he’s going to be very busy – and I encourage him, he’s got great insights.
We probably wouldn’t be complaining about this two decades ago as the stores wouldn’t have comparable experience. We also probably wouldn’t be complaining as much as it’s a different economic and cultural time. But in a day of cut-it-to-the-bone, short-term thinking, Big Box stores and many others often feel rather miserable.
