Macy’s announcement Tuesday that it will close 150 stores, or nearly a third of its total, is the result of a once-great department store industry in decades of decline.
I know a lot of people buy clothes online, but I like to know how they fit.
I tried buying clothes online once, and it was a nightmare. Imagine how different brands in one store have different interpretations of the same size and multiply that amount of variation by 100 online.
Had to return over half of what I bought and then guess what size I needed based on how ill-fitting the first one was. Return shipping was free, but the carbon and other resource overheads are significant.
Because I think it makes sense to have decently-large stores with a significant amount of clothing that you can try on before you buy it.
There’s plenty of clothing specific stores out there that are relatively large. Department stores aren’t really something people want anymore as they are in a niche between smaller specific stores and larger big box retailers, and are usually crappier than the former and more expensive than the latter.
Versus what? Because I think it makes sense to have decently-large stores with a significant amount of clothing that you can try on before you buy it.
I know a lot of people buy clothes online, but I like to know how they fit.
And if you need to buy a suit, you’ll probably spend a whole hell of a lot less at Macy’s than you would a suit specialty store.
I tried buying clothes online once, and it was a nightmare. Imagine how different brands in one store have different interpretations of the same size and multiply that amount of variation by 100 online.
Had to return over half of what I bought and then guess what size I needed based on how ill-fitting the first one was. Return shipping was free, but the carbon and other resource overheads are significant.
Online shopping is great, but not for everything.
There’s plenty of clothing specific stores out there that are relatively large. Department stores aren’t really something people want anymore as they are in a niche between smaller specific stores and larger big box retailers, and are usually crappier than the former and more expensive than the latter.