This meme came through my whatsap feed yesterday and is just so true for me anyways. I have never been the organised type having the Christmas shopping done in advance.
With online being a big thing today I have never got around to using it and if I had I would have missed the cut off day for delivery which was 12 days ago. I think it is something guys will just always repeat every year and is one habit that is hard to boot. I normally have an idea in my head and it is super fast to get my shopping done with little to no fuss. With inflation around who knows what a good price is anymore ,so just pay and get out.
This morning it kind of felt weird being in a shopping mall as I haven't been in one for over two years. This is not an experience I have missed and will not be back again until next Christmas.
Lifestyles have changed with different routines and something that would normally occur visiting a shopping mall weekly is just not a thing anymore. I noticed it is not just me as today was like any normal day and was not overcrowded. The online effect has definitely taken over and will continue to do so.
What was noticeable was the lack of Christmas decorations on view and honestly if an Alien landed in the middle of the Mall would not know something special was about to happen. No Santas Grotto, no Christmas trees, no giant hanging decorations meaning no effort was made. When I owned a shop in a mall in we had to pay monthly levies for these types of things.
South Africa back in the 1990's had ab obsession with shopping malls and they sprung up everywhere. Anchor tenants were ripped off tying them into 20 year leases even if another bigger and better center opened up down the road. The city center had now moved into the suburbs for safety reasons as city centers became no go zones.
In the UK for a shopping center to be granted planning permission there had to be a demand as in the number of people living in that area. Here there was no such thing and why many centers today are white elephants. This will only get worse and expect to see many centers being knocked down over the next decade or two.
I noticed Amazon was smart in the US buying up these centers for distribution purposes turning them into regional depots. We don't have the numbers for that here as the target market is likely only 10% of the population who are buying these types of goods. The majority live under the bread line which limits the growth of the Amazons in the world here.
Trends and lifestyles change out of need and online shopping is going to take over as it is inevitable. Nothing is set in stone as technology and needs have got us to this point with lockdowns speeding up the process. Next year maybe I will do online as who knows what and where we will be in a years time.