The problem is not Amazon, the problem is local rents. If we encourage mixed-use zoning, ie. 3-5 storey apartment blocks with the ground and first level for commercial and office use, we'll lower rents and reduce commutes.
I’ve thought for years that the growing number of commercial vacancies, even pre-Covid, would “sort itself out.” It certainly hasn’t yet.
When you look at it as parking of assets as a hedge against inflation it makes more sense what is going on.
But taxes you might say. They charge dumb rents on these places. So if you get a sucker willing to pay a way over priced rent for say 6 months or a year it may cover the taxes for 10-20 years. Meanwhile the cash value has usually at least matched along with inflation. Even if they do not cover with a sucker the rate of inflation may be higher than the taxes. Plus the possibility of buying into a 'hot market' and the value does actually increase (but that is speculation which is some of it).
Why the 'dumb' rent why not have a reasonable one? Because they do not really want to rent. They do not want to deal with 'hey landlord the roof needs to be replaced again'. They want to deal with that when the time comes to liquidate it for whatever reason.
Many people look at like the are running a property business. There are many of those types of companies out there (which is why they can play this game). But there are many people just looking to 'not be poor' and live off daddies money for the rest of their lives from their trust fund.
If you change the zoning at a sufficient scale, rents would be expected to decline permanently, so there would be nothing gained by holding out until tomorrow.
This partly explains why I saw -- with two temporary-by-design blips -- a particular downtown San Jose corner location empty for 10 years. Last I saw, they finally rented it out as an office, but that was just shy of Covid19.
Apparently a decade is the minimum for "wait for better demand" or they had//have pockets deep enough to play a long game.
I just don't understand how some people are happy with empty store-fronts. "I want the blightful eyesore, not the bustling tax money" doesn't make sense to me.
This problem impacts smaller shops most of course but even the largest stores can't possibly hope to have more than a small % of every title in stock. That's just a natural consequence of how many books are out there.
It was fun exploring local food courts of bigger buildings.
That said, as someone who did (i.e., owner) B&M retail for 10 years, local business need to be more available. Closing at 6.00 pm every day limits your audience. Being open later one or two evenings is a game changer. _If_ you are focused on your customers and their needs.
Or, if your store is in a small town and you drive to your shop, don't take up prime parking spots. Yes, I've seen this done. "Business is slow." Gee, I wonder why.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not an Amazon supporter. They are my vendor or last choice. That said, it's sad how often I get to that last choice so quickly (e.g., Powell's website is marginal at best).
Instead of digging through amazon trying to find the one item that isn’t fake, hoping it’s what I actually want or need, needing to be home at the right time to sign for the package, and waiting for delivery, I could just make a 5 minute trip and hold the item in my hands before buying it.
Local businesses still mostly thrive in cities with mixed zoning despite the presence of online businesses. Some things do get crushed (small electronics stores just can’t possibly match the variety and endlessly cycled out stock of the newest items online), but there’s space for some things.
There's an Eastern Mountain Sports near me. It's an anchor in a small "boutique" mall. Not a single screen in the whole store. Now how are you going to capture the interest and imagination of the casual walk-through traffic? With racks of cookie-cutter clothing?
B&M certainly isn't easy. What is? But having done B&M and ecomm, B&M has something online does not...presences. Mind you, that's not a plus ATM but pre-C19 very few were fully exploiting that unique asset. And yet they cry about inline? As if boring and generic will win over convenience??