Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail.

[Josquius]

The more and more people will switch to online shopping, the more and more people online retailers will employ. Storage clerks, customer support, administration, IT, software developers, service management, couriers..

And the less and less physical retailers will employ. A lot more people will lose jobs than will gain them. And thats not even the main issue at stake.

Hey, you never know.  If there are fewer shops out there selling commodities, rent for retail space may go down.  This may encourage more retail shops that sell personal services and high-end products to enter the market. 

Possibly.
I suspect in my current city they have recently dropped the rents pretty low to compete with the results of their retarded lack of urban planning laws since the government dropped its retail space law a decade ago (this basically resulted in this city being the strangest thing on Earth, most of the shops are scattered far and wide along the main roads away from the city rather than in the city centre or in a few places outside of the centre)

In my home town however they refuse to recognise the writing on the wall and keep rents pretty high.

[Monoriu]

I buy commodities, like pre-packaged milk or detergent online.  But if I want to buy a camera or TV I still want to try it out before I pay.  Online shopping can't replace restaurants and Starbucks.  I still want to buy a lot of niche products that can't be found in online shops.  I still buy Japanese peaches from a physical location.  My wife still wants to examine each pack of vegetables she buys.  There is no way this change destroys local retail.  Change the landscape a bit, perhaps. 

[Tamas]

The more and more people will switch to online shopping, the more and more people online retailers will employ. Storage clerks, customer support, administration, IT, software developers, service management, couriers...

I'm skeptical that the numbers would offset the losses of the brick & mortar stores.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ15vUjgqvw

[Eddie Teach]

Funny video, but not really worth posting three times.

[Tamas]

Funny video, but not really worth posting three times.

that's the easiest way to remind the people here of the point I am trying to make.

[Eddie Teach]

Change is inevitable, yes. But it's not often pleasant and even when it is some aspects might be unfortunate. One side effect of the information revolution is that with all these super-efficient businesses running around, "full" employment is likely a pipe dream, barring massive government make-work programs.

[sbr]

Change is inevitable, yes. But it's not often pleasant and even when it is some aspects might be unfortunate. One side effect of the information revolution is that with all these super-efficient businesses running around, "full" employment is likely a pipe dream, barring massive government make-work programs.

Tamas doesn't care.  As long as there are a couple hundred million Slavs in need of Borscht he'll have a job.

[CountDeMoney]

Should be interesting how Amazon will do same-day delivery with no fucking US Postal Service.

[Neil]

I suspect in my current city they have recently dropped the rents pretty low to compete with the results of their retarded lack of urban planning laws since the government dropped its retail space law a decade ago (this basically resulted in this city being the strangest thing on Earth, most of the shops are scattered far and wide along the main roads away from the city rather than in the city centre or in a few places outside of the centre)

That's actually pretty common in newer cities with room to expand.

At any rate, the death of town centres isn't a bad thing.  This is the 21st century.  There's no such thing as a community anymore.

[garbon]

Online shopping can't replace restaurants and Starbucks.

Ordering in?

[Neil]

Should be interesting how Amazon will do same-day delivery with no fucking US Postal Service.

I'm sure there are other couriers, even in the US.

[Admiral Yi]

Should be interesting how Amazon will do same-day delivery with no fucking US Postal Service.

  It would be even more interesting to see how Amazon would do same-day delivery *with* a fucking US Postal Service.

[Habbaku]

Should be interesting how Amazon will do same-day delivery with no fucking US Postal Service.

Hopefully, Amazon will simply replace the USPS and do all the delivery themselves.

[CountDeMoney]

Should be interesting how Amazon will do same-day delivery with no fucking US Postal Service.

  It would be even more interesting to see how Amazon would do same-day delivery *with* a fucking US Postal Service.

They still cover more than FedEx or UPS.  Although FedEx and UPS are more capable with Adjacent Business services.

[Jacob]

There's no such thing as a community anymore.

There absolutely is, and there are a few kinds; the communities of people who can afford to pay extra to live in a place that is a community; the communities of those on the economic margins, too poor to access the services that render communities less necessary; and communities of people who are far from the reaches of the technologies that render communities less necessary.

If Amazon is successful, communities will be destroyed - especially in places where community exists because it's the only real choice. But community will still exist for those too poor to access Amazons and amongst those who are willing and able to pay the premium to live in one.