I’m thinking now that I should make at least one dairy entry here every week. Because I think I need to. Just to ponder, if nothing else. Like, I’ll pick a topic and explore it, just to give my life some more perspective, and perhaps to reveal things to myself. So… yeah. It seems like a good idea. This week’s topic: Mall walking. Yup.
So- every week, I walk the mall.
Impressive, I know.
But seriously, it’s interesting. As in…. more interesting than I expected it would be.
A few thoughts:
1) The stores are all the same. It’s shocking. I live close to one of the biggest indoor malls out there- by far the biggest mall in the heart of one of the richest areas of the country (Northeastern Illinois), and you would expect there to be some variety in the shops present. There isn’t. At least, there isn’t much.
I swear that half the stores there sell primarily T-shirts, alongside a few trinkets here and there. And the T-shirts are basically all the same across the shops, with occasional small variations. And I do mean small. I swear to god that every freaking store that sells T-shirts these days has a Disney section. It’s like, one store sells a lot of Marvel, and a little Star Wars, and a little “Disney Princess” stuff. Another store will sell a lot of Star Wars, a little Marvel, and a little “Disney Princess” stuff. And the next might focus heavily on the “Disney Princess” stuff, with a little Star Wars and Marvel inventory on the side. It makes me wonder, seriously, why there is even a Disney store in the mall. I mean, what’s the point? Even the jewelry stores have Disney sections! And so do ALL of the gaming ones, for Star Wars games, at least. And ALL of the book and hobbyist stores, as well. And on top of that, we need a Disney store too? I mean, even the freaking Arcade has a Disney section! Not labeled as such, but it’s there. Are there people out there that seriously cannot find enough Disney stuff that they need a store that sells literally nothing but?
I remember back when I was a kid, when I cherished my Disney stuff because of it’s rarity and unique charm. I still have a lot of it, TBH. But now… it’s just so common. Would I care as much about it, were I young?
Probably not.
For my sake, the last few purchases I’ve made there were at the rock and mineral import store (I got some nice handcarved wooden keepsake boxes), and Sears, which is having it’s going out of business sale, right now- which brings me to point two.
2) The economy isn’t as good as they say it is. I know, I’ve talked about that ad naseum here, but it bears repeating, especially since the media and everyone else keeps parroting lines about how great things are. I don’t listen, because they’re wrong, and obviously so.
This is a major sticking point between me and the Trump admin. I dislike very much how he lies about the state of the economy. Things are not going well, like at all, and all it takes to realize this is a cursory glance at retail.
A LOT of shops and restaurants have gone out of business lately, both in the mall and around it. And many others are visibly struggling. And the mall itself seems empty of customers compared to how it was just ten, or even five years ago. And all of this, in the face of a population explosion in the local area. It doesn’t add up.
People are not spending money.
The mall clientèle is part of the problem. Too many illegals, for starters. Way too many, and not enough of anyone else.
But that isn’t the real problem, which is… hard to define.
It’s not Amazon. Or eBay. As I noted, the restaurants are struggling badly in this area, and you can’t get restaurant food online. And as I also noted, the population here keeps growing, so even if people are migrating to online shopping, the population boom should keep the malls healthy regardless.
But… nothing.
IDK. But I strongly suspect the problem is too much immigration.
I’m not sure how the dynamics work here, as this is something I just noted, but it seems as though excessive immigration somehow kills retail. It’s a bit counterintuitive, I know. The logic seems sound: invite people in, especially those with money, and the local shops will get more business. Seems logical, yeah? But, it doesn’t work out like that. It really seems as though immigration, even if it’s of the “rich Chinese immigrant” variety, kills local businesses for some reason.
I’ll need to ponder this some more. Maybe do some googling. Perhaps someone else can find the linkage I’m seeking.
See, I just don’t think it could be anything else. This area has money. Tons of it; it’s one of the richest places in the country, easily. And the mall I walk is the mall in this area. And we have the people. I just cannot think of anything else it could be.
The mall owners are going to undertake a project to refurnish and update the mall, I guess to stave off it’s decline. I don’t think it’s going to work.
And……
3) I’m famous. For real; as in famous famous. Like I’m some kind of B-list celebrity or something. As in, I can’t go to the mall or anywhere else anymore without girls knowingly smiling and winking at me.
I mean… they know.
That’s always been there, at least in the last 5 years. But lately, it’s been veering closer to actual celebrity. I’m recalling now something that happened last week. I was standing in line with my keepsake boxes at the mineral store, when the woman next to me realized who she was standing next to, and totally lost her composure. I mean… she lost it. And I know she knew who I was, because of how she started babbling to me about how cool I was, while reciting some of my memes and such. She put on such a production that she alarmed the cashier, and her shell shocked and embarrassed friend had to practically drag her out of the store.
It was…. interesting.
Very.
She didn’t ask for my autograph or anything, though. I mean, not that she could, because of how she was reacting, but still.
And now that I think about it, the girl at the local Costco seemed to be a fan, too, since she kept trying to impress me with stories that people think (know) that I respond well to.
Yikes.
I’m now thinking about my plans to move to L.A., which is the real heart of my status. What will people do there? IDK. Could be interesting, or not. We’ll have to see.
I’ll bet it will be interesting.
I’ll need to think some more, first.
I was going to continue this, but that’ll be next week. I hear fireworks outside, coming from the local amusement park.
K, bye self