Changes We Can’t Control

Every once in a while my wife and I will be driving down the street and think about some of the stores that used to be part of the towns across the main line. All the places that we remember going to as kids and even some of the stores that we would shop at when we were in high school. Those places are becoming harder and harder to find the more we drive up and down the local roads.

We were reminded of this fact when we made our way to the King of Prussia mall this past weekend. We had, no surprise, a few errands to run and a baby registry to complete (finally). It was during this trip that we decided to stop by the newly opened Dick’s Sporting Goods (their prices are still too high). Afterward, we couldn’t help but walk next door and head down the escalator to see what we could find during the final days of the Sears store being open.

I can’t recall how many times that I have been to Sears (this location in particular) over the years but it basically has been a place that I would occasionally find myself walking around throughout my life. This trip was completely different and, unfortunately, all too familiar. With the liquidation of stock in full swing, the department store had been consolidated to a small fraction of a single floor. This was, most likely, the last time that I would be walking up and down those aisles.

While I can’t really complain about getting 60+% off on items, it is still a little sad to be in the midst of forced change. The shelves were nearly barren and racks of clothes sprawled across the middle of the floor in haphazard organization. They even had prices on the shelves themselves along with the carts and displays. The world is changing around us and there is no better example of this than the retail shift that we see every day.

It always seems as though it is the places that had the best selection and prices that are closing up and moving out. From Strawbridge’s, Wannamaker’s, and Sears to Borders, Sam Goody, and Blockbuster, all the places that we remember going to on the weekends are nothing more than a memory. And now we can’t help but think of how the same kinds of changes will continue… what are the places that our son will remember from his childhood that won’t be around when he is an adult?

It is going to be interesting to see how things evolve over the next couple of decades and I wonder if it will be faster or slower than what we have already seen. While it would be nice to have these things remain a stable part of everyday life that simply is not the reality of life. Things change and all we can do is enjoy the memories and hope to make even better ones for our son. We may not be able to control the word around him but we can control how much we love him. Everything else doesn’t really matter.

Musings About Mobile Monday

Yesterday was a long day but, fortunately, it didn’t feel like a case of the Mondays. It wasn’t about what had to be done at the office it was simply being out of the apartment for so long and all for business purposes. A day that began at the office ended at a Mobile Monday Conference in Philadelphia (right next to 30^th Street Station at the Cira Centre).

With the exception of running around like a mad man right before leaving the office, testing the limitations of the speed limit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and having my patience tested when I missed the earlier train from Wynnewood by a matter of seconds, it was a great night that offered a lot of insight into the future of mobile in retail. Having recently delved into this space head first with my clothes on last month it really is a fascinating field and one that was interesting to hear multiple perspectives on during this event. It’s always fun to wade around in a pool of ideas.

During the evening it was also nice to simply get out and talk to people whom I may not have had the chance to meet during the usual course of my day. Of course, it was also an opportunity to run into a few people that I normally don’t run into during business hours including a fellow Rotarian whom I have met on a few other occasions at Rotary events along the main line. I guess if you get out and meet enough people you are bound to have some overlap here and there.

While meeting people is a great part of any gathering, the event really is only as good as the subject matter and speakers. The speakers may have seemed a bit dry to some but I found the discussion and audience interaction fascinating and the statistics definitely give you something to think about. Of course, leave it to me to be distracted by the fact that the panel moderator looked a lot like Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson from the television show House).

The idea of mobile in retail was not just something that got me thinking about the current applications and future implications (especially with the recent death null of Blockbuster) but it all got me thinking about how much things have changed in the short span of my own life. What once was advanced to play Oregon Trail on a green screen is not HD and 3D televisions and virtual gaming; what once involved taking an imprint of your charge card at the register is not a simple app that allows you to order ahead of time and pay with your phone.

It really is an amazing transformation that we have gone through in the last 20-30 year. Heck, even over the past 5-10 years. It makes me wonder what could be around the corner; what could be the next big breakthrough in technology. But, I think the main questions to be considered are whether the current technology (mobile retail included) is making our lives better/easier and whether the next step forward will, effectively building on the current innovations, will improve our lives or exacerbate our problems?