More than 6,300 stores are shutting down — here's the full list

[Treeskee]

Resales at highly marked up prices.

Not everybody buys digital only - in fact I believe much fewer people buy digital only than retail physical copies. :P

Exactly. I don't bother keeping games after I 100% them so physical benefits me more.

[Video Games]

I don't want payless to get shut down. That is where I get my work shoes.

[Vizardlorde]

Radio Shack is still around? And it has 1430 stores? I thought they went out of business like 10 years ago.

That was circuit city that died 10 years ago radioshack was still crawling,in our area a new hhgregg opened and it died within 5 years and kmarts have been closing left and right.

[Adam Jensen]

Oh look, a list of stores that failed to get with the times and adapt to new markets.

Sorry Gamestop, but what's your purpose when I can buy most of my games on Steam or directly on my XBox?

[Halicia]

kmart's been going thru bankruptcy since before i can remember. i remember going there to see if they had the latest gameboy/whatever and not only did they have zero videogame stuff at all, the woman working electronics didn't have a clue what i was talking about.

last few times i went inside a radioshack, the selection of circuits & fuses had been completely replaced with cellphones and junk. and my buddy and i had gone there for some specific thingie for some homebrew electronics project we were working on at the time... and sadly the local radioshack had nothing to offer a hobbyist anymore... it was just another cellphone store.

what's killing retail though... is the people that expect knowledge & advice from the employees... but also want the cheapest selling price... if you want good service, you have to pay for it... and the worst anecdote's i've heard is the "well, thanks for the advice... now i'm just gonna go on amazon and purchase it" approach.

[TheCount]

Business have to adept to the market, shoppers want convenience and are willing to pay a little bit more for that.
Gamestop is selling X game for 60$
I can buy that same game on PSN or Steam for 65$ in the comfort of my own home. I will gladly pay that extra 5$

[Gestopft]

Im sympathetic to the coal miners but it will be replaced eventually by green and nuclear energy and that is just evolution. Coal and oil are subsidized by the government and quite frankly both parties endorse it. Their will come a point when its time to pull the plug and let the free market reign.

Not all lost, some job numbers can shift from retail stores to warehouse and delivery. Amazon in my area uses individuals for deliveries in a way similar to Uber.

My point was really a more sarcastic poke at how much politicians talk about the coal industry (which employs fewer people than are likely losing jobs with these closings) and ignore much larger economic events like the decline of retail.

[Torched]

See that Gamestop is closing 150 stores, hope all these brick and mortar shops that sell video games die off.

[melodramocracy]

Jobs jobs jobs.

[Averrix]

Walmart does a huge amount of online business

Yes, I know they do, which is why I said they seem to be the only one trying to keep up. They've sunk a ton of money in to their online business portion.

[Kathandira]

I will be honest many of these I had never heard of. This is just in the U.S so anybody everywhere else you are safe.



(Business Insider/Mike Nudelman)

Some retailers have released lists of which of their locations will be closing.


So how do you feel, you see any retail stores you are going to miss?

Online ordering is the future! If it is a non-perishable item, i'd rather browse on line, get reviews, compare quality vs other brands and all that from the comfort of my chair rather than driving from store to store talking to sales people who's objective is to make the biggest sale they can.

I just bought a new tool set yesterday, it will arrive on friday. I did that on my lunch break rather than going store to store after work to find the best deal. Anything that gives me more of my free time back, I gravitate towards.

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But since they aren't coal miners, nobody is going to talk about all of the jobs being lost.

My g/f's sister works for Amazon in their clothing department. Rather than working in a retail store.

It is not a 1:1 job transfer for the population, but when more stores close, more people will move to shopping online. Those online retailers need people to fill spots to meet the increase in demand. For the others, this would be the time for them to learn a new skill to become employable else where.

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Not all lost, some job numbers can shift from retail stores to warehouse and delivery. Amazon in my area uses individuals for deliveries in a way similar to Uber.

^ This guys knows what I mean.

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Amazon.

Make way, make way for progress!

(Averrix above beat me to it)

Thanks, now I have Suicide Machines stuck in my head!

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All niche stores. Curious how Gamestop still exists with online purchases.

Because Sony and MS haven't kept up with Gamestop's prices. There is no used section on the Xbox or PS stores. When I can get a game 1/2 the price in a store, i'll go there. But if it is cheaper online, i'll go there.

[Deleted]

That's a lot of jobs being lost

[jcf190]

Oh look, a list of stores that failed to get with the times and adapt to new markets.

Sorry Gamestop, but what's your purpose when I can buy most of my games on Steam or directly on my XBox?

The purpose is you can trade in physical copies of the games for cash or credit. Which is how they make most of their income. They're literally a pawn shop. They also deal in more than just video games.

[Torrasque]

Good, they're a waste of space and money having physical stores these days.

Companies need to compete on the highest level all the time, adapting where it needs to adapt and trimming the excess as quick as possible to keep up. Online marketing and automation, that is the quickest and most cost-effective way to operate. If places aren't unitizing this when they can, they are simply allergic to money, and don't deserve it when its competition chooses to utilize it.

The faster these places close, the better off everyone will be.

[EyelessCrow]

The purpose is you can trade in physical copies of the games for cash or credit. Which is how they make most of their income. They're literally a pawn shop. They also deal in more than just video games.

If they were less like a pawn shop the company would probably be doing much better. "Oh you want to trade in this game that came out a month ago? I can give you $15 for it *marks it up to $50*"

[Torrasque]

Also, all of the options on the poll are either indifferent or hinge negatively. This is a good thing, for many a great thing. Almost to the point that it should be celebrated.

[pionock]

Radio shack wasn't a surprise to me, but Gander mountain was. I always kinda liked the store as an alternate to Dick's Sporting Goods.

And as far as Sears is concerned, where the hell am I supposed to get my craftsman tools from? If I build another toolbox for my job, I'm sure as hell not buying every tool from Snap-on. Only specialty tools.

[Torrasque]

The purpose is you can trade in physical copies of the games for cash or credit. Which is how they make most of their income. They're literally a pawn shop. They also deal in more than just video games.

You can trade in physical games online (even though physical copies are a dying breed), you don't need a physical store to do so, and you haven't for quite a while now, Gamestop included.

[Captain Proton]

Resales at highly marked up prices.

Not everybody buys digital only - in fact I believe much fewer people buy digital only than retail physical copies. :P

You can order physical games online and have them delivered to you on release day. I don't think he was referring to digital downloads only.

[Destinas]

I've noticed a big decline in particularly JCPenney, Sears, Macy's, and Kmart in the last few years. They've been closing all over in the areas I've lived in. Radio Shack is no surprise, it was always the most boring store to me. Payless pretty much only exists in Shopko as the shoe section itself where I live, and it's never exciting. Gander Mountain is a little surprising (but not by much), only because there aren't many to begin with. I've only seen two in my entire life, both in remote locations on the far edge of a town past huge shopping districts, neighboring farm land. CVS is a little strange to see there, but where I live there are probably more Walgreen's.

Gamestop is a bit sad to see on that list for me. In my town, the only Gamestop is thriving, despite being right next to a Walmart (which is by far the busiest store in this little town). Sure, people can easily buy games online, on Steam, or through each console's digital markets - but I've noticed far more people going there to buy merch nowadays. Plushies, Funko Pop! figures, shirts, Nendoroids, etc. Personally, I wish Gamestop would start having a lot more old games for sale again. It's a bit sad for me to see a tiny section of games from the last generation as soon as a new system gains traction. Then again, I mostly go to Gamestop for the aforementioned merch and some discount games anyway.