Retail Shopping in Montrose? Yes!

As we all know, retail stores, even the giants of retail, are shuttering their stores at an alarming rate. That is why now, more than ever, it is important to support the retail stores in Montrose. This beautiful town that we all love and enjoy on a daily basis gets its support from the community. Shopping local is key to the sustainability of the Montrose Shopping Park. We must support the businesses here. Most of the businesses in Montrose are owner-operated small businesses, something that is part of the American Dream. We don’t want to lose that.

So, how do I find out about the stores in Montrose? Log onto www.shopmontrose.com. If you haven’t been to shopmontrose.com, you need to check it out. On that website, you will find a list of the stores in Montrose from shopping to dining to exercise to services – it’s all there. If I could, I would list every name for you, but it would take too much room. The Montrose Shopping Park has retail stores that carry watches, clothes, shoes, books, rugs, pet supplies, baby supplies, toys, homewares, gifts, clocks, hats, jewelry, cigars, musical instruments, candy, knitting, sewing and quilt supplies, antiques, fine art and, of course, many great dining establishments. That’s amazing for a small town! Most of the businesses that are on shopmontrose.com have a link to their website, which makes for convenient access. You will discover when you visit the website that there are a lot more shops than you probably know about.

But what in the world is causing the retail meltdown of 2017? According to Economist Derek Thompson, “No. 1: People are simply buying more stuff online than they used to. The simplest explanation for the demise of brick-and-mortar shops is that Amazon is eating retail. Between 2010 and last year, Amazon’s sales in North America quintupled from $16 billion to $80 billion. Even more remarkable, according to several reports, half of all U.S. households are now Amazon Prime subscribers.

“But the full story is bigger than Amazon. Online shopping has done well for a long time in media and entertainment categories, like books and music. But easy return policies have made online shopping cheap, easy and risk-free for consumers in apparel, which is now the largest e-commerce category. What’s more, mobile shopping, once an agonizing experience of typing private credit card digits in-between pop-up ads, is getting easier thanks to apps and mobile wallets. Since 2010, mobile commerce has grown from 2% of digital spending to 20%.

“No 2. America built way too many malls and was hit hard by the Great Recession – which officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009 – and began with the bursting of an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble. The resulting loss of wealth led to sharp cutbacks in consumer spending.  

“No. 3. Americans are shifting their spending from materialism to ‘meals out with friends.’ Many young people are driven by the experiences that will make the best social media content, whether it’s a conventional beach pic or a well-lit plate of glistening avocado toast. Laugh if you want, but these sorts of questions – ‘What experience will reliably deliver the most popular Instagram post?’ – really drive the behavior of people ages 13 and up.”
Upcoming Events
90th Anniversary GCC Celebration is on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. at Glendale Community College, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale 91208.
Oktoberfest kick-off mixer is on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at SIG Property Management, 2937 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose.
 Oktoberfest is on Saturday, Oct. 7 from noon to 11 p.m. in the 2200, 2300 and 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue, Montrose.
Glendale Tech Week is Oct. 9-13. www.glendaletechweek.com.
 

  melinda clarke