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Inspired by @isnark I would like to give you full analysis of the current retail landscape in the US.

My credentials if you believe them are over 20 years in mainstream retail and independent. A lot of time I spent in second hand retail. Not a pawn shop but similar. The store carried all things entertainment. Movies, music, electronics, books and toys. This will matter later. Customers could obtain cash or in store credits to buy more. While never directly competing with big box retail there was a way to carve out millions in sales a year.

What I handled was their IT infrastructure and buying from the customers everything that wasn't a book or on a disc. So the sky was the limit. I also had many years buying media and books as well so I could do anything.

Let's get to meat. Big box retail's days are numbered. Walmart has a vice grip on standard brick and mortar operations while Amazon has the grip on online retail. We all know that here. Target will be the next to go imo. Suddenly the shop started getting flooded with brand new vinyl records that were target exclusives. Multiple copies. I spoke to one of my buddies that owns a record shop. He said, and this is hear say so take it how you will, told me that Target was refusing shipments to independent truckers and giving the merchandise in the trailers as payment. These coincide with high theft products from the stores as well. Target thinks they can survive off their grocery offerings which is laughable at best. Along with bad PR, huge spaces, giant payroll costs they're toast. Combined with unmitigated theft will sink them fast. This is the problem with a lot of big boxes along with not having government agents to help lobby for you like Walmart does. A typical Target likely has a rent bill of well over $50k a month. That's just the tip of the iceberg. When I worked a corporate retail job our average price per sale needed to be around $20 to keep the machine moving. If it was consistently under that we'd go out of business.

Theft. We all here know it. Where I worked it wasn't uncommon on Wednesday to see the latest movies in the shop. These weren't being stolen from the sales racks but by groups of employees (guess the race.) They would loot the back end while the front end got looted as well. Of course slaps on the wrist and probation for said offenders didn't deter these folks. Many times once a ring was broken others would fill that space. The low IQ would always think it's an easy payday. $1000s a week to steal from your place of work. The thing is they're also stealing low margin items. Clothing, food, and other supplies are cheap. Unless your buying millions a new video game at wholesale will cost $55. To sell for $60. Facts. The amount of people that get a slice of the pie when it comes to media raises the wholesale cost quite a bit. They also enjoyed stealing toys. Namely Legos. Big upfront cost for a consumer, big payout second hand. A lot of these niggers were funding their drug operations and it was obvious based on the smell of blunt weed on the items. Try as you might banning them from selling they would find another mule and another. Cops didn't give one shit about it either. They would come by when Johnny stole from dad and sold his records but never when it came to the criminal rings.

So these retail places are burning the candle at both ends. They may fire staff but the next will do the same thing.

I'm done ranting for now but ask me anything and I'll respond as best as I can