Acerca do retalho

No WSJ de ontem em "Retailers Are Suffering, but There Is No 'Apocalypse' Yet" podia ler-se:

"Other than 2020, when the pandemic crippled in-person shopping, last year had the most U.S. retail bankruptcies since 2017, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. 2025 hasn't started off promisingly either: Retail sales in January surprised economists with their biggest drop in nearly two years.

There were mitigating factors like cold weather and wildfires, but it is hard to shake the sense that forecasters also are missing other issues they can read about in the newspaper.

...

News of the retail industry's demise has been greatly exaggerated before, of course. Six years ago, before the pandemic, analysts at UBS warned of an "apocalypse" of store closures because of tariffs and e-commerce. Landlords are experiencing the exact opposite-rising rents and low vacancy-especially as more people spend a weekday or two near home."

Entretanto, no mesmo jornal no dia 24 de Fevereiro em "Stores Suffer as Online Retail Rules" podia ler-se:

"E-commerce didn't kill bricks-and-mortar stores, but it made them worse. Much worse.

Physical stores today are understaffed and full of inconveniences such as locked shelves and self-checkout lines. Now, add one more gripe to the list: not enough stuff.

If you have ever trekked to a store only to be told the item you are looking for is out of stock but can be ordered online, you aren't alone.

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The internet ushered in a new era of shopping nirvana, in which consumers could order whatever they wanted from the comfort of their couch. It also has siphoned money and merchandise away from brick-and-mortar stores, turning buzzy emporiums into dilapidated mausoleums. Retailers have vastly expanded the breadth of products they sell online to better compete with Amazon.com, making the offerings in their physical stores feel paltry by comparison.

Retail CEOs like to say they want customers to shop however they want-either online, in stores or a combination of the two. The reality is that they make more money when customers buy from physical stores because packing and shipping expenses eat into online profits.

...

Nearly three-quarters of consumers prefer shopping in physical stores, but only 9% are satisfied with the store experience.

Chief among their complaints is a lack of product variety and availability in stores,

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"Retailers have pivoted too hard to e-commerce and neglected the in-store experience, and that has got to swing back," said Don Hendricks, chief executive of department store chain Belk."

Os dois artigos do Wall Street Journal abordam a situação do retalho físico nos EUA sob perspectivas diferentes, mas que se complementam. O primeiro foca-se na resistência do sector, destacando que, apesar do aumento de falências no retalho e da queda inesperada nas vendas em Janeiro de 2025, o cenário ainda não representa um "apocalipse". Embora sinta que o artigo "culpa" a situação económica pelo mau desempenho. Já o segundo artigo aponta para a deterioração da experiência de compra em lojas físicas, em grande parte devido ao foco excessivo no comércio electrónico.

O comércio electrónico transformou o retalho, enquanto o primeiro destaca que as lojas ainda resistem, o segundo mostra que essa transição teve efeitos negativos, como stocks reduzidos e lojas menos atraentes.

O paradoxo central é que, mesmo com a predominância do comércio electrónico, muitos consumidores ainda preferem comprar em lojas físicas, mas a má experiência afasta-os.

O caminho para o sector pode passar por um ajuste de estratégia, reforçando a atractividade das lojas físicas enquanto mantém a competitividade online.

Interessante acrescentar um terceiro artigo, "Amazon can't figure out physical stores":

""I don't think they really understand retail," Nick Egelanian, president of retail-advisory firm SiteWorks Retail, told The Journal. "Running warehouses and shipping stuff efficiently is not the same as greeting a customer and saying, 'May I help you?'"

Acabo a pensar nos treinadores de futebol que são como o Dick Dastarly, focam-se mais nos advsersários concorrentes do que no seu modelo de jogo nos clientes.