Richard D. Wolff

The abrupt closing recently of 63 Sam's Club stores by Walmart is just one of many examples of the rapid decline of physical retail stores in the United States. In your discussions of the thousands of annuals closings of retails stores, you rightly point to the declining purchasing power of Americans. But to what degree is a lack of leisure time for Americans fortunate enough to have full time work a factor in the decline of the physical store retail sector? You've pointed out the trend of workers in the U.S. not taking vacation time that they are entitled to as part of their compensation. People on vacation tend to shop while doing so. Going to shop at stores is a time consuming task. Especially in the U.S. with its lack of public transportation. Then there is the time spent finding items to purchase and time spent waiting in line at the store check out. Given that most Americans have to work multiple jobs just to get by, where is the time to go to a mall and patronize the stores? It's so much easier to get on your computer or mobile device and use your Amazon or Ebay app and make purchases in minutes. One could argue that the retail sector is committing a slow suicide. This industry, along with restaurants, has always been in the lead in arguing that employers simply can't afford to pay their workers more. They helped to create an underpaid, over worked labor force that has little or no leisure time anymore. Now they are paying for it with the closure of their businesses. One can argue that they killed the goose that lays the golden egg, namely, the mass of people with the means and time to shop in physical retail stores.