Business is an ever-evolving process; from the general store to the department store, to the mall, to the website. As culture and technology change, so must businesses adapt to the changing market. As the department store died and malls rose to prominence, so did the “Information Revolution” started the death of classical, brick-and-mortar retail. Change is not always good, and the increasingly global market chain has led to many distinctly local problems.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, the department store was still king. An evolution of the general store, department stores had a little of everything. Massive warehouses stocked with whatever one could imagine. These stores had limits, transportation was not as fast as in modern times, and stocking was less consistent; a store would only stock what sold locally, and could not immediately replace what was sold, or order something special. Mail-order catalogs, such as Sears, fit into the custom order niche, allowing one to buy outside of the normal stock of the store. This was not instant, sometimes it would take upwards of one month to receive a mail-order item.
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Rising suburban populations in the 1970s led to the development of the enclosed shopping mall in America. Built around a department or other large store, malls allowed smaller, niche stores to flourish. Increased consumer culture and other trends started in the 70s, and helped push the development of more specialized stores. Malls would be the centerpiece of retail until the 2000s.
While there was a “dot com” boom in the ''90s, it wasn't until the mid-2000s that the modern idea of “Online retail” and the “Internet of Things” took off and changed the way business was run. With the ubiquitousness of online retail, stores had to change their business process to survive. No longer was there one stop for a niche item, was the department store the only place to get anything. Brick-and-mortar businesses had to be able to compete, either with better prices, services, or convenience; and many could not. Many niche stores could not compete with the prices an online store with little overhead could offer; and if they offered a product that wasn’t time-sensitive, why would anyone choose a limited selection at a higher price? Stores like Border’s Books, Circuit City, BlockBuster, and Radio Shack all closed their doors; unable to out-compete online rivals like Amazon, NewEgg, or Netflix as internet speeds increased and deliveries became faster and easily trackable.
This increased ability to send packages quickly across the country also leads to the growth of WalMart. Though founded in 1969, Walmart remained a regional chain until technological advancements in the '90s allowed it to become a national powerhouse. Their model of low-priced goods, bought at immense scales allows for even lower prices and outcompeting any smaller chain. And unlike the department stores of the past, Walmart had access to online retail. If something wasn’t available in stores, you could simply buy it on the Walmart website, ship it either to your home or the Walmart store of your choice.
Retail has changed in the last 60 years from being based around whatever the store has, to the store having access to whatever the consumer desires; and then from a consumer model to a convenience model. The increasing usage of the internet and other modern technology in business is not always a good thing. Walmart, for instance, can provide the services of a butcher, a baker, a grocer, a department store, and a mechanic in a single supercenter, and at lower prices than any local chain due to its sale volume. WalMart can also track what’s bought where in its POS system, and restock in a few days at no notice. Many local small businesses cannot compete with the massive market pressure of a Walmart opening nearby. WalMart’s practice of keeping workers part-time and at minimum wage depresses wages for retail, as they are the largest retail company and one of the largest employers in the United States.
Technology has even affected hiring practices. Most businesses will accept only online applications, and thousands can apply for a job that once would get maybe ten applicants. This is good for businesses, as they can select from a greater pool of talent, but bad for the employees. When thousands of people can apply, businesses can give any requirements they want and can fill entry-level jobs with experienced candidates. It's no longer possible for a “go-getting attitude” and a firm handshake to land someone a job.
The Entertainment industry has also been massively influenced by the internet. The advent of streaming over the internet led to the downfall of video rentals as a major business and changed the culture around video entertainment. Home media wasn’t a thing until the VHS and cable in the 1980s. Movies in theater had previously been considered the peak of film media; a view that hasn’t been challenged until the rise of the Netflix original. The nature of streaming services, piracy, and increased ticket prices have all led to a move away from traditional movie production towards streaming and high-quality television. A major movie studio is no longer required to distribute a film, while Netflix will allow just about anything; allowing for more experimental films.
The internet has also affected more modern industries, such as video games. The increase in online distribution has allowed more indie game companies to publish games but has also led to more incomplete games being published. Whereas before the internet games had what was on the disk or cartridge, modern game companies can “patch” the game, fixing mistakes and adding content. This leads many games to be released unfinished to cash in, and only be fixed after release; potentially being disastrous for the company, as the recently released Fallout:76 and its poor reception show. Conversely, the internet-based release model allows for games to be released openly unfinished and allows the consumer to provide feedback for the game as it is developed for a price typically cheaper than release pricing. The best example is Minecraft, one of the first to release with an “Early Access” model. Minecraft was released almost ten years ago and is still selling and a cultural phenomenon. Early access allowed for a one-man development team to become a small team, and later part of Microsoft while undergoing constant development. Early access does not always work, as shown by Star Citizen. Star Citizen has also been in production for almost ten years, and with hundreds of millions of dollars committed to it, but very little of the promised game has been released. The internet allowing for more impulse purchases also leads to the implementation of “microtransactions”; small online-only products such as a house or a costume originally. Over time, microtransactions have become closer to gambling; games will have cosmetics or even game-affecting items behind “loot boxes” which have random items contained within. Some find the idea of loot boxes exploitive, to the point where some countries have banned them.
The ability for consumers to more easily get exactly what they want has also helped indie board game producers. The ability for a game to be sold on a made-to-order basis cheaply and quickly, or sold directly by the producer over the internet, and for people to share their opinions on games has allowed for a golden age of board games.
The rise of information technologies such as the Internet has led to many things both good and bad. The internet can lead to a more globally connected economy, can make niche interests easier to find, and can let independent artists and producers work outside of traditional channels. But information technologies can also lead to the near-monopolization of markets like Walmart or Amazon when one company can simply control the market by letting products onto their shelves due to their size. The internet can lead to a dehumanization of business, what was once a mom-and-pop store down the road is now a luminescent screen. And in exchange, consumers get better service, a wider range of products, and simple convenience.
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