If you listen to the popular press, wall street analysts and financial pundits, you might think that retail sales are dead in the water. Taken to their logical conclusion, you might think people do not shop anymore. But how can the economy be growing at an annual rate 3+% if retail sales were not on the rise? When talking about the economy as a whole, these same prognosticators tell us that consumption is 2/3rds of the economy. So how can the economy be growing if retail sales are flat or falling? The answer is simple. There is a change going on in people's shopping habits and their preferences for what they buy is changing as well. So the companies that were once very successful are now having trouble with their products they sell, the shopping experience they offer, or possible the brand itself is out of fashion. Since the retail landscape is changing, so are the winners and losers.
