Requiem for retail as we once knew it

Except for groceries sometimes, I'm not a shopper: I go to stores and buy things.

Any other "shopping" is online, or by catalog (seriously), or by memory: I know where certain stores keep the things I want and need.

Lately, not even the canned meat aisle can get me into a supermarket. For the past three months, my wife and I have used the Shipt grocery delivery app.

But I'm going to miss stores that don't survive the coronavirus.

And I am really going to miss the eatin' joints and restaurants that don't make it. A steakhouse, some barbecue joints, a Cajun restaurant and all Whataburgers everywhere are on my prayer list.

Some things will not be the same. Retail was the hardest and most immediately hit by the pandemic.

Real estate broker Everest Ernst, a retail specialist with Price Edwards & Co., blogged some cold, hard facts this week at www.priceedwards.com.

"As the dust starts to settle and retail tries to work its way out of the fog, it is clear that changes will be made on all fronts," Ernst wrote. "This entire experience will force retailers to really focus on their customer service more than ever as more people are becoming comfortable with online and delivery services for their consumer needs."

Clothing, department stores and malls are scrambling, if they're not dying, and it's already too late for some to come out of this at less cost than an arm and a leg. Ernst pointed the bankruptcies of J.C. Penney, Stage Stores, Tuesday Morning, Pier 1 and J. Crew.

"Many of these groups were heavily leveraged and experienced diminished cash flows

during the shutdown," he wrote. "I don't think it would be a stretch to imagine a world a year or two from now and almost half of the shopping mall department stores are no longer in business unless that sector makes serious changes."

Restaurants, despite Herculean efforts to remain open, relevant, and solvent, are still especially hard hit.

"I anticipate a surplus of available restaurant space that will hit the market over the next 30-60 days. Concepts such as Golden Corral, Cotton Patch Café and Applebee's have already begun shuttering stores," Ernst wrote.

There is a silver lining to the coronavirus cloud: Some people will be able to take advantage of the situation for expansion or a good start at something new.

"This should be a prime opportunity for brands that want to expand rapidly and gobble up the market share in their respective genres with a number of great locations available," he wrote. "Overall, I think retail will recover from this as people become anxious to get back to a more normal way of life and the smart retailers will take advantage of those opportunities."

Who knows? Even I might even be ready to stroll through a store when this is all said and done.