In today’s world of the smart phone, apps, and Amazon, every retail “brick and mortar” business needs to evolve around the newer consumer behaviors in the virtual marketplace.  As surprising as it is, many companies like Toys R’ Us and Sears with decades of brand loyalty just could not make their model compete and evolve in the fight against online shopping namely Amazon.  Things could have worked out much better for these two legendary American brands if they would have seen the writing on the wall much sooner.  

What would the writing on the wall have said?  Invest in online, get an app, decrease store expenses, close losing stores, have the best web site in all of your industry!  Be prepared if you were faced with having to operate 100% online. Could you?   

A recent article on CBS News.com titled “Retail graveyard: More than 7,000 U.S. stores have closed this year” was posted and it was incredible to see the drastic number of store closures this year versus 2018. Check out these statistics:

• “Last year, the U.S. lost 5,864 stores, while 3,258 opened.
• So far this year, 7,062 have closed, while 3,017 have opened.
• All told, the retail closures in 2019 could easily double 2018’s total — extending beyond 12,000.

Here are some of the well-known brands who are closing locations: Payless Shoe Source, Gymboree, Family Dollar, GNC, Walgreens, Zales/Kay/Jared Jewelers, Rent-A-Center, Office Depot, Lowes, Kmart, CVS, JC Penney, Party City.”

Comment: The bottom line of this is that it is a reminder for all of us that we have to be fully involved in the online aspects of the payday industry.  The most commonly used software amongst our group is Infinity Software.  Infinity Software has every single tool that we need to go toe-to-toe with the FinTech’s who dominate the Texas market online.  Did you know that  about 15 out of state FinTech’s have a bigger share of the Texas market than the Houston region that includes all cities and towns around it?  That comes to more than 1/3 of the entire Texas market!  Embrace online lending capabilities and trim away the antiquated facets of your business.  This means – invest in SEO, market online, online applications, killer website, e-signatures, debit card payments, ACH funding (credits), text messaging, and more!  

Infinity Software: https://infinityels.com/

Online marketing, websites, SEO: https://hearstdms.com/localedge/tofsc

Link to the CBA article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-7000-us-stores-have-closed-2019-final-tally-could-exceed-12000/

This blog post was written by Michael Brown, President of CAB Consulting and the Texas Organization of Financial Service Centers.  He can be reached at 214-293-8676, or Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com.