Are big-box stores going away?

Best Buy has recently announced that it is closing 5% of its stores, despite the steadily improving economy and rising purchasing power of Americans across economic spectrum. And the company is not alone in seeing its economic model of box-box suburban stores undermined by the rise of internet commerce coupled -- not incidentally -- with decreasing interest in cars and driving by the millennials.

There seems to be a massive structural change happening to the retail sector, with the death of secondary retailers (Borders, Circuit City, Liniens'n Things) now followed by the shrinkage of the market leaders (think Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, etc). Perhaps we are finally moving into the post-mall consumer economy, where people do most of their generic shopping online and rely on small local businesses for unique or one-of-a-kind purchases.

All of this has direct relevance to Ninth Street, of course, as it is currently dominated by exactly the type of unique, character-driven local business that is best position to compete in the post big-box economy. Smart developers should take heed -- the long-term patters of economic development are increasingly turning against the old ways of doing business. Instead of suburban in-fill, successful development of the future is likely to rest on a combination of smaller retail establishments in pedestrian-friendly locales supplemented by internet commerce/delivery behemoths.