Is e-commerce destroying the real economy? Shopping malls have become restaurants and children's playgrounds

In fact, even the "mall economy" that seemed to be wiped out by e-commerce has not declined. It's just that the bustling shopping venues have become noisy children's playgrounds, restaurants, and game halls.

I was strolling around the mall near my home on the weekend and found that there were promotional advertisements for Double 12 everywhere. I accidentally walked into a men's clothing store and a clerk said to me: Double 12 is the mall shopping festival, and the discounts are also very large. I said I would go to the front to take a look, and the clerk immediately said: The previous store has changed its facade, there is really nothing to see, if you walk forward, you will reach the children's playground.

This situation has often occurred in shopping malls in the past two years. Unlike in the past, there were a whole area of ​​small shops selling clothes in shopping malls. Now there are only a few large brand stores. Foreign brands have good advertising and are not expensive. They are quickly grabbing the most prime storefronts in shopping malls. Domestic brands that were very popular in the early years are gradually declining in recent years.

At the same time, the "stores" and "wholesale markets" that are lower-end than shopping malls are also undergoing changes. Recently, the media reported that several streets in Shanghai that sell clothing, which used to be both retail and wholesale, were once prosperous, but are now gradually declining.

The most fundamental reason for the changes in the offline clothing sales industry is the rise of e-commerce. Many offline stores moved their stores online, and clothes worth dozens of yuan were once the mainstream of some e-commerce platforms. Later, there were many B2C, B2B and other websites, and big brand stores also began to do business online. Later, the online stores of these platforms simply became the online stores of the factories, truly achieving "no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference", and the prices were also very low.

Although this business model is popular, there are also many critics. One reason is that the e-commerce economy seems convenient, but it is destroying the long-term development of China's clothing industry - merchants want to make quick money and don't want to build brands, so they hand over the offline market to foreigners and only make a few dozen yuan in profit. There is also a view that shopping is not good if it is too convenient. People buy and sell quickly and consume quickly. What is left except a lot of garbage?

In addition, there is another seemingly profound insight. An article in the name of a British lord said that China's e-commerce platform is so developed and seems convenient, but it is actually destroying the real economy. Behind a small commercial store is a middle-class family. Destroying their living environment is a social disaster. Shopping malls are not just about buying and selling goods, but more importantly, they attract people to the street and generate various "random consumption". For example, when a couple goes shopping, in addition to buying clothes, they can also eat and watch movies. E-commerce destroys shopping malls, which is actually destroying the vitality of the city.

These criticisms are based on "visible" things: they only see the difficulties of offline business, but not the vitality of online business. It is true that many offline stores are closing, but in fact most of them have moved their stores online, and they are doing better. Consumers can sit at home and browse products from all over the country, with more choices and lower shopping costs, which are all considerable benefits.

Will Chinese clothing brands be destroyed by this? Of course not. Not to mention that e-commerce also emphasizes branding, even offline physical industries still have strong vitality. Clothing sales are a very experiential shopping activity, and many people are still willing to go to shopping malls to buy. For them, as long as the price is not outrageously expensive, shopping in malls is still much more enjoyable than clicking to place an order. In the past two years, "virtual reality" is about to emerge, but it is still a long way from e-commerce to eliminate physical stores.

When offline shopping becomes an experience-based and enjoyable consumption mode, high-end products with high profit margins will have more advantages. It’s just that foreign products started on the road to branding earlier, so they grabbed the first opportunity. In fact, these foreign brands are also actively seizing the e-commerce market and actively lowering their prices to cater to consumers. In the long run, domestic brands still have great opportunities.

E-commerce has not destroyed the real economy, but has created a new real economy. Many factories in China rely on e-commerce to exist, and the jobs they create are more than those eliminated by e-commerce. E-commerce has created the express delivery industry, which is the real real economy. Even the "mall economy" that seems to have been eliminated by e-commerce is not depressed. It's just that the bustling shopping venues have become noisy children's playgrounds, restaurants, and game halls. These "experience-based economies" did not exist in the past and will not be easily eliminated in the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.