The retail decline that started with the rise of online retailing has only gotten worse with the pandemic. While this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been stuck with lockdown after lockdown and retail capacity caps, one has to wonder whether New Jersey’s response to Covid-19 has been an appropriate balancing act. Other States, already busy poaching New Jersey businesses for many years, have had far fewer restrictions than New Jersey and have left businesses with more room to operate and survive during the economic downturn. If New Jersey’s focus is creating smart cities and “hubs”, one has to wonder what the lure will be not just to businesses but to those that New Jersey wants to live in urban centers. Without retail support and a bustling and walkable downtown, will cities be dominated by large scale non-retail businesses? To attract businesses and residents, cities have to offer a mix of retail, business, recreation, arts and other destination venues that make these cities of the future viable. The best place to start is with what you already have. If cities have to re-create entire retail economies because they didn’t help them survive the pandemic, the many years this will take will make the cities seem much less “smart” than planned.
“Bankruptcies, store closings and job losses, all part of the retail industry’s decline, have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Rhonda Schaffler takes a deep dive into the changing trends in retail, including the shift from in-store to online sales and how this will impact your shopping experience from Main Street to the internet. Plus, Rhonda has deeper analysis of the week’s major headlines, including the state’s controversial borrowing plan and the first major investment from New Jersey’s chapter of Golden Seeds.
Read: NJ Business Beat: Retail’s decline worsened by the pandemic at NJSpotlight
Shared by Geoffrey G. Gussis, Esq., a business lawyer and technology lawyer licensed in New Jersey and New York. Learn more about me, the legal services I provide, and articles I have written. Contact: geoff@gussislaw.com or (732) 898-0549 or (646) 389-2946 for a free consultation.
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