British philosopher Alan Watts once said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and join the dance.” As the American retail landscape continues to change, it seems as though mass merchandiser chains are joining this “dance.”
“Like other channels, the mass merchandise channel is struggling in the face of shifting shopping behaviors,” says Susan Viamari, vice president of thought leadership for Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI). “The desire for quick and easy trips is driving the proliferation of smaller stores. This, in turn, is creating more fragmentation in the shopping pool, including more trips across more stores.