Unfulfilled: Amazon and the American Retail Landscape - a Report from Civic Economics and the American Booksellers Assocation

 Did you know that:

Approximately 29% of all revenue at independent bookstores immediately recirculates in the local economy. This translates to a local impact advantage of 109% that of chain competitor Barnes & Noble, and a massive 405% local impact advantage over Amazon. 

or that:

Civic Economics estimates that Amazon’s displacement of retail square footage increased from 621 million square feet in 2019 to 1.1 billion square feet in 2021. We further estimate that displaced retail jobs increased from roughly 1 million in 2019 to 1.75 million in 2021, even as Amazon’s distribution facilities became less labor-intensive.

To provide a visual reference to what has been lost, this displacement is the rough equivalent of 300 Malls of America, storefronts and space that simply do not exist, replaced by vast concrete boxes and tens of thousands of vehicles streaming out of distant industrial parks.

Check out the landing page for the study at Civic Economics here. and the PDF of the report here.

As we're all consumers as well as creators, this is well-worth considering.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee