Rise of the Machines

The following chart compares the growth of nonstore retailer sales vs. overall retail sales (in black and red) to the growth of nonstore retailer employment vs. overall retail employment (in blue and orange).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJCKHM8Qd-DLm92Br4fTHBQMriYbxcPuFewji9pmTPiRR5jsinQdZtiN2w84pgSrHXsVRjsYPp90zWEYsNPkVE_M-z1_sIWCWcWoIKry2pDqVzLrToz8aB77TitHvwqqYCNED2Pfheo0/s1600/Rise+of+the+Machines.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJCKHM8Qd-DLm92Br4fTHBQMriYbxcPuFewji9pmTPiRR5jsinQdZtiN2w84pgSrHXsVRjsYPp90zWEYsNPkVE_M-z1_sIWCWcWoIKry2pDqVzLrToz8aB77TitHvwqqYCNED2Pfheo0/s320/Rise+of+the+Machines.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />Nonstore retailers are growing their sales exponentially relative to overall retail sales but nonstore employment is decaying exponentially relative to overall retail employment. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the stress that's placing on brick and mortars over the long-term (and the jobs that go with them).<br /><br />I believe with every fiber of my being that retail employment of the future is going the way of <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/09/automation-and-inequality.html">farming employment</a> and <a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=qYN">manufacturing employment</a>. It won't stop there though. Coming soon to a profession near you!<br /><br /><b>September 13, 2013</b><br /><a href="http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/half-of-all-us-jobs-will-be-automated-but-what-opportunities-will-be-created/">Half of all U.S. jobs will be automated, but what opportunities will be created?</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>A study out of Oxford University has grim news for U.S. workers: up to 45% of all jobs will be automated within the next 20 years. But there is little mention of what needs to be done to provide more opportunity.</i></div><br />I'm thinking that the answer isn't <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2013/12/27/2012-grads-have-highest-ever-student-debt/stories/201312270106">extreme student loan debt</a>. That's just a hunch though.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181852/quotes?item=qt0315895">Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i><b>Dr. Peter Silberman:</b> You're safe now, they can't hurt you. Kate, my name is Doctor Silberman. I'm a post trauma counselor for the Sheriff's Department. How are you feeling?<br /><br /><b>Kate Brewster:</b> He's not human... he's really, not human.<br /><br /><b>Dr. Peter Silberman:</b> I know what it's like to be in a hostage situation, I've been there myself. The fear, the adrenaline, you find yourself imagining things, impossible things, crazy things, insane things... takes years to get over it.</i></div><br />Was Kate Brewster a <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/sears-holdings-tech-driven-revamp-may-struggle-as-retail-sales-tank-7000024995/">Sears employee</a>? Sigh.<br /><br />This is not investment advice.<br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=qYK">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

Rise of the Machines

The following chart compares the growth of nonstore retailer sales vs. overall retail sales (in black and red) to the growth of nonstore ret...

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