/shopping-habits-podcast/ All Things Norway, In English Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:28:26 +0000 hourly 1 /shopping-habits-podcast/#comment-995056 Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:28:26 +0000 /?p=44684#comment-995056 I live in New York City and I share the grief over the loss of many small businesses due to the large on-line shopping providers. However, I also must admit that for many people, myself included, the benefits of on-line shopping outweigh the side effects. Getting supplies to care for a bedridden stroke patient, the need to avoid person-to-person contacts during this pandemic, the benefit of having an A/C delivered quickly to my door during a heat wave,…etc, etc. etc. were all a huge benefit (especially for an octogenarian). This is the future and we can look forward even while we have fond memories of the past.

]]> /shopping-habits-podcast/#comment-732091 Tue, 17 Nov 2020 23:24:23 +0000 /?p=44684#comment-732091 Amazon has brought convenience to the United States but it has also negatively impacted our cities and towns. I live in San Francisco and there is little point going downtown anymore as many of the shops closed up because they couldn’t compete. Even our local neighborhood shops have been hit. Retail is pretty much just nail salons now. Our 3 block strip used to have two thriving pharmacies, several clothing stores, a stationary store, 2 toy stores, all gone. One pharmacy is left and it’s barely surviving and this was before Covid. A few local bookstores in sf have survived but they struggle. I hope the Norwegian government can subsidize small businesses if Amazon does arrive.

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