Today marks the 10th anniversary of the most revolutionary consumer product ever introduce: the iPhone. It’s amazing how much progress we’ve made in a few short decades, and how affordable common electronic products have become. And the poor and middle class benefit the most. Thanks, iPhone and Happy Birthday.
Netflix has had some stumbles, but overall, their move from DVD-by-mail to online streaming leader to enabling force of amazing content has been nothing short of breathtaking. It’s one of the most impressive core business pivots the world has ever seen. Hollywood is afraid of it, and it's coming for Amazon. Can this continue forever though?
Amazon has opened seven physical bookstores across the United States, with another half dozen in the works. When I found out one had just opened up near where I was staying in New York City, of course I had to check it out.
From Blockbuster employees to the men who removed horse carcasses from the streets of New York, we’ve seen creative destruction end jobs as unnecessary or unwanted products are replaced with new, better ones. But as surely as creative destruction will replace Uber with self-driving cars, we’ll see strict government regulation to try to keep the old ways from going away.
Traditional retailers have been struggling in the 21st century, and there’s been a steady stream of news highlighting those struggles. Retail giants J.C. Penney, GameStop, Sears, Kmart, Macy's, RadioShack, Payless Shoes, and many other businesses are closing thousands of collective physical locations, but sales across the board are increasing. Creative destruction may mean the death of shopping as we've known it, but it also means shopping will be better.
