Our neighborhood  mall provides air conditioned comfort for summer walkers, and warmth on sub zero winter days. But more, much more than that, it has been home to  a discount department store that meets  your needs and fulfills your desires.  That’s all ending.  In another blow to retail therapy, Stein Mart has  just declared bankruptcy.

As a child growing up in the post depression years, the inside of a department store was like a field of dreams. With no internet or TV, entertainment was limited to the radio and movies.    Even if you didn’t have a dime, the department store atmosphere was an escape from the humdrum world we lived in.  The fragrances from the cosmetic counter,  glamorous store clerks, latest fashions, and shiny new housewares promised a better world..  When I was old enough to earn my own money, it was delightful to wander from department to department, admiring all the shiny merchandise before I made a  purchase.

Later, after I’d graduated from college and moved to Chicago, I was mesmerized by the glamour and sophistication  of the Marshall Field Department store.  I would go there after work and simply wander around, admiring the latest fashions.  Since I could sew, I often copied a designer fashion for a fraction of the price. And the store windows!  Especially at Christmas, they were full of wonder and beauty.

According to Forbes magazine, the appeal of department store was due to these five factors:

• Inspiration
• Immediate Gratification
• Convenience
• Taction (the idea of touching, feeling, trying products on, i.e., getting help or confidence in a purchase)
• Experience (the memory or social delight of being somewhere)

As a parent, I enjoyed  shopping in department stores for my children, even though I was often on a tight budget.  But the one of the best things of being a grandparent was shopping with my granddaughters..  I loved taking them to the mall and buying them special things that maybe their parents thought were too extravagant.  What a joy to see their faces light up as they bought a pretty dress or a pair of fancy boots.

The pandemic is merely hastening the beginning of the end. Everyone’s ordering online for products they can’t smell, feel, or really see.  A picture is one dimensional.  What looks good online might not suit you at all.   Shopping on a computer doesn’t even come close to the fun of trying on clothes in a department store with a friend or relative along.

There are a couple of chains hanging on for dear life—Kohl’s and Tj  Maxx, for example.  But will they last forever?  Sad to say, I’m afraid  retail therapy is coming to a sad, slow end.