Truth is usually in the middle

So much business reporting these days is fretting about the American “consumer” and what he or she is up to at any given moment. From which generalizations are made, and conclusions pronounced. (What it’s all supposed to mean is another question.)

For example, last week the Associated Press reported that online shopping was reaching such a critical mass with American shoppers that “icons of the traditional mall … face an increasingly uncertain future.” The article makes blanket statements such as, “Shoppers who once crowded malls are now ordering on phones, computers and tablets, siphoning sales from physical stores, which face growing pressure to reinvent their businesses.”

Others are attributed, such as: “Online is cannibalizing the store business,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group.

In other words, it’s all very, very dire. But a recent Bloomberg View commentary happened to note that in the U.S., where more than $200 billion of goods are sold online per year, the figure represents less than 10 percent of the total retail volume. (The global average is about 5 percent.) So it’s hard to swallow that the internet is somehow “cannibalizing” the store business. Especially when any store worth its weight also has an online presence and is already “reinventing” their business.

At the same time, another article (on hothardware.com) worries that consumers aren’t shopping online enough. A National Telecommunications &Information Administration survey of more than 41,000 households found that nearly half (45 percent) of the respondents said they now avoid certain online activities over concerns about privacy and security. Conducting banking online and buying goods and services online, both of which might lead to identity theft, were the top concerns.

Bad experiences back up the fears: Nineteen percent of Internet-using households — representing nearly 19 million households — reported that they had been affected by an online security breach, identity theft, or similar malicious activity during the 12 months prior to the July 2015 survey, according to the NTIA. The study authors recommend widespread deployment of strong encryption along with other security measures to get “more Americans using online services.”

Trying to find middle-of-the-road business reporting is becoming more difficult, possibly in part because headlines (and to a lesser extent articles) online have to be written in such a way to garner a “click” from online readers who are bombarded with dozens of headlines at a time. Sensationalizing things helps with that. Reporting that people still mainly shop in stores, while online sales are also growing, isn’t as “sexy” as reporting “malls are in a free-fall.”

Meanwhile, people go about their shopping, online or not, and businesses go about their business, smartly unconcerned with pronouncements by the media and business “experts” and “analysts.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

RGB version
Editorial cartoons for Monday, March 18

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Carson gets a chance to sound the horn in an Everett Fire Department engine with the help of captain Jason Brock during a surprise Make-A-Wish sendoff Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at Thornton A. Sullivan Park in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: Everett voters will set course for city finances

This fall and in coming years, they will be asked how to fund and support the services they use.

Devotees of TikTok, Mona Swain, center, and her sister, Rachel Swain, right, both of Atlanta, monitor voting at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Editorial: Forced sale of TikTok ignores network of problems

The removal of a Chinese company would still leave concerns for data privacy and the content on apps.

Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, watches the State of the State speech by Gov. Jay Inslee on the second day of the legislative session at the Washington state Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Editorial: Legislature has its own production of ‘The Holdovers’

What state lawmakers left behind in good ideas that should get more attention and passage next year.

Comment: Measles outbreaks show importance of MMR vaccinations

The highly contagious disease requires a 95 percent vaccination rate to limit the spread of outbreaks.

Harrop: Should ‘affordable’ come at cost of quality of living?

As states push their cities to ignore zoning rules, the YIMBYs are covering for developers.

Saunders: Classified document cases show degrees of guilt

President Biden’s age might protect him, but the special prosecutor didn’t exonerate him either.

Comment: Clearing the internet of misinformation, deep fakes

With social networks’ spotty moderation record, users need to identify and call out problems they see.

Eco-Nomics: Price of gas, fossil fuels higher than you think

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels force unseen costs in climate disasters, illness and more.

Vote against I-2117 to keep best tool to protect climate

We voters will be offered the opportunity to repeal Washington state’s Climate… Continue reading

Lack of maternal health care raises risks of deadly sepsis

In today’s contentious climate, we often hear political debates about maternal health… Continue reading

Trump’s stance on abortion isn’t moderate; it’s dangerous

Voters deserve to know the facts and the truth about what will… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.