果冻传煤

By Julia O'Malley

Kristina Blackadar, 50, a branch manager at an 果冻传煤 moving company, still has a hole in her heart where Nordstrom used to be.

Take bras, which aren鈥檛 easy to buy online. For decades she visited the Nordstrom lingerie department, where the same elegantly dressed woman would meet her in the dressing room with a tailor鈥檚 tape and return a stack of well-fitting foundations. Recently, on a trip to Las Vegas, Blackadar went to another Nordstrom. As she was being measured, she lamented the closure of her hometown store. 鈥淟et me guess,鈥� the saleswoman said. 鈥淎laska?鈥�

"Just that very morning there were three people that had to come into the bra department to stock up because of the lack of, you know, any good shopping here," Blackadar said.听

A for sale sign is affixed to the side of the former Nordstrom department store on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 in downtown 果冻传煤. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

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The change for shoppers in 果冻传煤 isn鈥檛 just about one department at Nordstom. The store鈥檚 closure ahead of the pandemic was part of a wave of retail retraction across Alaska. Among the 果冻传煤 clothing stores now gone: the Gap and Banana Republic in the 5th Avenue Mall and Forever 21 with its large Dimond Mall footprint. As the holiday season approaches, the experience of shopping and what鈥檚 available to buy has changed in major ways over the pandemic years. Economists project it鈥檚 unlikely to recover soon.

Nationally, retail expansion has been flat, and growth in e-commerce favored online shopping businesses with fewer workers, meaning a decline in retail employment. Overall the sector is projected to continue shrinking ,听. Before the pandemic, the clothing sector was retracting across the U.S, but the pandemic accelerated that. It declined 38% during 2020 and 2021. In Alaska, retail positions peaked in 2015 and have been on the decline since, following the national trend,听.

Some of that is due to a shrinking state population that鈥檚 changed the market and to technology 鈥� cashiers in some stores are being replaced by self-check-out, for example, Fried said. But, like in the rest of the country, much is related to a shift to e-commerce, which got a huge boost early in the pandemic,听. Businesses selling sporting goods, books, electronics and appliances, and health and personal care products took a serious hit, according to the state. Clothing retailers in Alaska were hit hardest, declining almost a third between 2019 and 2020, mirroring the nation. Over that time period, 果冻传煤 lost 10% of its retail positions. The sector听听to rebound to 2019 levels until 2030.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still shy of over 2,800 jobs where we were in 2015 because we were losing jobs before the pandemic both because of our recession and because of e-commerce,鈥� said Neal Fried, a state economist, comparing 2015 to 2021.

Alaskans have always had a high average income relative to the rest of the country, but the difference between what Alaskans make on average compared to what people Outside make has narrowed, Fried said.

鈥淲e still spend plenty of money on retail and we don鈥檛 have an income tax 鈥� We have more disposable income to spend on stuff than the average American because we don鈥檛 have that,鈥� he said.

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During the days of work-from-home in particular, lots of high-end retailers suffered, Fried said. The closure of certain clothing retailers in 果冻传煤 may be partially because of shrinking incomes and partially because people are interested in buying different fashions than they were in previous decades, he said.

鈥極ur demographics are shifting鈥�

Less in-person clothing retail means more Alaskans are shopping online and waiting for goods the way they used to in the days when there were dog-eared Sears catalogs in every house. The mail order economy has also changed the nature of in-person shopping. Lots of customers are going to brick-and-mortar locations to pick up ordered goods or make mail order returns, rather than browsing. This is a national trend the 果冻传煤 Economic Development Corporation watched first with the changes at Nordstrom, said Bill Popp, president and CEO.

The company shifted its national strategy toward larger population centers, he said. And, stores became more focused on returns and in-store pick-up. Now Nordstrom Rack serves that function, rather than the Nordstrom store.

鈥淥ur demographics are shifting, we don鈥檛 have as many affluent oil and gas workers, as an example. We are definitely not what we used to be and that is one of the big challenges that we have,鈥� he said. 鈥�... It is not what it was in the boom years.鈥�

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In a place like 果冻传煤, 1,500 miles from the nearest large city, retail has a heightened cultural importance, Popp said. Especially in the winter, it鈥檚 a way people connect with each other as well as a way Alaskans connect with the trends Outside.

鈥淲e used to be able to go to the mall, especially during the holidays, and there鈥檚 Christmas music and there鈥檚 decorations and there鈥檚 lights and everyone鈥檚 kind of hustling and bustling and you run into people that you haven鈥檛 seen in years and you catch up with them. And there鈥檚 just excitement in the air, " said Heather Nelles, a Palmer accountant who shopped regularly in 果冻传煤.

Over the last few years, she鈥檚 watched familiar storefronts go vacant. The mall has a lonely feeling and there鈥檚 just less to shop for.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like, why am I going there and going into the parking lot or dragging all the way there to park when there鈥檚 only a couple of shops to go to?鈥� she said.

She now orders online in a number of different sizes and colors so she can try them on. It鈥檚 a big pain, spending extra money on her credit card and dealing with all the packaging and sending things back.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just too much,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 finally was kind of like I鈥檝e had enough, I need to go somewhere for a real shopping experience.鈥�

So she and a couple of family members booked tickets to Seattle, just to shop, she said.

A sign encourages people to apply to work at bty DENTAL on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 at the Dimond Center in 果冻传煤. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

'The mall'

Even though some retailers have closed, Alaskans are still going to the mall. At the Dimond Center, just about every store is hiring and foot traffic has bounced back, said Logan Burt, director of marketing and leasing. The mall had some of its strongest sales in recent years in 2021, he said.

鈥淧eople were so pent up with not being able to get out and having to do everything online that when things really opened back up, it really created this boom,鈥� he said.

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But the shoppers weren鈥檛 necessarily looking for higher-end clothing, unless you count the pricey activewear at Lululemon. Dimond Center shoppers come in for brands like Old Navy, H&M and Maurices, a clothing store opening in November, he said.

鈥淧eople will want fashionable items at a reasonable price,鈥� he said.

Construction barriers encase the future Maurices clothing store on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 at the Dimond Center in 果冻传煤. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

They were also looking for things to do. The mall has focused more on 鈥減lace-making,鈥� diversifying the experience away from pure retail into experiences like restaurants and entertainment, he said.

Sarah Cleary, a musician and piano teacher, is not a big in-store shopper. She has always been a thrifter. When the pandemic closed down thrift and consignment store dressing rooms, she discovered the online second-hand site Poshmark. That allowed her to order more used clothing from brands she鈥檇 discovered while thrifting here. She also joined a 鈥渂uy nothing鈥� group on Facebook. She got all kinds of things that way, including a trampoline and a bed for her daughter.

鈥淪ometimes I wanted something new or my kids needed something new and it was really hard to go shopping but like there鈥檚 always somebody with a bag of clothes and whatever size,鈥� she said.

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The group had a particularly novel bra solution, she said. There was a big tub of bras, including some ordered in the wrong size, and members passed from house to house.

鈥淭he gals in the group were just taking turns looking through it, taking what they wanted and adding their own,鈥� she said.

'Opportunity for small businesses'

When national retailers pull out, it opens up the opportunity for small businesses, Popp said.

鈥�(Local businesses) can give that personal service versus a faceless online service. Try and get a live body at Amazon,鈥� he said. 鈥淕ood luck.鈥�

Lynn Boots鈥� family operated Junior Towne, an 果冻传煤 retail clothing store for children, for 50 years. In retail, there鈥檚 quality, price and service, she said. A store can have two of those, but not three. In the 果冻传煤 market, having relationships with customers and a good in-store experience are essential for long-term survival, she said.

鈥淪o if they鈥檙e smart, the locals, I鈥檓 thinking of some specific stores, will concentrate on quality and service,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur store, people would come in because of the hominess and the selection, things were special. If the stores are concentrating on that I think they鈥檙e going to do okay.鈥�

Even for local businesses, though, the retail environment has shifted with the growth in online shopping. Hannah Schruf, 27, opened Weather Boutique, a higher-end clothing store, downtown early in the pandemic. There was no option other than to make her inventory available online. She still answers about 20 messages a day from people browsing on her site or Instagram.

Hannah Schruf, owner of Weather Boutique in downtown 果冻传煤, photographed in 2021. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 really helped me succeed. I鈥檝e had orders from I think 32 of the 50 states in the first year and a half that I鈥檝e been open just because the internet is so hugely powerful,鈥� she said.

She鈥檚 also focused on providing a welcoming shopping environment, quality goods and personal service. Her customers, who tend to be women a decade or two older than her, really want one-on-one service, she said. She鈥檚 banking on the relationships she builds with them.

鈥淢y store is not cheap. You鈥檙e gonna find a much cheaper T-shirt at Target or Penny鈥檚 in the mall. But I don鈥檛 have any employees still and I am the one who鈥檚 talking to every single customer,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want people to have the best time ever.鈥�

The听听and the听果冻传煤 Museum听are collaborating on . We鈥檙e collecting stories and making opportunities for residents to share experiences from the past two years. We鈥檇 love to hear from you. Email听neighbors@adn.com, go to听.

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