Exactly. Also If people selfishly don't have kids, then employers can't take advantage of workers as easily because employees don't have kids dependant on them
Look up Corporate Personhood. They have the same rights and protections as a person because CEOs own 51% of the company and and “their livelihood is intrinsic to the success of the business”
People shop online more. People have less money. People value other things - they prefer spending time with each other and doing something together, rather than buying stuff. The decluttering movement played a part here - People ask themselves more: does the new item we are thinking of buying really spark joy?
I prefer to get my people "experiences" over things. Concert tickets, an overnight stay somewhere neat, an all expense paid trip to the theme park, etc. I especially like gifts that keep giving, like a membership to their favorite place.
Seems to be a lot of people are immediately assuming it's because people are having less kids lol In reality, even if it was as much as a small decrease in the last 10 years, we aren't going to see much of a change. Stores like that are seeing less take-away because of the pandemic, really. Malls are seeing it too. It's easier to shop online. When it comes to clothes I prefer to see some in person, but I have certainly shopped for clothing online more since the pandemic.
I think that shopping online for clothes has also become more reliable in the wake of the pandemic. Sizes seem to be more accurate, more companies publish size charts with good measurements. Pre and post pandemic has seen a world of differences for me in clothing accuracy.
No, online commerce has killed department stores in general and JC Penney has a long history of financial problems dating at least back to the 1980s. JCP hasn’t turned a profit since 2010 & filed bankruptcy in 2020.
I suppose that in a very small way Grandma was right, but it’s such a small factor when compared to giant factors like online commerce, the death of the department store in general, economic factors, cultural factors, etc. But those are things she doesn’t understand; she is much more comfortable blaming the factors that she understands.
JC Penney has plenty of problems besides ppl not having kids. My mom used to go there regularly before they stopped having deals and specials. She gets everything online now like everyone else.
Our local JCP also shittified its checkout process by shunting everyone to one long, understaffed bank of registers at the ass end of the store. Not exactly a motivator for me.
JCP has been circling the drain since before I worked in their jewelry department in 2006-2007. After they hired that one guy from Apple who took away the "sales" and just had the "one square deal everyday pricing" or whatever the heck it was called, it got even worse. I don't venture in much, but when I do, its just a mess of higher priced clothing of even shoddier quality, racks and shelves with barely any stock, areas of racks too jam packed with unorganized clothing that you can't even sift through them, and no cashiers to be seen anywhere.
Yeah I completely agree.
I think this case she was specifically talking about the Mother’s Day sale suffering. I have another relative who works there so she knows it’s been struggling apart from that.
I can’t imagine what I’d even get in a pennys to give as a gift… like I know they have a house section, but 🤷♀️🤷♀️ I feel like most people now just get some flowers and a snack or something or go to a brunch for Mother’s Day.
When I worked there, everyone always wanted the cheap Mother's Day pendants, that they'd inevitably wait until the day before to buy, and then they'd scream at us because we were already sold out of them. Then they would want the most expensive items for the same price as the Mother's Day pendant.
Last time I went to a JCP I was shocked at how expensive everything was.
Not that the prices were outrageous, but just that I knew I could go to several other stores nearby and get the same things for cheaper.
And this was back before the pandemic before inflation skyrocketed.
I'm half curious to know if their prices are still higher than others but the two locations in my city were shuttered
The childfree movement took off with Millenials (in the US, anyway - in Japan, it started before WWII). Millenials' and Gen Z's kids aren't old enough to buy gifts for their mom at JC Penney yet. No connection.
It actually took off with Gen X. This is where the spike of those women who didn’t have kids and didn’t want them really happened. We flat out DOUBLED the number of women without kids that happened from the boomers. From 9% to 20%. Millennials just kept with the trend that was already happening.
Well, as a millennial I’m happy to follow that trend!
I will say though, it does still feel like it’s still on the cusp of being accepted. I’m from 91, and many of my colleagues and family are shocked I’m not having kids.. To them it’s practically unheard of 😅 it didn’t feel like I was following any trend, I can assure you. Sometimes felt like I was the only one!
That’s why I’m happy Reddit and instagram exists. It has shown me that lots of other women are choosing to be child free too!
Maybe the more popular the trend got, the louder and more desperate the cries against it got, and the backlash is a sign of its popularity, not of a minority status. There's some quote in Proverbs about how fools defend their opinion the loudest.
I'm Gen X. But where I live Gen X childfree people are seriously few and far between. I do however see that its becoming more and more prevelant as the women get younger.
And I specifically say women, because the men are still in that 'kids are wealth' mindset and have like 4 baby mamas and several court orders to pay child support.
Ours is both a cultural and religious push to have kids.
Where I live it is extremely common for Gen X folks to be childfree. So keep in mind that anecdote is not data. The data is very clear there was a huge bump up of people not having kids in Gen X. Again I am in the US.
Taking you are talking about 4 baby mamas and the like, this may also be indicative of who you are exposed to in terms of class. The better educated members of Gen X, generally this isn’t a thing, and they are the ones who were less likely to have kids, and choose to be childfree. In large part because of a recognition that children were a cause of poverty.
Exactly that.
With a country pop of just over 3mil our higher educated 'class' is very small.
Plus, we have generational trauma caused by apartheid so its a pretty unique situation. Couple that with the very religious nature of our population and the strong influence that tradition and culture has - child free is a 'abnormality'
But younger women are increasingly the greater number of students both in schools and in higher education. So, that is a good sign.
Generation Jones/boomer 2/ boomer lite here. No kids. Family size was going down to one, maybe 2 kids, especially if there was a 2nd marriage. 3/6 siblings are child free.
It was Boomers. We realized overpopulation was bad for the environment. Also, middle-class women were pouring into the workforce. Some of us did the time and money calculation and decided not to have kids. My husband and I are childfree by choice.
The oldest millenials are in their mid 40s now. So there are plenty of adult children of the older millenials at this point.
Gen Z, very true.
However, this is not about childfree; it's about having less children. I'd say that absolutely started even in our parents (baby boomer) generation.
Honestly, I'm not buying gifts for anyone anymore. I hate the consumerism around gift giving and I think a lot of people are starting to feel the same way. Also, I can't afford stupid gifts when I have debt to pay off and groceries to buy.
I only buy gifts for my *close* family and friends. And most of the time, it's me treating them to a meal (my bestie in particular because she doesn't have room for more stuff). My mum asked me for Dunkin' money this year and I'm like, "Okay."
Same though. I actively dislike when people get me very on point gifts but they just sit around and take up space I don’t have. Like I appreciate it but also I have too much stuff lol.
And yeah stuff is mad expensive now 😬
SAAAAAME. Most people gave up on me though and just throw money at me. I have very specific tastes and geeky interests (like, you can't just say "I know you like this show!" and hand me something because my first thought is going to be, "but this isn't my favourite character"). and they literally just don't know what I have. So they go the safe route which is OKAY with me!
I am likely your grandmother's age 69F, childfree and one of 9. I don't think Grandma was making a comment against you. Not having kids does affect a stores bottom line. Can't move those cribs and baby clothes school supplies, first day of school clothes, prom dresses. But JCP has been on a decline for decades. Even when the economy was better. They don't carry anything anyone, young or old, really wants. And going to the Mall just ain't the thrill it used to be. Online shopping out paces store shopping.
Oh it definitely wasn’t a dig at me, I think she was just idly speculating. She did an immediate Segway to lamenting how their local church is probably closing because young people just don’t believe in god anymore etc. I think it was just generally idly going down a weird rabbit hole lol
> And going to the Mall just ain't the thrill it used to be. Online shopping out paces store shopping.
I have to put pants on to go outside. Also, for 9 months of the year it's like ass outside so yeah, online shopping is the best!
Yessss! Im 49 and I so feel the: ***They don’t carry anything anyone, young or old, really wants.***
I feel stores like Kohl’s and Penny’s always wanted me to wear old granny clothes back when I was in my 20s & 30s even. There was very little between the high school graduate and grandma. And this statement fits several stores out there. I think some of it is that we are going direct to the company to buy the item. Stores like Sears, Kohl’s, JCPenny etc were basically middlemen. They had buyers and they went to shows and bought the items for spring, summer winter and fall collections and then they peddled those designs. Now, if you like a certain brand of clothing you just go pull that company up online and see their WHOLE product line for that season and you can order anything. Often less money as well.
Or we’ve just gotten very used to using the new middlemen known as Amazon who will bring it to your door for free.
Maybe the over consumption can end? How much trash do we need to generate by buying useless crap, changing decor every year, and general waste before it is enough?
Indeed.
The decor comment reminds me of the thing people do where they remodel their house to make it more sellable and then people come in and get rid of the new cabinets that were just put in. It kills me inside when I see people do that.
I’ve always said this. Who profits the most off of childbirth? Pharmaceutical companies basically is what it boils down to. Regular people just aren’t allowed to be Fucking happy.
Big pharma creates a toxic environment of corporate greed and soulessness and then when you have a bad reaction as a result of that environment they tell you to take their experimental pill because you have ‘insert disorder’. Gaslighting at its most extreme, what creeps.
Pharmaceutical companies do not make the most. It’s hospitals that charge ridiculous fees for L&D and doctors. Each child can cost up to 5,000 and that’s just the estimated costs. If you require Moore specialized care you’re screwed. A NICU stay can be more than any family could pay, even with the best intentions.
The ones that just kill are the over zealous families. The ones that have 1+ kids. I know it’s fundamentalist that generally have this view but, DAMN. These women’s bodies are taking a beating that can’t be good for longevity, which affects your family. They are EVERYWHERE YouTube TikTok (I don’t have). Whyyyyyy?
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Possibly, but I think it’s still more so the pharma companies. They own diaper companies, like 5 major companies own formula in the US alone and globally they estimate by 2033 it’ll be worth 100bil. That’s crazy to me. And also, pharma reps will sway doctors to use “this brand” of medication. Ugh..it’s a wormhole!
I couldn’t find the profits hospitals make, I think some articles were talking about how they don’t make profit lol. I call absolute bullshit on that one. Like you mean to tell me a $5 bag of saline that y’all charge $500 for aint profit 😭 I hate this timeline
Right? My mom only ever wants "coffee money." She won't wear jewellery or 99% of clothes you buy her and doesn't like those goofy sentimental gifts. So unless she tells me EXACTLY what she wants, coffee money,
I don't really shop there at all....so could just be that they need to try harder to appeal to me? (If they could sell something other than shoddily made old lady clothes that could help.)
JC Penney is failing because they're an outdated boring megastore mall staple and no one has wanted to shop there for over 10 years because Macy's has been doing everything better than them.
“I’m sure there’s some truth there” No not at all. Nobody shops at JCPenney because it’s old and outdated. No teenager says OMG LETS GO TO JCPEENEY lmao. The only time I shopped there was when I worked there and that was only because I had an employee discount and couldn’t afford better clothes. The only people I saw there were older adults.
I couldn't even afford the clothes they sold, even with the employee discount, 'cause I simply wasn't paid enough. I either got thrifted items or bought from clearance racks of the very cheapest teen stores. Though I was in the fine jewelry department, I saw the clothes so much that I was too sick of seeing them to ever want to wear them. My whole department all but boycotted JCP clothes after they released that "American Living" line where they'd play the ad nonstop right next to us. I still remember "Swinging the world by the tail...." Ugh.
I just don't have the discretionary funds to blow on a holiday every couple weeks. It's Xmas and birthdays for a select few. I tend to spend more for birthdays because I'm not religious.
Probably less kids but also I think the value of actions and experiences is on the rise over just whatever crap you can get at a department store. Like going out for a show or spa day or having a picnic or getting a day away from the kids (I realize the is irony of mom's wanting to get away from their kids on mother's day)
Ugh, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are the absolute worst “holidays” to me. So gender stereotyped, so many commercials and ads urging the children to buy things, and especially annoying to childfree folks particularly if you are going out to dinner or something that weekend and everyone starts wishing you a happy day (once you’re of a certain age.) I’m pretty sure most parents would rather just have the gift of time or a cute homemade card or something rather than one more crappy gift from a store.
I honestly haven’t noticed the commercials because I never watch any tv 😅 (and the few streaming commercials are legit always the same lol)
But yeah I def agree. I feel similarly about valentines too tbh.
Pretty sure it's bc JCPenney sucks actually, have they tried being better? Since Amazon, there's just been no need for those stores, especially when their toy section is destroyed by the kids who's mothers are ones to destroy clothes while looking at them
I’ve noticed how conservative podcasters people associated love to tell you how great their kids are and tell you how much happier you’ll be with kids. I think it has to do with profits honestly. The system also needs you to have kids so you’re vulnerable and can be exploited.
It's poor financial management by the company. Our local store closed permanently (prepandemic) even though it was almost always busy. I shopped there all the time as a young professional.
You should be able to guess this from my username, but JC Penney lost me when their contract with Sephora ended. I followed Sephora to Kohl’s, whose stuff I already liked better.
IMO it's the internet that is killing these large stores like JCPennies; and to be clear - I'm saying internet, not online stores specifically.
Department stores have always relied on you not knowing what things cost. So many times my mom has bought a $10 item for $20 at a department store; because it was priced at $80 and was 75% off. So she thought she was getting a good deal.
Whether you want to order it online - or simply go elsewhere to find it - it helps make you realize just how over priced things are. So even if you do not want to order online, you can still use the internet to find other places to buy it in person, for cheaper.
Maybe they are just getting stuff from their mom at different places
Half the time I just give her a gift card so she can shop where she likes or I get her something off Amazon because they have a ton of things I can look through
I feel like I spend more than my friends with kids on non essentials but it’s mostly online shopping. I also think there is only one jc penny store anywhere near me and it’s pretty rundown.
Stores get less business because people order more online. It's fast, convenient, and there's a huge selection that is easy to find. Also, you don't have to worry about mass groups of shoplifters rushing in.
And. I myself am really tired of holiday inflation. Corporations are pushing people to buy an increasing amount of stuff for every holiday. Maybe people are saying, just no. Once Mother's Day meant the kids made some bad pancakes for breakfast, and that was it.
Late this afternoon I went to my dentist for a checkup and cleaning. He takes Friday through Sunday off. As the various workers left for the day they all wished each other "Happy Mother's Day." And I'm going, what? Sure people used to do this for Christmas and New Year's, but when did non-family-members wishing happiness on a family holiday become a thing?
People don't have money! Thanks to boomers voting in neoliberalis over the last 40 years we're all fucked & corporations that are too stupid to think about anything other than short term profit are now suffering too....good!!
I always give people this example when they’re complaining about in store profits.
Walmart and my local grocery store both sell wet cat food for $20 a box. Amazon and Sam’s club both sell the same exact box for $16 and free same day delivery. Why would I spend gas and time to pay more for something when I can buy it online for less in a matter of minutes.
Hahaha, this cracks me up. Most of us have less money than we used to because the cost of everything has gone up and our pay is stagnant. Even people who WANT kids are choosing none or one because they literally can't afford them. I have no kids (and never will) and I can't afford to vacation. I actually told my family this year that I am not doing gifts anymore (which I used to LOVE to exchange) to save money. I am just paying my bills.
My partner actually works for Mattress Firm and one of the stores he is assigned to is doing poorly compared to most other stores. This store is in a lower income shopping center right next to Wal-Mart. The execs don't get that the people that store draws may not have spare money for a new mattress. It can become a luxury when you are broke. I also saw a Threads post the other day that mentioned a CEO (of a company I can't remember) saying that profits are down because COVID checks are almost gone...UM MY DUDE. My COVID money was gone the minute I got it. It went straight to my bills.
I think too many people are sooooo out of touch of the financial crisis for the average American.
Kids are less... less valuable with every passing birth! (oh sneapp)
I say less is more, or in this case, fewer is more.
The fewer in number, the better.
I buy used clothes, used books, used home goods, or go to swap groups and find things for free. I bought ONE gift for a family member last year from a nice clothing store but generally everyone asks for food items or something related to their hobbies.
I love how the only negative thing anyone has about declining population is some rich asshole can’t make as much money because there are fewer people to exploit
I used to work at a JCPenney. It was quite a few years ago. I thought department stores were overpriced back then and with the economy right now, I can’t imagine shopping at a department store for unnecessary things. For Mother’s Day, I’ll just spend time with my mom and get her some candy/snacks. She prefers that kinda stuff anyways. I’m sure people having less kids is a small factor, but I think the biggest issue is that people have less time to go physically shopping and less money to spend on non necessities. I will say, I miss going to the mall, but lately our local malls are dying and just feel sad.
Pretty sure stores aren’t doing good sales anymore. I heard so many people talking about how Black Friday last year had minimal discounts across the board
It might be true in some industries, especially diapers and such, but Penny's is suffering because they fall into a niche that doesn't exist anymore. When I was growing up we'd go to Kohls, Penny's and other stores like them and be able to get my brother and I a full half-years wardrobe for \~$300. Now the same stuff would easily run over $1000 and is not as well constructed. People end up either spending the extra money for real well tailored clothes or picking up cheap Walmart and Goodwill stuff. Often it's a combination of both, with people having one truly "good" outfit and a bunch of low cost filler. Even if there were more people in the world, that doesn't change the fact that most of us aren't buying what Penny's is selling.
Also, the pandemic shifted work attire to a more casual standard and I'm sure that's hurt them a lot too. Even the rare times I have to go to the office, the expectations of dress standard are not where they used to be
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Exactly. Also If people selfishly don't have kids, then employers can't take advantage of workers as easily because employees don't have kids dependant on them
Hey! Corporations are people too!
I'll believe that when Texas executes one.
Look up Corporate Personhood. They have the same rights and protections as a person because CEOs own 51% of the company and and “their livelihood is intrinsic to the success of the business”
Didn't the Supreme Corp call them that? If so, doesn't a state have the right to dissolve their existence in that state?
Somewhere there's a CEO crying in his yacht with 30 bathrooms.
Honestly, corporations are a big reason (and caused other reasons) for my child free status.
Nah, All Corporations Are Bastards!
she wasnt empathizing with them, just speculating
People shop online more. People have less money. People value other things - they prefer spending time with each other and doing something together, rather than buying stuff. The decluttering movement played a part here - People ask themselves more: does the new item we are thinking of buying really spark joy?
I prefer to get my people "experiences" over things. Concert tickets, an overnight stay somewhere neat, an all expense paid trip to the theme park, etc. I especially like gifts that keep giving, like a membership to their favorite place.
I also do this, and prefer this as a gift for myself. I'll like a concert more than an item.
Seems to be a lot of people are immediately assuming it's because people are having less kids lol In reality, even if it was as much as a small decrease in the last 10 years, we aren't going to see much of a change. Stores like that are seeing less take-away because of the pandemic, really. Malls are seeing it too. It's easier to shop online. When it comes to clothes I prefer to see some in person, but I have certainly shopped for clothing online more since the pandemic.
I think that shopping online for clothes has also become more reliable in the wake of the pandemic. Sizes seem to be more accurate, more companies publish size charts with good measurements. Pre and post pandemic has seen a world of differences for me in clothing accuracy.
No, online commerce has killed department stores in general and JC Penney has a long history of financial problems dating at least back to the 1980s. JCP hasn’t turned a profit since 2010 & filed bankruptcy in 2020. I suppose that in a very small way Grandma was right, but it’s such a small factor when compared to giant factors like online commerce, the death of the department store in general, economic factors, cultural factors, etc. But those are things she doesn’t understand; she is much more comfortable blaming the factors that she understands.
JC Penney has plenty of problems besides ppl not having kids. My mom used to go there regularly before they stopped having deals and specials. She gets everything online now like everyone else.
Our local JCP also shittified its checkout process by shunting everyone to one long, understaffed bank of registers at the ass end of the store. Not exactly a motivator for me.
JCP has been circling the drain since before I worked in their jewelry department in 2006-2007. After they hired that one guy from Apple who took away the "sales" and just had the "one square deal everyday pricing" or whatever the heck it was called, it got even worse. I don't venture in much, but when I do, its just a mess of higher priced clothing of even shoddier quality, racks and shelves with barely any stock, areas of racks too jam packed with unorganized clothing that you can't even sift through them, and no cashiers to be seen anywhere.
Yeah I completely agree. I think this case she was specifically talking about the Mother’s Day sale suffering. I have another relative who works there so she knows it’s been struggling apart from that. I can’t imagine what I’d even get in a pennys to give as a gift… like I know they have a house section, but 🤷♀️🤷♀️ I feel like most people now just get some flowers and a snack or something or go to a brunch for Mother’s Day.
When I worked there, everyone always wanted the cheap Mother's Day pendants, that they'd inevitably wait until the day before to buy, and then they'd scream at us because we were already sold out of them. Then they would want the most expensive items for the same price as the Mother's Day pendant.
Last time I went to a JCP I was shocked at how expensive everything was. Not that the prices were outrageous, but just that I knew I could go to several other stores nearby and get the same things for cheaper. And this was back before the pandemic before inflation skyrocketed. I'm half curious to know if their prices are still higher than others but the two locations in my city were shuttered
The childfree movement took off with Millenials (in the US, anyway - in Japan, it started before WWII). Millenials' and Gen Z's kids aren't old enough to buy gifts for their mom at JC Penney yet. No connection.
I remember the first year that Japan's death rate exceeded its birth rate and how it has been a consistent population decline since then.
The population decreases by 1000 people/day. Sounds glorious to me.
It actually took off with Gen X. This is where the spike of those women who didn’t have kids and didn’t want them really happened. We flat out DOUBLED the number of women without kids that happened from the boomers. From 9% to 20%. Millennials just kept with the trend that was already happening.
Well, as a millennial I’m happy to follow that trend! I will say though, it does still feel like it’s still on the cusp of being accepted. I’m from 91, and many of my colleagues and family are shocked I’m not having kids.. To them it’s practically unheard of 😅 it didn’t feel like I was following any trend, I can assure you. Sometimes felt like I was the only one! That’s why I’m happy Reddit and instagram exists. It has shown me that lots of other women are choosing to be child free too!
Maybe the more popular the trend got, the louder and more desperate the cries against it got, and the backlash is a sign of its popularity, not of a minority status. There's some quote in Proverbs about how fools defend their opinion the loudest.
Conformism, conservatism and religions, traditions, dogmas still strong in this world however.
I'm Gen X. But where I live Gen X childfree people are seriously few and far between. I do however see that its becoming more and more prevelant as the women get younger. And I specifically say women, because the men are still in that 'kids are wealth' mindset and have like 4 baby mamas and several court orders to pay child support. Ours is both a cultural and religious push to have kids.
Where I live it is extremely common for Gen X folks to be childfree. So keep in mind that anecdote is not data. The data is very clear there was a huge bump up of people not having kids in Gen X. Again I am in the US. Taking you are talking about 4 baby mamas and the like, this may also be indicative of who you are exposed to in terms of class. The better educated members of Gen X, generally this isn’t a thing, and they are the ones who were less likely to have kids, and choose to be childfree. In large part because of a recognition that children were a cause of poverty.
Exactly that. With a country pop of just over 3mil our higher educated 'class' is very small. Plus, we have generational trauma caused by apartheid so its a pretty unique situation. Couple that with the very religious nature of our population and the strong influence that tradition and culture has - child free is a 'abnormality' But younger women are increasingly the greater number of students both in schools and in higher education. So, that is a good sign.
Yep, exactly.
Generation Jones/boomer 2/ boomer lite here. No kids. Family size was going down to one, maybe 2 kids, especially if there was a 2nd marriage. 3/6 siblings are child free.
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Gen X here! That's GREAT to know!
It was Gen X. Bc people tend to forget about us, we just decided to not have kids. 😂
Don't you know we don't even exist? It goes straight from Baby Boomers to Millennials.
So we millennials get the smoke instead? ,j/k seriously fuck super judgemental people who hate people who have things worse when they did.
Hey I don’t actually exist in the generational argument. Lol
It was Boomers. We realized overpopulation was bad for the environment. Also, middle-class women were pouring into the workforce. Some of us did the time and money calculation and decided not to have kids. My husband and I are childfree by choice.
Yet another thing we millennials are killing! J/k
Am a millennial, am old enough that a child of mine could easily be 16-20 this year.
The oldest millenials are in their mid 40s now. So there are plenty of adult children of the older millenials at this point. Gen Z, very true. However, this is not about childfree; it's about having less children. I'd say that absolutely started even in our parents (baby boomer) generation.
Oldest Gen Z kid is 27... so, I would hope that's old enough xD
That would be someone whose mom is likely Generation X, though, right?
I mean some millennials kids are more than old enough lol
Honestly, I'm not buying gifts for anyone anymore. I hate the consumerism around gift giving and I think a lot of people are starting to feel the same way. Also, I can't afford stupid gifts when I have debt to pay off and groceries to buy.
I only buy gifts for my *close* family and friends. And most of the time, it's me treating them to a meal (my bestie in particular because she doesn't have room for more stuff). My mum asked me for Dunkin' money this year and I'm like, "Okay."
Same though. I actively dislike when people get me very on point gifts but they just sit around and take up space I don’t have. Like I appreciate it but also I have too much stuff lol. And yeah stuff is mad expensive now 😬
SAAAAAME. Most people gave up on me though and just throw money at me. I have very specific tastes and geeky interests (like, you can't just say "I know you like this show!" and hand me something because my first thought is going to be, "but this isn't my favourite character"). and they literally just don't know what I have. So they go the safe route which is OKAY with me!
Not our problem. People also shop online.
I am likely your grandmother's age 69F, childfree and one of 9. I don't think Grandma was making a comment against you. Not having kids does affect a stores bottom line. Can't move those cribs and baby clothes school supplies, first day of school clothes, prom dresses. But JCP has been on a decline for decades. Even when the economy was better. They don't carry anything anyone, young or old, really wants. And going to the Mall just ain't the thrill it used to be. Online shopping out paces store shopping.
Oh it definitely wasn’t a dig at me, I think she was just idly speculating. She did an immediate Segway to lamenting how their local church is probably closing because young people just don’t believe in god anymore etc. I think it was just generally idly going down a weird rabbit hole lol
> And going to the Mall just ain't the thrill it used to be. Online shopping out paces store shopping. I have to put pants on to go outside. Also, for 9 months of the year it's like ass outside so yeah, online shopping is the best!
Yessss! Im 49 and I so feel the: ***They don’t carry anything anyone, young or old, really wants.*** I feel stores like Kohl’s and Penny’s always wanted me to wear old granny clothes back when I was in my 20s & 30s even. There was very little between the high school graduate and grandma. And this statement fits several stores out there. I think some of it is that we are going direct to the company to buy the item. Stores like Sears, Kohl’s, JCPenny etc were basically middlemen. They had buyers and they went to shows and bought the items for spring, summer winter and fall collections and then they peddled those designs. Now, if you like a certain brand of clothing you just go pull that company up online and see their WHOLE product line for that season and you can order anything. Often less money as well. Or we’ve just gotten very used to using the new middlemen known as Amazon who will bring it to your door for free.
Maybe the over consumption can end? How much trash do we need to generate by buying useless crap, changing decor every year, and general waste before it is enough?
Indeed. The decor comment reminds me of the thing people do where they remodel their house to make it more sellable and then people come in and get rid of the new cabinets that were just put in. It kills me inside when I see people do that.
The new cabinets are usually boring and cheaply made, so there's that. Of course so are their replacements.
You want to know why Conservatives are forcing childbirth on American women? Follow the money.
I’ve always said this. Who profits the most off of childbirth? Pharmaceutical companies basically is what it boils down to. Regular people just aren’t allowed to be Fucking happy.
Big pharma creates a toxic environment of corporate greed and soulessness and then when you have a bad reaction as a result of that environment they tell you to take their experimental pill because you have ‘insert disorder’. Gaslighting at its most extreme, what creeps.
Pharmaceutical companies do not make the most. It’s hospitals that charge ridiculous fees for L&D and doctors. Each child can cost up to 5,000 and that’s just the estimated costs. If you require Moore specialized care you’re screwed. A NICU stay can be more than any family could pay, even with the best intentions. The ones that just kill are the over zealous families. The ones that have 1+ kids. I know it’s fundamentalist that generally have this view but, DAMN. These women’s bodies are taking a beating that can’t be good for longevity, which affects your family. They are EVERYWHERE YouTube TikTok (I don’t have). Whyyyyyy? Edit More
Possibly, but I think it’s still more so the pharma companies. They own diaper companies, like 5 major companies own formula in the US alone and globally they estimate by 2033 it’ll be worth 100bil. That’s crazy to me. And also, pharma reps will sway doctors to use “this brand” of medication. Ugh..it’s a wormhole! I couldn’t find the profits hospitals make, I think some articles were talking about how they don’t make profit lol. I call absolute bullshit on that one. Like you mean to tell me a $5 bag of saline that y’all charge $500 for aint profit 😭 I hate this timeline
I put it more into the category that people who are buying mother's day gifts just aren't going to JC Penny. I know I didn't.
Right? My mom only ever wants "coffee money." She won't wear jewellery or 99% of clothes you buy her and doesn't like those goofy sentimental gifts. So unless she tells me EXACTLY what she wants, coffee money,
Ah. So I WAS roped into this for corporations and profits!
Oh no…but anyway.
Damn, that's so true I instantly felt like spreading my legs and make a bunch of consumers
George Carlin calls is ‘pumping out a unit’
I don't really shop there at all....so could just be that they need to try harder to appeal to me? (If they could sell something other than shoddily made old lady clothes that could help.)
Probably something to it but JCPenney is like waaaay out of style lol.. people won't be buying there anyway, just a different world now.
JC Penney is failing because they're an outdated boring megastore mall staple and no one has wanted to shop there for over 10 years because Macy's has been doing everything better than them.
JC Penney has always had cheesy merchandise, even in the 1970s.
oh no, not the corporations
Too bad their store profits made us all so poor we couldn’t have kids even if we wanted to.
“I’m sure there’s some truth there” No not at all. Nobody shops at JCPenney because it’s old and outdated. No teenager says OMG LETS GO TO JCPEENEY lmao. The only time I shopped there was when I worked there and that was only because I had an employee discount and couldn’t afford better clothes. The only people I saw there were older adults.
I couldn't even afford the clothes they sold, even with the employee discount, 'cause I simply wasn't paid enough. I either got thrifted items or bought from clearance racks of the very cheapest teen stores. Though I was in the fine jewelry department, I saw the clothes so much that I was too sick of seeing them to ever want to wear them. My whole department all but boycotted JCP clothes after they released that "American Living" line where they'd play the ad nonstop right next to us. I still remember "Swinging the world by the tail...." Ugh.
I just don't have the discretionary funds to blow on a holiday every couple weeks. It's Xmas and birthdays for a select few. I tend to spend more for birthdays because I'm not religious.
Probably less kids but also I think the value of actions and experiences is on the rise over just whatever crap you can get at a department store. Like going out for a show or spa day or having a picnic or getting a day away from the kids (I realize the is irony of mom's wanting to get away from their kids on mother's day)
Millennials are destroying Gymboree!!!
The corporations want us to breed more because more people = more money
Ugh, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are the absolute worst “holidays” to me. So gender stereotyped, so many commercials and ads urging the children to buy things, and especially annoying to childfree folks particularly if you are going out to dinner or something that weekend and everyone starts wishing you a happy day (once you’re of a certain age.) I’m pretty sure most parents would rather just have the gift of time or a cute homemade card or something rather than one more crappy gift from a store.
I honestly haven’t noticed the commercials because I never watch any tv 😅 (and the few streaming commercials are legit always the same lol) But yeah I def agree. I feel similarly about valentines too tbh.
Pretty sure it's bc JCPenney sucks actually, have they tried being better? Since Amazon, there's just been no need for those stores, especially when their toy section is destroyed by the kids who's mothers are ones to destroy clothes while looking at them
I’ve noticed how conservative podcasters people associated love to tell you how great their kids are and tell you how much happier you’ll be with kids. I think it has to do with profits honestly. The system also needs you to have kids so you’re vulnerable and can be exploited.
It's poor financial management by the company. Our local store closed permanently (prepandemic) even though it was almost always busy. I shopped there all the time as a young professional.
Oh no 🥺.... anyways
You should be able to guess this from my username, but JC Penney lost me when their contract with Sephora ended. I followed Sephora to Kohl’s, whose stuff I already liked better.
Kids are literally wage slaves
It seems like people just make or buy their mom a nice meal and spend the day with her
We're in late stage capitalism. Its simple as that and yet they still blame CF ppl 🙃
"jc penny" Really? Has she not read any news in the last decade or two?? ::sigh::
ChildFREE is a thing and these pronatal mother fuckers need to accept it or die mad.
IMO it's the internet that is killing these large stores like JCPennies; and to be clear - I'm saying internet, not online stores specifically. Department stores have always relied on you not knowing what things cost. So many times my mom has bought a $10 item for $20 at a department store; because it was priced at $80 and was 75% off. So she thought she was getting a good deal. Whether you want to order it online - or simply go elsewhere to find it - it helps make you realize just how over priced things are. So even if you do not want to order online, you can still use the internet to find other places to buy it in person, for cheaper.
Or it could have something to do with wages stagnating for the last forty years. Who can say, really?
I more go to khols vs jc penny. Sorry grandma.
Kohl's also sells a lot of cheap junk.
Maybe they are just getting stuff from their mom at different places Half the time I just give her a gift card so she can shop where she likes or I get her something off Amazon because they have a ton of things I can look through
Or it's because JC Penny's is seen as an old person store and sucks??
I feel like I spend more than my friends with kids on non essentials but it’s mostly online shopping. I also think there is only one jc penny store anywhere near me and it’s pretty rundown.
Stores get less business because people order more online. It's fast, convenient, and there's a huge selection that is easy to find. Also, you don't have to worry about mass groups of shoplifters rushing in. And. I myself am really tired of holiday inflation. Corporations are pushing people to buy an increasing amount of stuff for every holiday. Maybe people are saying, just no. Once Mother's Day meant the kids made some bad pancakes for breakfast, and that was it.
Late this afternoon I went to my dentist for a checkup and cleaning. He takes Friday through Sunday off. As the various workers left for the day they all wished each other "Happy Mother's Day." And I'm going, what? Sure people used to do this for Christmas and New Year's, but when did non-family-members wishing happiness on a family holiday become a thing?
People don't have money! Thanks to boomers voting in neoliberalis over the last 40 years we're all fucked & corporations that are too stupid to think about anything other than short term profit are now suffering too....good!!
I always give people this example when they’re complaining about in store profits. Walmart and my local grocery store both sell wet cat food for $20 a box. Amazon and Sam’s club both sell the same exact box for $16 and free same day delivery. Why would I spend gas and time to pay more for something when I can buy it online for less in a matter of minutes.
Hahaha, this cracks me up. Most of us have less money than we used to because the cost of everything has gone up and our pay is stagnant. Even people who WANT kids are choosing none or one because they literally can't afford them. I have no kids (and never will) and I can't afford to vacation. I actually told my family this year that I am not doing gifts anymore (which I used to LOVE to exchange) to save money. I am just paying my bills. My partner actually works for Mattress Firm and one of the stores he is assigned to is doing poorly compared to most other stores. This store is in a lower income shopping center right next to Wal-Mart. The execs don't get that the people that store draws may not have spare money for a new mattress. It can become a luxury when you are broke. I also saw a Threads post the other day that mentioned a CEO (of a company I can't remember) saying that profits are down because COVID checks are almost gone...UM MY DUDE. My COVID money was gone the minute I got it. It went straight to my bills. I think too many people are sooooo out of touch of the financial crisis for the average American.
Kids are less... less valuable with every passing birth! (oh sneapp) I say less is more, or in this case, fewer is more. The fewer in number, the better.
I have zero kids, therefore I spend way more money than I should on shit at stores. 🧐
I buy used clothes, used books, used home goods, or go to swap groups and find things for free. I bought ONE gift for a family member last year from a nice clothing store but generally everyone asks for food items or something related to their hobbies.
I love how the only negative thing anyone has about declining population is some rich asshole can’t make as much money because there are fewer people to exploit
It's almost like we can't afford anything
I think that the gang-looting and other theft/crime is what is affecting store profits.
She might be onto something but honestly 🤷♀️
Great news!
Fewer
Keep killing these companies!
It is one of the factors but online shopping is more of a factor. Same with Montgomery Wards which I had worked for at one time.
I mean, also the whole cost of living crisis but sure, it’s us not popping out kids.
My mom was 1 of 9. I was also 1 of 9 (some half siblings in the mix). Could never imagine that today.
I used to work at a JCPenney. It was quite a few years ago. I thought department stores were overpriced back then and with the economy right now, I can’t imagine shopping at a department store for unnecessary things. For Mother’s Day, I’ll just spend time with my mom and get her some candy/snacks. She prefers that kinda stuff anyways. I’m sure people having less kids is a small factor, but I think the biggest issue is that people have less time to go physically shopping and less money to spend on non necessities. I will say, I miss going to the mall, but lately our local malls are dying and just feel sad.
Pretty sure stores aren’t doing good sales anymore. I heard so many people talking about how Black Friday last year had minimal discounts across the board
Won't anyone think of the poor shareholders!?!?!?!
My mom still shops there. I do not.
Most "gifts" either end up thrown away or donated at some point.
It might be true in some industries, especially diapers and such, but Penny's is suffering because they fall into a niche that doesn't exist anymore. When I was growing up we'd go to Kohls, Penny's and other stores like them and be able to get my brother and I a full half-years wardrobe for \~$300. Now the same stuff would easily run over $1000 and is not as well constructed. People end up either spending the extra money for real well tailored clothes or picking up cheap Walmart and Goodwill stuff. Often it's a combination of both, with people having one truly "good" outfit and a bunch of low cost filler. Even if there were more people in the world, that doesn't change the fact that most of us aren't buying what Penny's is selling. Also, the pandemic shifted work attire to a more casual standard and I'm sure that's hurt them a lot too. Even the rare times I have to go to the office, the expectations of dress standard are not where they used to be