BRICS Nations V Retail
And The Modern Cold War

I predict that a major decline in retail will occur, probably beginning in 2025.

It's overdue to occur in my opinion. In fact, I'd like to take a minute to thank; Vladimir Putin, Bashar al-Assad and President Xi (how fair and unbiased of me) for even giving me a resistance to support regarding this topic of, "ending retail shopping," today. Whereby, typically even bringing up any topic similar to this, coinciding with massive economic change, typically ends with a journalist finding another job in America today. However, I'm at something of an advantage because the GOP has already discredited this website as, "fake news," several times over, making media control irrelevant to me at this point in terms of me choosing to write on this topic of ending retail.

But where do I begin? Let's start with Japan.

Did you know that Japan has been seeking to change retail shopping since the 1960s, at the start of the "vending machine era"?

In fact:

"On a per capita basis, Japan has the highest number of vending machines of any country in the world. The country has over 5 million vending machines, representing one machine for every 25 Japanese residents."

Also:

"The United States, with over 7 million vending machines, has the highest number of installed vending machines. This figure represents about one vending unit for every 50 American residents."

And while "vending" is nothing new in America, it still hasn't become "a driving force" in the modern US economy. In fact:

"At 30.7%, the United States also has the highest revenue share of the global retail vending machine market, according to Grand View Research." Statistical reference link.

But what is the total vending machine market revenue globally versus the total global economy? How much of the total global economy is "vending machine based"?

"The United States has the highest number of vending machines of any country, with five million vending machines owned by over 17,000 operators spread across the country. According to Vending Market Watch, small operators with annual revenues of less than $1 million control 67.1% of the vending market. Moreover, of the five million vending machines in the US, two million are in active operation, and they generate $7.4 billion in annual revenue."

So the US has $7.4B in vending revenue per year compared to a total gross GDP of $23.32 trillion for the entire US economy, meaning that vending machines represent a small market share of $7,400,000,000 / $23,320,000,000,000 = 3.174% of the total US economy, which is actually more than I would've guessed. However, also add together online shopping to that percentage of the total GDP/US economy, which like vending machines has also taken money directly away from the US retail sectors, or shopping which primarily used to be done at retail outlets that is now done on websites like eBay and Amazon, and that number then swells much larger in terms of declining retail markets. In fact, eBay did $10.1B in online sales in 2023, and a lot of that business was previously done at retail outlets. Furthermore, Amazon did a whopping $574B in online sales that same year, to create a combined $784B in online sales just in 2023, not even counting Walmart's online sector and other retailers which have also begun offering online marketplaces to keep up with their competitors in growing online marketplaces. But to reiterate, vending machines contribute roughly 3.174% of the overall GDP/US economy, while at the same time eBay and Amazon combine to control another 31% of overall GDP solely on online marketplaces, for a combined total of nearly 35% of total GDP which is now done by shopping through (VENDING + EBAY + AMAZON) versus outdated retail outlets! Shopping which was all done at retail outlets before 1962! Furthermore, with 35%+ of the total US economy now being done through vending machines and online markets today, virtually only Walmart, Microsoft, Nike, McDonald's, Apple, and the 4 major pro sports leagues are really making any major sales compared to the total US GDP and the online giants! And this seemingly monopolized marketplace is a particularly unfortunate consequence of the declining retail sector which seems poised to fight it out for another four years, as of today.

But it's no secret that shopping outlets and consumer spending are both actually dwindling by the second in favor of mass production, conglomerate production, online markets, wholesale shopping, direct shipping, and vending machines, which are typically controlled by big businesses today and not by the old, "Mom and Pop shops," that began this wonderful economy with so many retail outlets springing up in America 70 to 100 years ago during the retail booms of the 1930s and 1950s.

Retail Shopping Is ALREADY DEAD!

Or to put that another way, roughly 40% of America's entire GDP/retail market is already DEAD, in a sector that in many ways has already transformed into online marketplaces and vending machines! And it feels like the other 60% of that retail market, if you include all of the shopping like REAL ESTATE and markets that are similar to retail or shopping in general for that matter (real estate, cars, even grocery shopping), all of that will soon, if not already, be done in an online marketplace today, which is signaling a steadfast increase in online shopping and vending apparatuses moving forward! However, this is an outcome of a circumstance whereby the shifting retail market is now leaning towards vending machines and online markets/automation, and that's seemingly becoming understood by most consumers in America today and it's not, "new news." Furthermore, however this transition is occurring, eliminating sales jobs and the need for jobs which can easily be replaced by robots (*I'll discuss that more in depth in a future AI article), in many cases those shops and shop owners—owners who previously would need to spend long hours sitting in their, "stores," are actually growing eager for the remainder of those changes to actually occur economy-wide! And it's obvious that automation is more efficient, and this is particularly true in terms of bookstores or perishable goods that no longer need to be shuffled around from shelf to shelf due to overstocked marketplaces and, "outlet stores." However, where this topic becomes increasingly interesting is with the introduction of AI and further automative measures which now threaten to make shopping at retail outlets entirely a thing of the past! Whereby, as much as 40% of the, "old retail market," has already been displaced since 1962 in favor of; vending machines, eBay.com and Amazon.com alone. So now the question becomes, "who profits off of that new economy?" And everyone in America is kind of playing stupid now regarding this topic, likely due to the fear of looking politically faux pas or, "callous."

Making This Transition Towards Automation

Nevertheless, countries like China, Japan, and Russia are not so silent in their approach to AI/automation, and despite heavy criticism, luckily some haven't wavered in their attempts to end retail shopping, including the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who has already begun taking steps towards eliminating retail shopping in Russia despite criticisms from the West! And this is a very real concern for some in the media because this is a topic that many US leaders have instead chosen to speak very vaguely and coyly about, fearing the consequences of their own leadership! And so much so, that if the BRICS nations were to make a potential, "WWIII scenario," about, "retail," they could very well sway American public opinion onto their side! And this is particularly true because some US corporations would rather start a nuclear war themselves, against the wishes of the American people, versus closing down their retail outlets. For example, The Ford Motor Company, which has been a pseudo-government agency since the 1910s and which often lobbies for government funds (literally every year), often times later plays the victim when they don't sell their $50K minivans that fall. And in these types of debates, the German companies and most engineering companies today would rather continue to profit off of naive consumers versus even discussing the possibility of making a drastic change to retail shopping moving forward.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the entire BRICS block chooses to end retail sectors in their countries altogether years before US leaders agree to do the same. Iran has already done this; there are no corporate retail shopping centers in Iran, only family-owned vendors, which is probably why Fox News is constantly instigating a war with Iran? And many news outlets in America aren't talking about this! But specifically, this transition away from retail by countries like Japan began with vending apparatuses over three decades ago, not AI, when Japan started attempting to do this with vending machines and other, "low tech solutions," in the 1960s and 1970s and it's a sensible path forward, especially for countries who are behind on AI and automation. Nevertheless, this topic isn't going to die off silently into the night, and while some proponents of retail point to their employees living fruitful lives buying and selling merchandise in person, the pros and cons of retail have become increasingly in favor of doing away with retail shopping altogether at some point in the next 20 years.

Pros of continuing retail:

- Job creation
- Routine
- Most US citizens are already accustomed to dealing in, "retail markets."
- Consumer spending power is a necessity of retail, so retail keeps consumers empowered as well. In fact, Marlboro alone almost ensures that 20 million Americans will have $10 every morning by themselves, let alone Walmart and Target's lobbyist groups.

Cons of continuing retail:

Regardless, the cons are simply growing larger by the day, namely maintaining these retail outlets and THEFT.

And the main con of retail shopping is theft, as well as the long hours and wasted efficiency of labor plus wasted products—products that wouldn't even be ordered online or produced in a factory without the need to display products and fill shelves worldwide.

But let's examine theft alone as the main CON for continuing to maintain retail shopping.

Retail Theft Loss Statistics

So on top of the 35% to 40%+ of America's GDP that is already occurring through vending devices and online markets, another 3.5% of the total GDP is already being lost simply to RETAIL THEFT!

Whereby theft alone is almost cause enough to end the retail sector entirely, except that it employs the same $90 billion worth of "cops and robbers" which help this whole economy feel "fair" to the average consumer. And the resistance to ending retail is actually much more complicated than most Americans know because of what appears to be certain companies' desire(s) to MAINTAIN THEFT and MAINTAIN LONG HOURS amongst their lower-class constituencies, likely in order to curtail economic change entirely and to allow them to pass on their companies seamlessly to their heirs! Which is why I'm so grateful for Mr. Putin, President Xi, and Bashar al-Assad today, because some foreign nations are finally stepping in and stepping up to this madness and doing away with retail entirely, whereas I cannot stand up to The Ford Motor Company by myself from within America today. #FakeNews. And to reiterate, Japan long ago began this transition towards vending machines and away from MASS EMPLOYMENT and steered its majestic country away from "creating senseless retail jobs" starting 50+ years years ago.

-William Larsen, Founder, Civilians News