malls The Mall, footage from a dying mall in 1994 David Pescovitz

materialism Arbitrage nomads are stripping the carcasses of America's dying big-box stores and moving the choicest morsels into Amazon warehouses Cory Doctorow

party pooper Helium shortage deflating Party City's business David Pescovitz

chess king Mallwave: nostalgic synth music for imaginary and abandoned shopping centers David Pescovitz

red queen's race Blame Big Data for CVS's endless miles of receipts Cory Doctorow

robot Watch thousands of robots pack groceries in a warehouse Andrea James

acquisition value vs transaction value "One price to all" has been the default since 1840, but online retail is sneakily killing it off Cory Doctorow

Pee-Wee Herman TV commercial for JCPenney's Pee-wee Herman kids fashion line (1989) David Pescovitz

bookselling Waterstones, the UK's national bookstore, came back from near-death by transforming into indie, local stores Cory Doctorow

paying it forward A heartwarming story about a comic clerk who helped a "baby gay" teen customer come out through Supergirl comics Cory Doctorow

Aloe Vera No Aloe Vera in "Aloe Vera" sold at Wal-Mart, Target, and CVS David Pescovitz

big box Why Circuit City abandoned its 700 stores Andrea James

review meta High bias found in Amazon reviews of low-cost or free samples Andrea James

genericide UK Intellectual Property Office grants trademark on "should've" Cory Doctorow

Commerce Amazon is suing its own retailers over fake reviews Xeni Jardin

godless bauhaus Crowdfunding an Atheist Shoe bus to crisscross America Cory Doctorow

l-space Mirror-filled Chinese bookstore seems infinite Cory Doctorow

Santa Monica Former Starbucks designer on what makes a "third place" feel like home Bill Barol

not just a café Used bookstores doing fine, allegedly Rob Beschizza

vending machines Book vending machine takes unwanted Christmas gifts instead of money David Pescovitz