Yesterday was my first time back to a 'mall' since the COVID lockdowns. My wife and I had an 11:40 AM appointment at LensCrafters, which is located in the Rockaway Townsquare Mall in North New Jersey. There were 3 people working, including the Eye Doctor. Fantastic experience - big fan. Highly recommend.

Those 3 people at LensCrafters were probably 6% of the total number of humans in the entire mall.

The majority of the other humans in the mall were elderly folks walking for their health. Not shopping. Unless they were shopping in their pajamas.

I had a nice conversation with the Manager of LensCrafters while I waited for my turn with the Doctor. She was a veteran of Retail, with a career working in New York City. Fifth Avenue. She is 67 and I'm 65. We chatted about how we just had a booth at NRF'2026 (https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/) with around 40,000 attendees (LIVE). When I mentioned that 26% of the jobs in the USA are in RETAIL at some level, she knew that. In fact she thought the number might be higher. 

I remembered that I had a $25 gift card in my phone for the Cheesecake Factory. And I spied one on the first floor. So I said great, we'll go there for lunch and use up the card. We walked in, and waited and waited and waited. And then we left. I don't blame them, how can they properly staff a restaurant when there are no people in the mall? Those folks work for tips! No people, no tips. And those health walkers in their pajamas are not going to be the reason to open the doors. I'll give that $25 gift card to my kids. Also, if you use gift cards for 'take out' there are no tips (in most cases). 

I talked with the Manager of LensCrafters for around 15, 20 minutes about retail, about business, her experiences. Everything she learned in 40+ years of retail at the highest level (Estée Lauder) working in both THE BIG APPLE and working at Rockaway Townsquare Mall. Thankfully I remembered to listen more than I spoke. She could teach a Master Class on retail.

And then I thought about the Distance Learning Association and our 174K+ K-20 schools across North America.  And how for the first time in history, more people are paying TUITION for an online education, than for a classic campus education. More people are attending Penn State World Campus than Penn State. More people are attending PURDUE University Online than living in West Lafayette, Indiana (like I did). REMOTE: attending TheCloudUniversity.com And that is the trend. Also this - Layoffs over the last year:

• UPS: 48,000
• Amazon: 32000
• Intel: 27,159
• Microsoft: 15,387
• Nestle: 16000
• Verizon: 15000
• Google: 12000
• Chevron: 8000
• Paramount: 7000
• Walmart: 7000
• Procter & Gamble: 7000
• Estée Lauder: 7000
• Citigroup: 6500
• Disney: 5500
• Salesforce: 5000
• HP: 5000

Your reminder that massive corporate tax cuts don’t create jobs, they create profits. In retail. In education. In entertainment. In everything.
 

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