Kansas City Playlist: Retail Dead & It's Never Coming Back

Special thanks to the best & brightest of TKC readers who shared a headline which tragically revealed that the local newspaper is still living in their glory days when Kansas City relied on middle-class newsies sharing talking points from their betters.

Here's the laughable premise . .

The Plaza? The mall? Vote for your favorite holiday shopping spot in Kansas City area

As usual, the answers from readers don't really matter because the question is pointless.

Tonight's TKC truism . . .

The Internets defeated retail about a decade ago and COVID killed it for good.

Don't worry, we have a confirmation and a few examples . . .

Inflation killed Santa . . .

It's beginning to look a lot more expensive for Christmas
This year's holiday season will likely feel more normal than last. It's also going to be more expensive, essentially across the board. You've probably noticed prices creeping up in many areas of your everyday life - at the grocery store, at the gas station, at the retailer where you're buying holiday gifts.

This year everybody is Gimbels . . .

Retailers need to stoke the Christmas spirit to hit lofty holiday sales targets
Is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas? Perhaps not, this year. With 24 days until the big holiday, retailers hope consumers will keep spending. Shoppers started purchasing holiday gifts early this year, but the Thanksgiving weekend shopping events, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, weren't as strong as some had hoped.

No resurrection for retail after the new year . . . But maybe a few close out sales for people with no friends or family . . .

Retailers Restocking Inventory Face a Potential Postholiday Hangover
Businesses that have been ordering goods earlier and in larger volumes to guard against shortages are on a knife's edge, balancing between the possibility of lost sales and the risk of getting stuck with excess or outdated inventory. Sparkledots Wholesale Children's Clothing tripled its holiday-season orders because of uncertainty over whether the goods would arrive on time, Chief Executive Ginny Pasqualone said.

And so, tonight's playlist is dedicated to the illusions of the American economy and big crowds distracting Americans from the same politically manufactured recession we've endured since November 23rd, 1963.

Accordingly, we share our playlist for tonight . . .

An upbeat 80s classic from when TKC was a youngster that helped clue me into the Christmas retail scam . . .