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Breaking Up With 📦 Amazon

It’s the last day, of the longest month in recorded history and I’m putting myself on blast —

Once upon a time I had my head on straight re: the dangers of Amazon. I was the lonely voice amongst pals trying to sound the alarm. Posing the question “Are we good with releasing brick and mortar?” Positioning the danger “If we think that going into a store, getting our hands on a product, connecting with an employee - still holds value - then we need to prioritize physical stores over the convenience of Amazon.”

For several years I was holding down the fort, using Amazon’s services very sparingly. Then in 2011, Amazon Prime gained popularity after adding a monthly subscription option. That’s when the wheels really fell off. It got harder and harder to hold the line, especially since my husband was a proud Prime member. I would send him links which gave me the illusion of distance. Eventually I broke down and joined the party. Of course, as we know, my brick and mortar prediction came true. Physical stores haven’t been totally eliminated but we are certainly on our way.

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According to FORBES —

Retailers will close up to 15,000 stores this year, more than double the 7,325 closures in 2024 and breaking the closure record set in 2020 during the pandemic.

Over the last year I’ve fallen very far from that mid-aughts gal who was trying to keep IRL shopping alive. I discovered the influencer Shop with Caroline on instagram and got swept up into the look-a-like/ dupe frenzy. I was called to the promise of trendy pieces at a reasonable price point. Below are the dupe’ish things I purchased off Amazon in 2024 —

A vest

A pair of barrel jeans

A lounge set

Two pair of sparkle flats

An animal print cardigan

I’m happy to report - the bloom is officially off the rose.