Image by Mike Mozart licensed under CC BY 2.0
After 130 years in business, the department store Sears has filed for bankruptcy. Sears began as a catalog company and was an historically important innovation in shopping that offered many people opportunities to buy products that were not available to them locally. Sears department stores made one-stop shopping a common practice in many communities around the country. However, recent shopping trends have had a negative impact on Sears. Listen to this story to learn what made Sears a dominant influence in shaping American shopping habits and what changes have contributed to its downfall.
Story Length: 3:53
Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234
August 30, 2018
5:18
President Trump has recently established new trade policies, causing conflict with some of America’s most important global trade partners, such as Canada, Mexico, and China. As children go back to school, one reporter wanted to find out how these changing trade relationships could affect the costs of common school supplies. Listen to learn how global trade wars influence the price of colored pencils, erasers, and backpacks.
Read MoreMarch 30, 2018
3:02
For the last few decades, the most prominent toy store in the United States was Toys R Us. Recently this toy store announced that it would lay off its remaining 33,000 employees, declare bankruptcy, and close its doors. People are reacting with nostalgia for these stores and discussing how shopping experiences have changed. Listen to the reactions of these people to the closing of Toys R Us stores and debate: Are toy stores necessary?
Read MoreFebruary 15, 2015
6:07
Two office supply giants are hoping to join together to increase their value. Staples is planning to buy Office Depot so that they can compete with the sale of inexpensive office supplies at stores like Walmart as well as online. This shift says something larger about the economy and the way we work, buy and use technology. Listen to learn how the market is changing as we digitize work
Read MoreAugust 27, 2014
4:42
Sometimes you want what you want when you want it, and you will pay to get it quickly. This desire combined with smart phone and GPS technology has created a booming market of services that enable their users to get what they want, when they want it. The instant gratification these services enable has created an “Instant gratification economy” that changes the way people interact with the world and the way people work. Listen to learn more about these services and their impact.
Read More