BANGOR TOWNSHIP, MI — Before the advent of suburbs and shopping malls, downtown business districts were the place to go for many shopping needs.
Later, with urban sprawl came the development of big box stores, plazas and malls that took shoppers away from downtown districts.
But things are changing once again as major retailers, including Sears Holdings Corp., JC Penney Company Inc., Macy's Inc. and Target Corp., are closing locations across the state and across the country.
In addition, Target officials recently announced plans to pull out of Canada entirely, less than two years after opening stores there, according to media reports.
So with Target, Sears and other big box stores closing, will small businesses get more of your dollars? Take our poll and tell us about your shopping habits in the comments section below.
In the Great Lakes Bay Region, there are Target, Sears, Best Buy and Deb Shops locations closing.
The Bay City Mall in Bangor Township is losing three stores, including two of its anchors. Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw Township just lost two tenants and a third is on its way out.
In addition, Saginaw County's last remaining Kmart store has been closed for more than a year, ever since heavy snowfall caused a partial roof collapse in January 2014. Company officials haven't said if or when the store will reopen.
Related: Store closing: Here's a list of retailers leaving Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties
Here's what some MLive readers had to say about store closures:
Reader sniper2785 doesn't see this trend reversing:
Malls all over the country are probably as unpopular as they have ever been and this won't change anytime soon.
Reader twirtzy says it's simple economics:
This is brought on by a change in consumer buying habits more so than politics. It's pretty simple math. Less and less people visiting the retail storefront outlets means less of them are needed, which means some will close.
Reader Emalee Greggs won't miss the big box stores:
Sears became a crap store when Kmart took over. Target is overpriced and only has one person in electronics and at checkout except at Christmas time. The merchandise at Penney's is overpriced and cheap quality and the employees would rather be home than at the store. I am an online and in-person shopper who demands quality and value. Apparently I'm not alone.
Reader
says fewer people can afford to shop at these stores:
The decline of these stores was when they no longer provided goods that the working class could afford but instead catered to the wealthy who for the most part still looked upon these stores as being working class stores.
Reader
predicts more store closures will come:
JCP and Younkers won't be far behind. You need a company like Harbor Freight to move into Sears and a company such as Kohls to move into Target. Online shopping really is the answer though. Prices just can't be beat. Period.
— Heather Jordan covers business, Saginaw Valley State University, health and hospitals for MLive/The Saginaw News/The Bay City Times. She can be reached at 989-450-2652 or hjordan@mlive.com. For more news, follow her on Twitter and Facebook.