Is the Era of the Big-Box Ending?

Strauss describes a shift by big-box retailers resulting from sluggish sales, increasing competition from online retailers, and a customer that wants to drive less and have a more personalized experience.

According to Strauss, "Shifting shopping patterns, cautious consumers, higher gas prices and fewer shopping trips are prompting retailers to reconsider adding more big boxes.

"The big-box store 'is not the right concept for the future,' Robert Dutton, chief executive officer of Rona, said on an analyst conference call, signalling what he said was a consensus among CEOs of major home improvement retailers whom he met with recently. 'So that is the reason why we don't expect to build [more] big box stores. Now the customers demand something different.'"