The store isn't dead — the middleman is

The HBR piece tracks a pivot afoot in how merchants make money. The old play: rent shelf space, buy ad slots, then mark up whatever lands on it. That model is fraying. Ads are getting pricier, marketplaces are squeezing margins, and the real cash is moving toward the brands that own the relationship with the buyer — the ones building their own channels, not just buying theirs.

What's changing is the asset. Instead of one-off product launches, the winners are stacking recurring revenue — subscriptions, memberships, loyalty programs. It's the difference between a bodega that sells you one box of cereal and one that gets you on a weekly delivery. The latter wins on LTV. The former is a commodity.

The practical read for our readers: if you're running a side business or a small storefront, the move is to own the customer directly. Email lists, WhatsApp groups, a simple storefront — whatever keeps them in your orbit. Renting eyeballs from platforms is a tax on your margin that keeps going up.

Why this matters for us: the bodega auntie, the cousin selling rep shoes, the car wash on 3rd — they survive when they keep their customers in their pocket, not the platform's.