Austin’s retail marketplace is underperforming. It’s an assertion we’ve been told over and over as we put together our four-part series on the state of retail here.

Austin has a lackluster “pull factor,” and cities within a 40-mile radius have proven to be more attractive to shoppers than our community.

Open storefronts downtown, the departure of Target and other retailers over the years, and the 20 percent drop in retail sales from 2014 to 2015 are open wounds that further this downward spiral narrative for Austin retail.

In some ways, that narrative is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it’s something we should be pushing hard to disrupt.

Austin has successful retail — not as much as we’d like — but it’s there. Ignoring those businesses by assuming they don’t have anything to offer is a sure way to shrink that pool. Our retailers will surprise you, and the money you spend there helps our town both in terms of retaining creative and active community members here — youth sports coaches, church volunteers, festival planners, etc. — and supporting our economy by keeping our dollars in town.

Austin residents have a choice: maintain and improve Austin’s retail marketplace and its overall standard of living by shopping here, or do that for our neighbors as your home withers.

City Hall also needs to support our retailers with economic development tools such as tax-increment financing and continued strong support and engagement of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce.

The best way, however, for City Hall to help our retailers is through efforts to attract new businesses with well-paying jobs. We’re heartened by the city’s implementation of Austin Grows, which gives rebates to existing and new businesses that add quality paying jobs as they build or expand here. We’re also strongly supportive of the planned Hy-Vee Distribution Center. This is the type of business growth that brings new retailers with it.  

The big retailers, such as Target and Kohls, put stock in potential customer bases, how large they are and how much disposable income they have. The city’s efforts to attract better-paying jobs will improve our median household income.

The question becomes, however, what is the future of big retailers and their box stores anyway. With the evolving internet marketplace, they are rethinking their strategies. So should we. On the ground, warehouses and delivery services are poised to replace the box stores.

And, as pointed out by an expert who took a look at Austin, the future of our retail marketplace will rely on finding our niche, offering goods and services that are unique to our community, that make shopping in Austin an experience worth repeating.