We have heard ad nauseam about all the specific industries or products that the internet killed. Blockbuster. CDs. Encyclopedias. Just step inside any Goodwill and you're sure to spot at least seven more examples before you step off the welcome mat.
But I think because of the internet we're also beginning to see another phenomenon play out across retail stores, live entertainment, and other in-person activities: only the top two in any competitive set survive. That's it. There was once an era where a county could relatively easily support 5 or 6 shopping malls. That era was called 2003. But we're not in that era anymore. Now, the best mall in any area is probably still thriving and potentially growing, and the second-best mall in any area is probably comfortably paying the bills. But good luck seeing anything but "Now Leasing" signs and shuttered storefronts at the third-best mall.
I think there are two main reasons for this. First, so much of our lives is conducted digitally now that when we go out of our way to do something in-person, we want to make sure we're getting the best experience offered, which makes us gravitate towards the higher quality options. But secondly, I think a big factor of this is we're all making our decisions on what places to go to using the same data pool. We are all looking at the same Yelp reviews and seeing the same Tripadvisor rankings and watching the same YouTube breakdowns. Naturally, when we're all pulling from the same information, many of us are going to come to the same conclusion, which means we all end up at the first- or second-best mall.
There are always one or two really trendy, well-stocked, and well-trafficked vinyl record stores in every major US city. There are rarely three.
There are 63 national parks in the United States. Everybody goes to Zion.
There are thousands of TV series on Netflix. Everyone watches Stranger Things.
There used to be over 10,000 newspapers in circulation in the US. Soon, only The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal may survive.
This definitely isn't a hard and fast rule in every scenario. I'm sure there are plenty of major US cities with four or five cool record shops, and plenty of people also go to Yosemite or Grand Teton. But I think the general idea stands: the internet and the behavior changes it caused are weeding out all of the mediocre businesses and experiences and only letting the top one or two in every category survive.
In other words, the sixth-best sushi place will never survive in any town today. Why would you go to the sixth-best sushi place when Yelp is saying the best one in town is three blocks down the road?
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