wbjournal.com | November 9, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 9
I like to shop on Main Street
F L AS H P O L L
When you shop
in-person, what
kind of experience
do you prefer?
Even before the pandemic, online sales had long been ascending in popularity.
From household items to clothing and groceries, online marketplaces had
established themselves as go-to places for a variety of goods at increasingly
accessible price points. But brick-and-mortar shops continue to thrive in some
places such as remade downtowns, even as many area malls struggle to
retain anchor stores, and they offer an immediacy, as well as human-to-human
interaction, not widely available at most online retailers. When polled online, the
plurality of WBJ readers said they prefer downtown or Main Street shopping.
Indoor
malls
12%
"All of them"
"Shopping experience, items in stock,
and quick in-and-out are what I value.
Lately, too many stores are trying to pick from their shelves to fill online orders. Pickers
in the aisles interfere with the shopping experience. And if Amazon starts delivering
groceries in my area, I won't go to a store again and deal with the hassle."
M A I N S T R E E T S F A C T B O O K
Outdoor
malls
25%
Downtowns/Main
Streets
36%
Standalone
box stores
12%
I rarely shop
in person
16%
COMMENTS
Commercial
Residential & industrial
Blackstone Valley
Northbridge 13.84 13.84
Millbury 15.33 15.33
Sutton 15.86 15.86
Millville 16.07 16.07
Grafton 16.50 16.50
Uxbridge 16.74 16.74
Mendon 16.75 16.75
Douglas 16.98 16.98
Upton 17.22 17.22
Blackstone 18.86 18.86
Hopedale 17.41 28.13
2020 Central Mass. property tax rates,
by community
Rate per $1,000 in assessed value
Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue
