Downtown as Destination

 Back in the 1990s, downtown Carbondale was a shopping destination with multiple retail shops targeting both college students and town residents, though the two seldom crossed paths. Over the past couple of decades, that pattern has changed with most businesses destination stores. Someone coming to downtown Carbondale is likely just coming to visit one store. They will make their purchase there and then leave. There is very little inducement to shop at several locations, simply because there are not enough retail shops to create enough of an reason to go from one store to another.

There is still lots of foot traffic for individual stores but it does not cross over from one retail location to another, so while the internet is a factor in the decline, it is not the sole one.