Aabha RatheeGoogle+Twitter 30 March 2012 In the 1990s, it was all about big stores throwing moms and pops out. Who had imagined that big-box retail would dive for market tips too long after their demise in their ancestors ‘ strategy? The newest hint of a fallback phenomenon came when 50 big stores were closed and 100 smaller ones opened on Thursday. Big retailers of bog-boxes Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) have already spoken about shifting some of their focus to open these smaller stores. Kantar Retail Analyst Bryan Gildenberg told Bloomberg right now you have a peak in need of big-box retail. While the market crash has meant that profits have not been as high in recent years as those in the booming years that peaked around the millennium shift consumer behavior factors often lead to falling demands. Matt Arnold an Edward Jones analyst told Bloomberg that the biggest challenge for big boxes is to raise consumer confidence in making online purchases. According to Arnold, Best Buy was the most hurt as electronics costs became a greater factor relative to food and consumer prices. Consumers have slowed down buying houses and starting families, downplaying the need for the all-encompassing stores that sprouted in the suburbs. Wal-Mart recorded eight consecutive quarters of declining sales in stores that were over a year old and Best Buy reported five straight quarters of declining income. Best Buy shares have fallen by 28 percent since June 2009, and while Wal-Mart shares have risen 26 percent, the increase is still smaller than the 39 percent target set by the 500 Retailing Index for Regular Bad. Best Buy will double its smaller Best Buy Mobile stores by 2016 and Aim will launch five new locations in CityTarget. In 2012 alone, Wal-Mart is adding 100 small stores, although the company maintains that it will also continue to add large stores. Big-box stores won t get out of business anytime soon but a new online strategy and (surprise surprise) downsizing will be key according to experts. To contact the editor in charge of this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com