Things Remembered

Things Remembered's 2019 liquidation closed 400+ stores selling personalized gifts and engraved items. The company had operated in malls for 50 years, offering engraving services that e-commerce couldn't match. But foot traffic decline and online personalization services eroded the model. When mall visits declined, so did impulse purchases of personalized gifts. Things Remembered demonstrated that even service-differentiated retail faces extinction when foot traffic disappears.