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You go to a brick and mortar store to try on the clothes, then order it online.
Similar thing happened to small/local camera shops when WalMarts came to town.
People would come in and handle the cameras, pick our brains about what would work best for their needs and then run over to WalMart to pick it up cheaper and sometimes even bring the cameras purchased at WalMart to us to ask for further instruction.
Did not make many sales once WalMart came to town, but kept busy with that (which seemed to translate to more film processing for us - our processor was much better than WalMart at the time).
You go to a brick and mortar store to try on the clothes, then order it online.
The batch run could still be different. I have three sets of trousers which are from the same manufacturer and indicated size but vary considerable in the waist.
I buy nearly everything I can online. Clothing included. I use Trunk Club and have a stylist select items and ship them to me about once a month. I keep what I like and only pay for that, the rest are returned. The personal service is there and it is excellent. Zappos is also good with excellent service and free shipping both ways. I'm not surprised Men's Wearhouse is closing many stores. The majority of their items were unfashionable, ugly, and dated.
I make a grocery list, order online, and it is delivered later the same day. Easy and I only get what is on my list, not all the impulse crap I would probably buy if I went to the store myself.
I do occasionally stop in a local CVS to pickup items I need quickly. Usually because I ran out and wasn't paying enough attention to get them within the Amazon 2 day shipping timeframe. I also have monthly dermatology prescriptions I pickup there, but once again it is easy to go online and setup the refill and they have it ready and waiting when I walk in the door.
I tried to purchase a replacement battery for my laptop from a local store and it was a mess. First I called them and gave them the model number and they said they had a battery in stock that would work. Perfect, I wanted it in time for a work trip the next day because my battery had stopped holding a charge beyond 15 minutes or so. Went to the store, nope didn't actually have the right one, but they could order it and have it there in a week or so. They wanted nearly $80 more than what the same battery costs on Amazon. I said no thanks and left.
There is little value-added incentive for me to visit a brick and mortar store most of the time. Probably a generational thing (I'm 30), but I'm very comfortable ordering almost anything online and doing the research myself. I don't really need to talk to a biased store associate about which item is better because I can find reviews and advice all over the internet.
Amazon does not respect manufacturer's MAP. So if one company elects to undercut the obtain the business then other E-Commerce sellers follow suit. Becomes a dive to the lowest price. Terrible for manufacturers. And physical stores.
I think parent's of young kids will probably still go to physical stores because the ever changing size of their children. And the usual immediate need for clothing. Same with cosmetics/perfume/cologne. etc.
There are some products a person needs to handle/touch to assess value. Housewares being one. I guess stores focus on the impulse rather than wait for an online search for pricing. That "Anticipation" theme from Heinz comes to mind.
I am interested in this thread for business reasons BTW. The more input from you folks the better. I train folks to sell and business owner improre their efficiency.
I think except for shallow customers. Outstanding customer service is always the key to having a sale executed in store rather than online. That and the coupons.
I don't know about the wind, but some of those chain stores (I) think are closing because people don't want to work for minimum wages because they can fake a disability, get on the government dole, and do better financially than working!
That being said, they may rent for the rest of their lives, but that is also what NPR reported yesterday, the renting.
Another observation about the economy of people, is that more obesity is prevalent and disabilities are recognized for obesity!
Put those people to work, cut back the food stamps and they would probably not be on disability!
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