"there's something to be said for walking into a store and holding stuff in your hands before buying it."
Yes, I always, every time, end up feeling "This is a PITA having to drive across town and haul the screaming kids and coordinate schedules and park far away and burn more than an hour of my life for the privilege of paying three times as much as amazon prime for the same cable and argue with a teenage sales droid about why I don't want a $25 extended warantee in case it breaks (well, thats more a best buy thing, another place I never go to anymore). Oh and I pay $99/yr or whatever it is for prime which I'm "wasting" if I'm not using prime... I'm never going to this store again and next time I need a HDMI cable I'm pulling out my phone 24x7 frictionless and paying $3 at Amazon, not $10+ at RS after investing an hour". The next time I need a cable or gadget I think about going back to a retail store, cringe a little inside, and whip out the phone and order it online instead.
If you're into "real" electronics I live within 1 day shipping range of Thief River Falls MN (aka digikey) so I pay for cheap shipping and get it the next morning anyway, and there is a huge tigerdirect midwest shipping depot 1 UPS day away (actually less, I've paid for 3 day shipping and gotten stuff in 12 hours before, that was weird). Deal Extreme can air ship me non-UL listed fake FCC cert gray market stuff faster than I can get real stuff from California for less than the shipping from CA, which always freaks me out.
Retail just doesn't have a purpose anymore other than perishable fresh food. Its just obsolete. Like worrying about the disappearance of buggy whip manufacturers, or horse stable facilities in major city downtowns.
(whoops edited to add there is one use for retail electronics and its traveling. The only time in several years that I walked into a retail electronics store was when my bluetooth earbud got drenched in a sudden downpour and wouldn't come back to life while I was traveling far away from home, and I kinda sorta needed it for a business conference call, so I paid 2x amazon price at best buy for a replacement and was fairly happy to do so. So airports, train stations, bus stations, tourist traps.)
"Retail just doesn't have a purpose anymore other than perishable fresh food. Its just obsolete."
Not everyone has internet and not everyone has a credit card or debit card to buy online. There are ways around those like a public library for internet and a prepaid card.
It's not common to match all that but it will happen. Some people might even like holding something before buying it (pictures can't tell you everything).
"Not everyone has internet and not everyone has a credit card or debit card to buy online."
This seems to boil down to people who are removed from the modern economic system are unable to participate in the modern economic system.
Another way to look at it is we strongly segregate by income, so its quite possible retail will live for a little longer in poor urban areas, although it will be doomed in the 'burbs and is already kinda doomed in rural areas.
"Some people might even like holding something before buying it"
I admit you're partially correct, my short list of "fresh produce" probably needs clothing stores and plant nurseries/garden stores. And some crafts, when I go to the woodworking store I pick thru the aisles finding just the right piece of wood for the job. Fine art, hand made as opposed to mass produced posters or whatever, is probably something best purchased in person.
Yes, I always, every time, end up feeling "This is a PITA having to drive across town and haul the screaming kids and coordinate schedules and park far away and burn more than an hour of my life for the privilege of paying three times as much as amazon prime for the same cable and argue with a teenage sales droid about why I don't want a $25 extended warantee in case it breaks (well, thats more a best buy thing, another place I never go to anymore). Oh and I pay $99/yr or whatever it is for prime which I'm "wasting" if I'm not using prime... I'm never going to this store again and next time I need a HDMI cable I'm pulling out my phone 24x7 frictionless and paying $3 at Amazon, not $10+ at RS after investing an hour". The next time I need a cable or gadget I think about going back to a retail store, cringe a little inside, and whip out the phone and order it online instead.
If you're into "real" electronics I live within 1 day shipping range of Thief River Falls MN (aka digikey) so I pay for cheap shipping and get it the next morning anyway, and there is a huge tigerdirect midwest shipping depot 1 UPS day away (actually less, I've paid for 3 day shipping and gotten stuff in 12 hours before, that was weird). Deal Extreme can air ship me non-UL listed fake FCC cert gray market stuff faster than I can get real stuff from California for less than the shipping from CA, which always freaks me out.
Retail just doesn't have a purpose anymore other than perishable fresh food. Its just obsolete. Like worrying about the disappearance of buggy whip manufacturers, or horse stable facilities in major city downtowns.
(whoops edited to add there is one use for retail electronics and its traveling. The only time in several years that I walked into a retail electronics store was when my bluetooth earbud got drenched in a sudden downpour and wouldn't come back to life while I was traveling far away from home, and I kinda sorta needed it for a business conference call, so I paid 2x amazon price at best buy for a replacement and was fairly happy to do so. So airports, train stations, bus stations, tourist traps.)