General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Everyone knew the web would affect retail, but a "retail meltdown" [View all]radius777
(3,921 posts)model, which I think is the future for stores with a physical presence to survive. You can buy almost anything from their online site and have it shipped to the store for free, then just pick it up. This is especially good for large items where the shipping to home may be costly. They also have a large area/counter dedicated for the store pickups and it goes pretty smoothly.
Microcenter is another store with a good operation like this, huge counter with good service for the online pickups. They also have an excellent in-store selection, with the top items that people actually want.
Really, if these stores would simply stock the top products on Amazon (and NewEgg, for tech products) and that would bring people in who actually want to see the item. Most people will pay slightly more if they can just go in and pickup their item whenever they want it, and not have to wait for shipping.