The trick is to do the things that are an advantage for a local presence and not to do things that are an advantage for an internet presence. Simple, huh
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In my blog, a few weeks ago, I suggested that B&M retailers actually convert to showrooms. Kind of a combination of the suggestions of wizwor and the quote that carpetmojo excerpted. I won't try to repost the entire blog here, but if you are really bored and want the details, it's here:
http://blogs.8chs.com/2012/01/rethin...ng-bricks.html
Specifically, in regard to Best Buy's announcement, the part that is often overlooked is that they also plan to increase their emphasis on service. Think Geek Squad/Genius Bar. This is definitely something that needs a hands-on, local approach.
I know its popular to complain about the geek squad, and I don't think I will ever need them. However, the population is quite a bit larger than those of us on these message boards. When my mom or dad really mess up their computer to the extent that I can't run logmein, I send them to the geek squad since we don't live nearby. I think that a store that specializes in handholding, selling accessories, and other stuff makes a lot of sense in a local format.
I also blogged about this service aspect of the Best Buy announcement in a recent post. However, the blog post doesn't add anything significant to my comments above. But if your a real masochist, you can read the post here:
http://blogs.8chs.com/2012/03/best-b...ght-track.html