Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I does seem somewhat unethical to go and look at products at a physical retailer, whose prices have to be higher because their costs are higher, and then buy the equivalent item at an online seller. If you persist in that, don't be surprised if, in a year or two, there are no more retail outlets.
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It's true that it could be the demise of the outlet (I used to work at an AT&T Phone Center...next to a Sears...there are no more Phone Centers.....) but I don't see it as unethical in any way.
They want you in the store, they run loss leaders to get you in the store, they merchandise to get you in the store. If you are not in the store you cannot buy anything, and if you are in the store you might see a sale, or a special deal, or an impulse item or something else you want to buy that you were not shopping for, and even if you are in there with the intention of buying somewhere else, they now have the opportunity to turn you into a customer.
This is how stores survive, and why they are all not just nondescript storefronts with a only a small order counter inside...that would be much more cost-effective on real estate and fixtures, but they would only sell to people who have already decided to buy from them.
It is not unethical to shop in a store with no intention of buying.
If stores close because of it, the market has spoken, it's not an ethical failure.