[ApK]

Originally Posted by pl001

It already is happening. Best Buy and Barnes & Noble are two examples of the last of their kind left and both are on the verge of collapse.

I have indeed heard Best Buy called "Amazon's Showroom," though I think their situation may have as much to do with the fact that an inanimate website is sometimes more polite and usually far more knowledgeable and helpful than the staff there.

B&N is not failing because people browse books there and then buy at Amazon. It's failing because people shop and buy at Amazon.

It's not unethical to browse around a store to see what they offer. The unethical part comes in when people go to these places with no other intentions except browsing with plans to buy elsewhere. You are receiving a service and not paying for it.

There is no difference.
I can choose to not buy because I have in mind to buy elsewhere, I can not buy because the price is too high, I can not buy because the store is too far from my home, I can shop there and not buy for any reason I choose.
Once I am in the store, they can try to sell to me and I am free to not buy. That's their reason for being.
They want you in the store. They chose to make a public accommodation to get me in there, and I owe them nothing for availing myself of it.

If people can't understand why that isn't ethical, and why companies don't appreciate that, that is a poor reflection on today's society.

I'm sure companies don't 'appreciate' people buying elsewhere for any reason.
But they are not there be appreciated. They are there to serve people and must appreciate anyone talking the time to walk in the door.

You are simply wrong in your understanding of the retail business, ethics, and society.
One reason Best Buy isn't doing so well is that their people seem to have the attitude that you do: That the public is there to do them a favor. It's your attitude that is partly responsible for overblown sense of entitlement that some people have, resulting in poor service driving people to shop online.