[lucasjung]

>The same is not true for many other types of goods, such as clothes. Shops are performing a useful function in letting consumers see, touch and try what they buy.

I used to feel the same way, but now I feel that this experience is highly overrated. If I could get away with buying all of my clothes on Zappos and Amazon (especially Zappos!), I would. They have plenty of pictures so that I know exactly what the clothes look like. Reviews from other users tell me more about the quality than I would be able to discern by simply handling the clothing in a store (e.g. how well it holds up to wear and tear). If an article of clothing doesn't quite fit right or if the color is a little off from how it appeared online, free two-way shipping solves my problem quickly and easily. Even in the cases where I have to exchange an item because of size or color problems, the total experience still requires way less time and effort than a single trip to a brick-and-mortar store.

The only reason why I think that brick-and-mortar clothing stores might survive against sites like Zappos is that most of the women I know (especially my wife) really enjoy the experience of shopping for clothes. Then again, I used to enjoy browsing electronics stores the same way, but I sure don't miss it anymore. Also, the aspect of clothes shopping that my wife seems to enjoy most is "getting deals:" using complicated combinations of sales, specials, and coupons to knock the price down as far as possible (in other words, to pay a price I would consider sane). It's not the only thing she enjoys about clothes shopping, but it's a very big part. If online clothes prices were to get sufficiently low, they would become such a "great deal" that I think she would be unable to resist. This process has already begun: she buys most of our daughters' clothes, and an increasing percentage of her own, online now.

[swalkergibson]

And this is destroying your local retail market. Eventually, once all of the mom and pop shops are pushed out, we will be left with nothing but big box places that do their best to bone the consumer at every turn.

It is simply not possible to eek out anything more than a lower-middle class living owning a retail store any more. Honestly, it is pretty sad to watch. There are a lot of small, local businesses getting hammered away by these retail giants and are almost powerless to stop it.