If a store is close to your commute route, for example, the delivery costs will probably never be low enough to match with that.
I would also dispute on knowledge. In this case, knowledge is a matter of time: you can always google exactly the product you need, but that's going to cost you time. If you're not sure about the exact specifications of what you need, reading reviews isn't necessarily going to help either. Salespeople, if available, can tell you what you need and what's the best cost-benefit (probably leaning towards the more costly).
There's an additional aspect you didn't account for: entertainment. I don't get entertainment off of shopping, but i know a lot of people do. You get some of that while looking things online, i.e. 'browsing' items, but it's not the same experience. Also, shopping is often tied to other entertainment like eating out, movies, etc -- this is done strategically for mutual benefit of mall venues -- and of course can't be replicated online.
It's easy to imagine even if the whole catalog of Amazon were available today for 1-hour delivery for $7.99 (or less), a big part of the average urban dwellers' shopping would still be done offline.
>If a store is close to your commute route, for example, the delivery costs will probably never be low enough to match with that.
I think it's not if it is "close," but if it's "convenient" to your commute route -- in terms of location and/or commuting method. If I am in NYC and I need to get off the subway, walk a half block, get the item, and then walk back and get not he subway; I might not want to do it, depending on the item. If I'm somewhere where I'm driving my commute, I might not think twice of driving five minutes out of my way and I can pick up almost anything. If I'm riding my bike to commute, I might easily be able to stop, but I might not be able to carry it.
I see a lot of then in Copenhagen these days. Mostly families though, since they use them to carry both kids and shopping. Also probably requires a certain infrastructure to work; you wouldn't want to ride one of those in traffic (esp. with kids), only in dedicated bike lanes.
I've seen a couple and given something like that a thought, for a bike to run errands; but, I'd never commute with one. (I'm not sure where I'd park it at work, among other things.)
Good catch on entertainment (and people watching). I'm not much for that, but my SO is.
As for knowledge, I think that it is a mixed bag--I've been in stores where the staff outclassed most anything I could find on the internet, and others where, let's just be charitable and say that the staff was lacking.
If a store is close to your commute route, for example, the delivery costs will probably never be low enough to match with that.
I would also dispute on knowledge. In this case, knowledge is a matter of time: you can always google exactly the product you need, but that's going to cost you time. If you're not sure about the exact specifications of what you need, reading reviews isn't necessarily going to help either. Salespeople, if available, can tell you what you need and what's the best cost-benefit (probably leaning towards the more costly).
There's an additional aspect you didn't account for: entertainment. I don't get entertainment off of shopping, but i know a lot of people do. You get some of that while looking things online, i.e. 'browsing' items, but it's not the same experience. Also, shopping is often tied to other entertainment like eating out, movies, etc -- this is done strategically for mutual benefit of mall venues -- and of course can't be replicated online.
It's easy to imagine even if the whole catalog of Amazon were available today for 1-hour delivery for $7.99 (or less), a big part of the average urban dwellers' shopping would still be done offline.