I think people sometimes ignore the fact that brick and mortar stores also benefit from the “online effect”. I often browse on Amazon and other sites looking for product reviews and specifications and then buy the product at a local store to avoid shipping costs and having to wait for it.
You might be in the minority. The last time I was in Best Buy (to get something right away and not wait for it) I saw two different couples who would find a TV they liked, then use an app on their phone that takes a picture of the bar code then comes up with a dozen or more websites offering the same thing and their prices.
Although what you refer to certainly does occur, I believe that the converse occurs far more frequently. That is, a prospective buyer goes into a brick and mortar store, picks the brains of the salespeople, and then goes online and looks for a better price for the desired item. Amazon has cleverly handled the shipping cost issue by offering its Prime membership. It had been about 79 bucks a year, and was recently raised to $99, but it offers free 2-day shipping on anything Amazon sells directly. There are also some other benefits like their Netflix-like movie/tv site, free music, etc. The clever part is the brand loyalty. Once you've absorbed the sunken cost of the annual membership, the "free" (from further charge) shipping usually makes the total package cheaper from Amazon.
I order from Amazon all the time. My orders get here in 2 days even on Sundays. I can shop at midnight if I want. Really like the convenience.
We do that a lot. I have been looking at remodeling my kitchen and looking at all of the appliances. I am going to buy the appliances locally, so I spend some time every week browsing them. While there, we get model numbers, etc and research online reviews.
Good insight. I do that a lot too unless the savings are huge online.
I do the same thing- just yesterday I shopped online for snowblowers and found one i liked- then went to the store to buy it