Who's running Circuit City? He/she/they really need to go back to Corporate Management 101, as (believe it or not, populists) this is what they tell you NOT to do in B-School.
My theory is that since most college graduates use the Internet to do research, they just assume that most customers will do their own research about products on the Internet, and therefore there no longer is a need for knowlegeable salespeople.
On paper it seems to be a good idea, but in the real world, not so much.