The Richwood Report

One of the real factors affecting the retail business now is the encroachment of online businesses on local merchants. People can buy practically anything from internet-based businesses. It is easier and faster than ever. You can buy groceries, electronics, clothes--and they may be delivered faster than you could find them locally. The delivery truck will say USPS, Fedex or UPS on it and the product can be on the porch when you get home. There is a good chance the price will be the same as the local one or better. You would think local retail businesses would see a clue in this situation and make the customer's experience as good as possible with knowledgeable sales people and fast, courteous service. A bad experience with a salesperson or a goofy company policy means the customer may go somewhere else with his business. He can. He has options. Some businesses appear to have a death wish they show in incidents like this one. Start reading where it says "The DVD player...". Online communication like blogs can let this kind of news travel fast. The businesses that survive will be the ones where the fast-traveling news is the good kind.