Before they closed the brick & mortar operations, a Radio Shack employee told me on-line retailers killed their store-front business model. ...
I always thought it was greed.
They never hired cashiers, clerks or even product specialists. Their entry-level job was an "assistant manager trainee". They paid minimum wage, plus commission, but there was a monthly threshold before commission kicked in and except in December, most folks received nothing. Net result: Anybody with a clue moved on. Turnover was high; personal service and product expertise was low.
Quality wasn't great, either. Ever notice that their semiconductor packages were labeled with the likes of "RS-3055,
Similar to 2N3055"? They bought parts that didn't pass final inspection. I would never use RS parts for anything important.
Oh, well, sign of the times.
Ever read old (pre-1970 or so)
Popular Mechanics issues and compare them with today? The format has switched from "Look at all the cool projects you can
do" to "Look at all the cool products you can
buy".