If I worked at an LBS, I would employ my knowledge of the online retail strategy and am sure I could at least marginally bring up sales for that store. It has been flogged to death, the debate between online vs. LBS, but it seems to me that the LBS needs to catch up to the methods employed by the online shop.

Case in point: The LBS closest to me happens to have the largest floor in the city. Their website is minimally informative, and lists only links to the brands they sell. Similarly, a car dealer here in town lists inventory with details about each model, new or used. Seems to me a LBS would behoove itself by listing what it has on hand at any given time. Bikes and accessories do not fly out the door that quickly, making it difficult to keep up with inventory. The online retailer does this by nature, and the LBS seems to be operating in the 1970's with regard to making themselves worth looking at. Hanging up a shingle and expecting someone to walk in and just buy stuff in this day and age is just not effective.

On top of that, much is said in this forum about the 'services' a LBS provides. Hire people who actually know what those services are and are knowledgeable about the products they sell. Make it valuable enough to make the customer think twice about even clicking the mouse.

I've said it before, we could all collectively get together, open a shop in any given city and steal client base from many established LBS's just based on our dedication to the sport alone.