Originally Posted by wphamilton

There is another consideration for retail businesses that people tend to overlook. Anyone walking in is a potential customer, regardless of their intention. Whether or not someone has any intention of buying something, you want them to walk in the door. You want them wandering around all of your displays, seeing your product there, giving your salesmen a chance work them.

Even the guy that's planning to order online after checking something out locally, you want a shot at convincing that guy to buy it now, from you, and the best place to do that is in your store. You don't want him sitting at home, haunting the forums for advice - that helps you none at all. You want that same guy to come in to check things out. If nothing else, even if you fail with the big ticket sell you want to sell him the higher margin accessories. If not now, there's always a chance later. [snip]