good point (s).
@Eric
Ditto.
it is a brave new world and those under 40 as was said, seem to care less about audio fidelity despite streaming services that are offering more and more HD content.
unless of course this demographics upper tier ecconomically speaking.
its a buyer's market out there and the overwhelming bulk of dollars being traded into music see nothing much more beyond the devices they can hold in their hands or back packs for playback and personal 'micro' audio seems the ticket today more than ever before.
I hear folks talking more about headphones and or desktop streaming devices than anything else.... well, big flat screens aside., of course.
I feel going forward that dealerships catering to the high end market are going to have to be more competitive, and personable. in fact, I feel these few and far between upper end sellers are going to be forced to add something to the buying equation one can not find online or with immediately adjacent competition.
in a word, 'service'.
the days of those showrooms which are attended by snobish, arrogant, elitists should be seeing the writing on the wall... like dinosaurs they are doomed... if they refuse to change towards a more customer friendly service first and foremost business plan.
as well, B&M shops are going to find their inventories getting more scarce and their profit margins slimmer from sheer online competition which they can no longer afford to ignore as viable opposition.
as tedious as it is, the Audiogon shuffle remains a viable means for an immense number of devoted audio enthusiasts...
buy... try.... sell... repeat until the outcome is the one desired. or you tap out.
the dark web has had a severe damaging influence on local audio shops for sure.
moreover, the last two generations have been mesmerized with instant gratification via the web, and the consequent mobile devices allowing access, and this trend is no longer a tred but it has become the standard, and its growing.
as American society has become a see and be seen, maintain high visibility Facebook oriented culture, audio outlets will have to work all the harder to attract this 'new blood's' interests and their finances.
it may be too dedicated audio showrooms may have to branch out from dedicated two ch and or HT only shops to something like acoustic room optimization, or screen optimization services, via ISP or other accredited educational suppliers.
maybe even whole house automation or perhaps even installation and servicing of car audio systems on higher or more professional levels that end users can not achieve on their own.