They're always changing though: they had a console video game section for a while, now thats hobby computers (rasbery pi and co). They had a camera section, but thats gone. Computer books, gone. So they seem to be paying attention and a few years back they finaly went to a one line checkout (still takes too long, but its better).
This wildly depends (for that store, at least)--if you need something very mainstream you'll find it but they don't have a lot of things that I'd consider pretty obvious for a tech store. Their computer cases, for example, are mostly X-TREME in nature and they have few-if-any HTPC cases at any given time, and definitely nothing that can rack.
On the other hand, what I do really like about them is that they sometimes, for high-demand items, don't actually update the online stock numbers. I was able to walk into the store to pick up some RAM and walk out with a 3900X because they were saving them for in-store customers.
Cases that aren't designed to appeal to 12 year old boys are hard to come by, period. Manufacturers have decided that everything needs to have sexy angry facades and RGB lights - this has a lot more to do with product people at the manufacturers and less to do with the actual market. Ditto motherboards, especially.
It would be nice to not have to wait for Amazon to get something for a project, is all.
The Micro Center also used to have this awesome display of old logos (such as the rainbow Apple logo, Compaq, Packard-Bell, old Microsoft logo, etc) from various hardware and software companies that wrapped around the front and sides of the building in all its 90s glory. Sadly, I found it missing as of earlier this year. I wish I took a picture of it while it was still up. Did the Cambridge store have a similar "logo ribbon"?
Just going there takes me back to the proper “computer stores” that ceased to exist after the 90s. Actual PC parts and not full of appliances and movies/music
frankly a boring looking store
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3574429,-71.1149978,3a,75y,1...
Given how long they have been in the bay area they should already be owning most of their real estate.
In the end the cost for the person to pick up and deliver an item on demand like that goes somewhere and that in particular is something that doesn't scale away. The margin improvement from having a warehouse instead of a box store won't make up for that last mile delivery charge, especially when the box store can do the same kind of delivery and benefit from impulse or high margin items from in person shoppers.
Amazon is like wading through sewage to find what you want, and rarely if ever do you find something you weren't already explicitly looking for.
https://images.frys.com/art/deals/tralfaz/Free_Local_Deliver...
Once B&M stores offer same day delivery its going to be hard to be an online store.
Compare that with an experience searching for CA glue accelerant (a pretty standard item I had seen at Fry's before) had me driving to three separate stores, finding nothing, and locating a model shop nearby just before close, a several hour ordeal.
It is not hard to compete with Amazon. Having reliable stock I can go out and grab today has huge value. I don't want to delay my project by a few days (or because weekends, a whole week) waiting for Amazon shipping and having to spend the additional effort trying to make sure I don't buy cheap knockoffs (or wondering if what I got was a cheap knockoff)
I think Fry's in the bay area are suffering from high labor and real estate costs.