I think "local" stores are massively shooting themselves in the foot here immensely. Half the reason most people order online is due to price. So perhaps the "local" stores should be advertising their products online so people can see the price and make the call to just go there.

But no... They hide the price because they want me to come in so a salesman can dazzle, confuse and up sell me to buy something else.

To be fair, they also don't want to put their prices online because it means they'd have to compete with other physical retailers on price instead of relying on rash purchases by buyers that are driven by time and location constraints.

I agree, but some get this right.

My favorite local supermarket, for instance, makes their current inventory and prices available for download (in spreadsheet form, but still...) -- and they even tell you which aisle has which products.

I'm finding more and more local businesses have similar data on their websites. I expect this trend to continue.

That's pretty neat! Could you send me a link, I'm curious to see it?