Originally posted by ElJamoquio Shelf space? What % of DSLR sales are at a physical retailer? What % of beginner DSLR sales are at a physical retailer? What % of beginner DSLR sales to whoever this-target-market-is are at a physical retailer?
Call it virtual shelf space if you wish. Even if the retailer is online only they still have to invest in inventory and everything I said, except possibly employee training still applies. Personally I think quite a few first time, and many other users still buy their cameras at a retail store. This forum continues to have blinders on, not everyone is so confident of their personal knowledge that they feel comfortable buying online unseen. My dad recently wanted a new camera. Did he ask me what to buy? No. Did he jump onto Amazon and read the reviews? No. He went to Best Buy and had the sales droid pick him out a cheap canon rebel something or other.
The whole camera universe is NOT a bunch of old dudes on a camera forum pining away for film and totally manual cameras. We are DINOSAURS, and certainly not the whole market or even a reasonable portion of it. Many, many other people want and buy cameras and many still buy them at retail stores because they want someone to tell them what to buy. And even if someone does buy a camera on line, they are far more likely to choose a brand they recognize and have seen in a retail store. Maybe even picked up and handled in that store.