I seldom need to talk to a shop owner unless I want to talk about the fishing or weather. The price difference between items in local stores and amazon is generally measured in whole dollars. And I always balance the cost to buy on line vs the cost of gas money, (when the nearest real grocery store is a 100 mile round trip and still is limited in choice and availability and the local one sells milk, some bread, a few canned goods and such), also gets considered. Amazon almost always wins on price if I can wait the week it takes to get an item.

This next week I need to pull and test some ice cube relays in my tractor. I hope the blower fans stopped working because of a bad relay. If not, I will need to pull to roof off the cab to get at the blower motors. I already know I will need to order any parts. I could have the local John Deere dealer get them for me, but the price will be outrageous. The relays should be available from amazon, not sure about the blower motors though.

As someone who lives in a major US metro, I order online because I'd rather have a truck that's already on the road make an extra stop at my house than drive a single passenger vehicle 20 minutes each way to get it. Put stuff in the shopping cart, wait for it to hit the free shipping threshold, order. May cost slightly more than stores, but I save on gas and CO2. Groceries, definite go to the store.