As a woman who stands 5’11” in my long, narrow stocking feet, I am at the end of the retail bell curve.  When I was younger, I had an easier time shopping for clothing and shoes than I do now.  In spite of how uncommon her same height and shoe size was in my mother’s day, she had an easier time shopping than now.

The reason?  The internet is training retailers to serve only the center of the bell curve.  Those customers who seek the outer limit in terms of size, taste or experience are being trained to shop online.

Once, retail stores had to carry a breadth of products catering to a diversity of clientele.  Now, they are able to cut costs by serving only the masses.

Despite understanding this, I admit I am still annoyed when I walk into shoe or clothing stores and ask for tall pants or my size shoe and they say “well, we can order them for you.”  Normally, I simply thank them and leave, without voicing, “I can do that for myself and have them delivered to my door rather than your store.”

I return home and order from Amazon, Zappos, Lands End or other e-tailers without having to return, stand in  line, wait until my order is found, try the item on in a closet-size fitting room lit for mole rats, and feel awkward if, for some reason, I decide not to purchase it.

The one thing I do miss, however, is the experience of shopping…that sensuous feeling of adventure that comes from touching textures, basking in colors and moving through spaces designed for indulgence of the senses.  That cannot be replaced in today’s e-tailing experience.