I can offer my perspective from the other side...I own an Internet business, selling jewelry (average purchase $1500), so my business competes against B&M stores - I try to poach customers based on price, and convenience, but I'm at the disadvantage of not being able to shake a customer's hand, or show them product face to face.
I can tell you that for B&W stores that don't take care of their customers, who provide poor, inattentive service, they are screwed - I will eat their lunch, and they should fear my business. But I'm also partnered with some B&M stores, and get to talk strategy with them, and the stores who DO take care of their customers, and provide personal, attentive, considerate, friendly service have nothing to fear from me. I'm a fly on an elephant's back to them, I'm meaningless. They will beat me 9 times out of 10 for a sale. Because people WANT good service, they want pleasant interpersonal buying experiences. They only come to me when they realize that there's no point paying more when they're not getting more, and I then win the sale.
For all you B&M stores out there, you should never concede that you're going to lose the sale to the cheaper, online vendor. It should be your mission to convince every customer who walks in your door - even those who you believe want nothing to do with buying from you - that YOUR shop is the place to be, and the place to buy from. If you take the attitude that buyers will buy online no matter what, it will become self-fulfilling and you will lose. I believe this because the only reason my business pays the bills is because there are enough of you out there who've already conceded defeat to online vendors like me.
And FYI - many of my customers are men, buying for their gals, so this isn't a "men are different than women" thing either.
