I am frustrated.

I need a dress to wear to the dinner the night before my son’s wedding.  I quickly looked online at some of the department store websites near me. Then I went to the mall to look at and try on the dresses I had seen online.

I was shocked that, when I got to the first department store, I could not find any of the dresses I had seen online.  I spoke to a salesclerk who told me that most of the dresses, if not all, that I had wanted to try on were not available in the store. In fact, there was only a small amount of appropriate dresses in the store and none I wanted to try on.

I then went to the second department store with the same result. I was told there to order the dresses online where I would get free shipping. The returns would be free as well.

I should note that I was not looking for a unique dress, just an appropriate black dress or even a jumpsuit. I did not think it would be that difficult to find.

These stores have been at their current location for many many years. So the size of the store has not changed, just the amount of inventory that they are keeping in stock. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? And can anyone explain the economics to me?