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Comment by LeftHandPath | Hacker News Reader

I think I would go to another store due to this. I think that non-HN type people like my dad or my mom would probably go to another store due to this.

Not being able to see what's behind the glass makes it take longer to shop. People abandon webpages that don't load quickly enough - why wouldn't they abandon stores where you have to open each door on an aisle of refrigerators just to see what's available?

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Because changing stores is not as easy as clicking away from websites. This could be due to choice of items that are available, price, distance from home/office and so on. And, not to forget inertia/habits. Also, what’s behind those doors is only a part of the shopping list.

I think most people will be annoyed, curse it, and then get used to it.

I would love to be proven wrong since this is not the direction we should be going.

I probably wouldn’t change stores. But these drinks are impulse buys. I’d be a lot less likely to impulse buy one if I can’t actually see the product.

The door clearly shows what's on offer.

If everything works perfectly, if there are no bugs (like, y'know, the failed one in the pictures in TFA), if it correctly tracks inventory, and if the pictures that they use match what people are looking for... then it might work. In reality, it will not.

Recently, I ordered some hardware at Lowes for pick-up at customer service. The website said they had like 80 of these things in stock. I got a call an hour later from a worker saying they couldn't fill the order, though they could try it at another store. Apparently, the website's idea of their inventory, and the actual inventory haven't matched for any products since last summer. I expect this to be the case more often than not for these coolers.

Unless it's on an ad break.

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