I was thinking more of physical stores in general, obviously chains are just as good for trying on stuff. I think the biggest benefit of small stores is specia

I was thinking more of physical stores in general, obviously chains are just as good for trying on stuff. I think the biggest benefit of small stores is specialisation. For example, we have a jeans store in our town -- they sell nothing but jeans, and they have a huge selection. Much better than any of the chains we have here. They are also the only store that stocks my size. I really like that I can buy a pair of jeans there and don't have to shorten them. Another thing that's really nice with small stores is that they can offer services that the chains cannot. Very often when I go to a store they just don't have my size any more. If it's a chain, they can sometimes check in their inventory system and see if a different store still has it in stock. But more often then not, it's the end of the season or something, and they're out, and there's no way to order it anymore. When the same thing happened to me in a local store, I was totally surprised when the sales guy just told me he'd call the seamstress and ask her to make another one in my size. A few days later I picked up my newly made shirt. Obviously, not all small mom-and-pop shops are like that -- but some are really great.