How do Staples retail locations still exist?

I understand why Staples itself exists as a commercial supplier. I do not understand how these box locations still exists.

Over the last 3 years I have been to various Staples around 2 dozen times for return dropoff purposes. Usually during optimal business hours, usually to a location next to a busy Publix.

Over those years, I have seen exactly 1
human being who wasn't an employee. This is not an exaggeration for effect, I always keep an eye out every time because of how eerie it is. It's like I'm in a corner of a dead mall.

Can the nationwide printer ink price conspiracy really be THAT powerful? That many lost pet flyers? Enough to keep all these haunted buildings running? If it's really all just the commercial side, why even keep them open as a retail space? I'm glad these people have a job, it's just baffling.

Every couple of years i like to go sit in the cheap chairs before buying.

staples is a waypoint for weary wanderers to seek quiet and respite between journeys. that's why there's so many chairs.

I used to be an inventory manager of one actually, which I left after a year because they paid absolutely atrociously and they were really trying to push numbers for like, signing up for the app and shit even for me that shouldn't have had to deal with that being involved specifically with inventory. Really liked my coworkers, hated the company (big surprise right.)

Back to school rush is real though! Staples gets super busy for school time. Outside of that time, yea it was generally quieter but still got enough people for the day-to-day.

I don't know why it wouldn't?

"It has a good website" shouldn't be a reason to not go into a store. People would go into Amazon if they had storefronts.

I think why you don't see people is because you generally know what you want if you go in one and aren't browsing a lot. I've seen several people in them and I have only gone maybe 6 or 7 times in the past few years.

I didn't mean the website, my understanding was that a vast majority of their income was from mass commercial sales to office building and other businesses, direct from vendor.

The idea that nobody actually "shops" at Staples and just goes in an out probably does hold water.

Given what they sell when they do business from the store it is probably in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

I've had similar thoughts about an Office Max or Office Depot or whatever its called thats near my house. I rarely go there, but each time its like a ghost town. Maybe 1 or 2 other customers.

The one near me still has like 5-10 customers inside almost every time I go in.

I probably go there a couple times a year.

The Staples near me gets decent traffic? I go in there sometimes though usually if I need office supplies I can just get them somewhere else