That's one way to look at it, and maybe you're right, but the other side of the coin (and the one I'm leaning towards) is that this is an area where retailers cannot beat etailers, they should be focussing their time and money on USPs, aspects that beat online shopping, not aspects where they can become slightly less behind online shopping.

On the other hand, people who are put off by the idea that thousands of other people bought the same shirt aren't so likely to shop at chains like C&A anyway.