I buy retail and sale decks. If I buy retail, it has to be a deck I really want or otherwise support the shop. I would never buy pizza, braile, etc. regardless of how good the sale is.
I understand the rationale of buying retail from shops so that they get the most profit possible for a given item, but there is also utility in clearing their inventory of the goods they are having trouble moving. It gives them money to work with to buy new gear that has a better chance of selling and keep up with rent. I do not think it is fair to expect the customers to be entirely responsible for a shop's success or failure. Shops need to do more than have a store front. It is 2024. They need to have web presence, have events and support the growth of their scene. Do periodic sales to drum up business and get people in the door.
The recent boards I got for retail were a couple Ronnie Creager mix master boards from Thank You and a couple of Girl Decks from
@MOE SYZLAK at Cassette skate shop.
I bought those decks from Cassette because you can tell he is trying hard to do more than make cash.
If I had a shop, I feel like I would probably try to figure out a way to have an additional stream of income, like make it a coffee shop as well so that there are different markets and demographics that I could hit. That being said, I can imagine it might be a pain in the ass to get the permit to sell food/drink and keep up with all the regulatory stuff and having enough workers to operate both elements of the business.
EDIT: Willy Santos had a good idea with the barbershop. It is a service that everyone needs plus you would get a bunch of business during back to school time and other parts of the year (e.g., holidays). Props to those who are running or work in shops.