I talked to a manager at my local Dicks about kinda the same thing. He said most of the time people don't buy rods, reels, or combos. Everyone seems to get better deals online nowadays. If they buy one from Dicks it's because they need it right then and can't wait for shipping. So instead of stocking a lot of those they stock lots of plastics, lures, and terminal tackle. This is just as my Dicks though so yours might be different.