They lost their way
Rat Shack used to have interesting stuff like the SAD1024 BBD chip and a fair selection of electronics, but when PC's started coming out, they began ditching components for bigger items. There are times when you need a cable, connector or project box and can't wait. RS would have been better off concentrating on items that people might need right away. They also made the franchise stores agree to contracts that required them to purchase a hefty dollar amount of stock each year. There used to be a time when a general store out in the boonies would have a RS section. As those got dropped, people got out of the habit of going to a brick and mortar store and started ordering stuff online. The thing that really sucks is that getting electronic parts online means paying several times the part cost in shipping or waiting a month to get something from China with free shipping.
These days, I buy parts in larger quantities and I'm old enough to have a pretty good selection of parts on hand all neatly organized. As a kid, I would buy a 5 or 10 pack of resistors from RS and now I'll get a couple of hundred at a time so the shipping doesn't hurt as much.