MINNEAPOLIS — First-time parents-to-be Katie and Andrew Beiswenger bounced back and forth on more than 20 glider chairs at the Baby Grand store in St. Louis Park before they tried their luck testing car seats.
"I didn't know there were so many options," said Katie Beiswenger, who is about five months pregnant.
Especially for new parents, buying baby equipment can be daunting. But making the process harder is a dwindling number of places to shop in person. Big-box supplier Babies 'R' Us went out of business years ago along with Toys 'R' Us. Chain retailer Buy Buy Baby has been put up on the auction block in recent weeks. Stable big-box retailers like Target have growing-but-still-limited floor space for baby items. And furniture stores tend to sell most of their cribs, changing tables and other children's room fixtures online.
