Thanks for the heads-up about the sale.

I agree with how you define capitulation. I was simply wondering about the difference between 'apparent' capitulation (which in a place like this may merely be an effort at fitting-in, or not sticking out) and real capitulation.
Or if apparent capitulation, if sustained over a long period of time, actually becomes real. And more scary would be if that happens slowly and almost imperceptibly, without one realising it.