The closing of a few underperforming outlets hardly constitutes a collapse.
Some retailers, like the Sears/Kmart combine have suffered through years of declining revenue and have had to shutter many locations.
Others, like Kohl's, have grown rapidly and have done very well.
Online sellers make sense for known commodities, like a TV, a camera or car parts. Even there, the online sellers are free-riding on the backs of B&M stores, which actually have that TV or camera for you to try out.
They make less sense for shoes and clothing, where only by trying something on can you know whether it suits you (bit of a pun).
I'm also not sure that online sellers operate at lower costs, since their fulfillment centers cost as much to operate as any B&M store and some, like Amazon, seem to bleed money.
The end of the B&M store is not upon us and likely never will be.
Online is great for travel bookings and parts for all of those things you have that need them and less so for everything else.
Commodities are natural online goods. Things that have to actually fit properly aren't.
You also never need to worry about the stuff you buy in a B&M store getting ruined in shipping or stolen from your front stoop.
