When I first entered a Radio Shack in the mid 90s, I was already questioning what the heck were they doing. I was surprised that they lasted 20 more years and even outlasted Good Guys and Circuit City.
Let's be honest here, when even Frys are not doing well because of the lost of sales to online and the switch from self assembled PC to assembled computers / laptops , I don't think there is much that Radio Shack can do to stay alive.
I used to buy a watch battery here and there, maybe once every 2 years. This too has changed because 1) I no longer wear watch because of phone, and 2) There's amazon and ebay for batteries that are 5x cheaper even after free shipping.
And no, Apple store is not a fair comparison, because Apple store can still help the overall sales if consumers buy from online or another retailer. It is a company showroom, not just a store. The same cannot be said about a general retailer like Radio Shack.
They could probably make it if they took up the Game Stop business model and focus on USED video game with trade in and make the bulk of their money on shelf space rental (publishers have to put their names out there regardless of where the actual sales come from).