More than 6,200 stores are closing in 2019 as the retail apocalypse drags on -- here's the full list

[MineralMan]

14. Amazon is not on that list.

On the other hand, I know of half a dozen retail stores that have shut down their brick-and-mortar locations and are now selling on the Amazon platform exclusively. Some are doing very well; others are faring poorly.

America's retail shopping methods have changed, probably forever. They aren't going to stores for what they need. Instead, they're using their cell phones or computers to find products, which get delivered to them within two days, or even the same day.

For example, my wife ordered a new iPad a couple of days ago from an Amazon third-party vendor. It arrived this morning. However, it is thinner than her old iPad 2 and slightly different in other dimensions, so it won't fit in the case she has. So, she went back on Amazon and searched for a new one that had the features she liked in her old one. She ordered it about 11 AM this morning, and it was delivered a few minutes ago by a gig-economy delivery guy. Same day delivery was an option for over 25 cases to fit her new iPad.

Now, she could have gone to Best Buy near us, in about 15 minutes, and probably would have found a case that fit, but her selection would have been limited. As it turned out, the new case is just like her old case, with the features she likes. Would she have found that at Best Buy? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But she found exactly what she wanted while sitting at her computer and someone brought it to her, so she didn't have to start the car and drive to Best Buy.

That is why retail stores are closing. Is it Amazon's fault? Not really. Online stores have been around now for almost 20 years. If it wasn't Amazon, it would be some other shopping site. Heck, I had an online store in 1997, selling mineral specimens to collectors all over the world. It was a clumsy store, since there were no shopping cart systems at the time. People emailed me their credit card numbers or used PayPal, later. But, they shopped on my little website and I made a living from it.

Did she pay less than she would have at Best Buy? I don't know. Very possibly. Does Best Buy offer same day delivery? It does not. So, my wife bought both her new iPad and a case for it via Amazon. The iPad came in two days, and the case the same day. She didn't have to drive anywhere, which is good, because she is going on a trip Tuesday and needs to finish some work projects.

Stores are closing because people are shopping differently than they used to. That's not Amazon's fault. It's the Internet. If it weren't Amazon, it would be someone else. She also shops at Wayfair, Target, and even Walmart online. They deliver, too. Why would you to to a store to shop? Makes no sense.

Amazon isn't the problem. Retail has simply changed, forever.