I’ve been known to visit a retail store, try on a pair of shoes or boots, find the right fit...go home and order online.
A problem if you’re Jewish as we are specifically told in the Torah not to do that. So I try very hard not to do it. Just bought a balance bike from the great shop that let me try it out. Could have bought it cheaper online.
Online shopping good for some things, but for others, shopping in an actual store, and getting assistance from actual human beings, is preferable. It depends what you are buying, and how complicated your purchase is, in my opinion.
In my opinion, there should be room for both— both online shopping and flourishing retail stores, brick and mortar stores. One should not exclude the other.
And as the main subject here is books, here too, should be room.for both. I would hate to see Barnes and Noble go out of business. Again, there can be times when you use a Kindle or some sort of e-reader. And other times, you want to sit down and read an actual book, rather than look at a screen to read something.
Ultimately the market will decide how many retail stores stay and how many fold, because of internet shopping.