Teen Store Rue 21 Going Out of Business; Is There A Bigger Problem?

The news came out several weeks ago. Joining the growing list of stores going out of business is Rue21. But I think it leads to a bigger question.

If all these brick and mortar stores are going to fail and close, when are people actually going to get out of their houses and do something, like, live a life? This USA Today story makes mention of this:

Rue21, with storefronts in strip malls and shopping centers across the U.S., is likely suffering from the declining foot traffic that is hobbling so many retailers as shoppers increasingly do their buying online.

Maybe I'm overreacting but, if people stay home and buy online, when do they actually go outside and do something physical. Grocery store are again experimenting with home delivery. Does that mean we will simply go to work and then come home? What about the great in-between? In some cases, this will lead to more leisure time. We'll get the shopping out of the way and then have more time to have fun.

But don't many people simply enjoy the experience of shopping? Just driving out to, either the Mall, or the Shopping Center and just walking around and browsing?

And that's not to mention the lost local jobs. It's great for Rue21 to stay alive online, but maybe our local and state governments should be a bit more aggressive in getting at the very least, some of these warehouses that distribute the merchandise sold on these stores' websites. Some jobs are better than no jobs.

Again, I don't know where this is all going, but I'm having a hard time believing this is all for the better.