The large supermarkets and chains (clothing, diy, books etc) killed off most small independant traders in the 1980-2000 period.
The internet had started to undermine the large supermarkets and chains. Covid has simply brought forward that which may have happened over the next 5-10 years into a single year.
The weakest go to the wall first. The survivors will be those who adapt their offering to meet the new status quo. This has always been the case in a free market.
Sad for those whose jobs have gone, but the writing has been on the wall for many years.
The big question is how city centres are supported to evolve in the future to make use of now surplus office and retail space - possibly housing mixed with specialist retail and services which could have the makings of a vibrant community to replace that which is now rapidly decaying.
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