In this case it was less a matter of the changing marketplace but rather the owner being in his 70s with none of his children willing or able to take over the business. Like most of us, he wanted to spend his last years doing something other than going to work full-time every day (and running a business requires far more than what most of us consider full time hours).
Whatever the reason, it is certainly a shame when brick and mortar businesses close. The big box stores and internet sales may offer a lower price, but few of the other "extras" that once drew us to the smaller shops. We often hear the blame placed on failure to have up-to-date websites or other concessions to modern times, but prrhorsehoecurve accurately said above that we are the biggest cause. Loyalty to a local dealer (when warranted) is too-often abandoned to find the lowest price elsewhere, for items that are not even necessities. Nobody seems to care that their money goes to corporations or even smaller companies far away, rather than supports locally owned businesses, and the jobs that go with them. Many aspects of our society have dwindled, and loyalty is one of them.
