A massive wave of store closures is changing the face of
New technology and the rise in online shopping is wiping out some retailers, such as those selling music, camera equipment and computers.
But physical stores will never become totally obsolete. Consumers still want to touch and test out certain types of merchandise before making a purchase. So which stores will survive the so-called retail apocalypse?
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson made a chart measuring the fall and rise of retail employment for 19 types of vendors over the last decade.
We think it's the best representation of which kinds of retailers are going to continue to grow and maintain their brick-and-mortar locations, compared to those that will disappear.
Overall, retail employment in the U.S. grew by a meager .32%, or 49,000 jobs, over the last decade, according to Thompson.
Department stores lost nearly 225,000 jobs over that time period, while supercenters - such as Wal-Mart and Costco - added half a million workers.