It created larger and larger stores, cut/lost the company culture and then was acquired by Amazon.
It is now for the most part a shell of what made it an attractive space to shop. Coupled with the online grocery expansion, a sector predominantly made on very small margins and vast competition only exacerbated its fall.
A cycle of markets I suppose. But, not the only path they may have taken. To me this parallels the rise and fall of US malls.
I don't go to a physical store expecting to be able to get any useful information from a sales person.
Given that the only thing that the shop has given me is the ability to view and touch the physical product, I don't feel any guilt in then ordering online if the physical store can't supply or deliver the product immediately or in a way that is beneficial to me.
Or take Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and the now defunct Sears. It's nice to have people on the sales floor that know about the various tools, paints, and home improvement projects. Even in the YouTube era where you can get project ideas and tutorials, having someone physically present to ask questions or bounce ideas off of helps tremendously.