I think Jeff Jarvis has this right:

The point in any case is that it would be a mistake to think that we will come out of this financial crisis soon wounded but still seeing the world the way we saw it before. In the graveyard of camels with broken backs, we will see a new world newly structured and we're only beginning to figure it out.

I don't think every retail outfit is going to be destroyed by this, but a lot are, and a lot of others are going to have to shift focus. While we played Wasabi the other night, we were talking about something related to this: Mike has a friend who has taken to ordering just about everything from Amazon (using his Prime membership). That translates into less money for local supermarkets, bookstores, and so on.

If you think about it, you can order everything online now. There are things it's easier and better to buy directly - meat, fish, fruit, vegetables - but a lot of stuff can just be ordered as it runs out. I think this is going to lead to a need for more specialization - a lot of the generalist shops are going to have trouble as more and more people realize they can buy stuff easily and inexpensively online.

As Jarvis notes, this may well get accelerated by the current downturn, as people look for bargains. The media may well have been the canary in the coal mine for a lot of businesses.