The surprise news that Amazon is to shut a raft of shops may tempt some to believe it cannot replicate its online success in bricks and mortar. 

A few hard-pressed retailers, long used to struggling with the economics of challenged stores – their problems often exacerbated if not entirely caused by Amazon – may be enjoying a frisson of schadenfreude that the Seattle giant has decided to close its 68 bookshops and 4-star shops.