There are going to be a ton of people out of work in 2019 as the death of retail stores pick up steam. With a combined total of at least 6,616 retail stores closing across North America, it makes me wonder, is Amazon to blame?

COULD AFFILIATE MARKETING HAVE HELPED?

Below is a list of 36 different retail stores that have either announced several store closings or have gone completely out of business. With the exception of a few that are just closing poor performing stores, most are closing down for the lack of sales.

The majority of us here at Wealthy Affiliate earn money though affiliate programs with various retail companies, in addition to many other forms of online marketing. And it is safe to say that many of us are affiliates of Amazon in their Associates Program.

After going to the website home page for each of the following stores, only 7 out of 36 had an affiliate program link Of those 7 stores, only 2 (Kmart and Sears) are sinking fast towards a total shutdown of both brands in North America.

Do you think affiliate marketing could have helped many of the stores on their way to death's doorstep? I guess we will never know, because it maybe too late for these stores to start with affiliate marketing now. But even if they did, would it really help?

AMOUNT OF STORES CLOSING IN 2019

To read more detail into why these stores are closing and which ones are only downsizing or restructuring, read the following article about Chain Stores Closing in 2019.

IS AMAZON TO BLAME?

As affiliate marketers we cannot deny that Amazon leads the way when it comes to affiliate programs. Many (not all) products being sold at other large online retailers like sports giant Fanatics, which has an affiliate program, can also be purchased on Amazon.

Amazon has diversified into so many markets that it is amazing just how big the company really is beyond just its online e-tailer website. Did you now that all of our websites and blogs here at WA are using Amazon Hosting through their Amazon Web Services?

Amazon is HUGE and Founder / CEO Jeff Bezos net worth is approximately 152.2 Billion Dollars, but he didn't get that wealthy through the online store of Amazon alone. Bezos also owns about a dozen other profitable companies, many which you probably use.

Have you ever used, bought or shopped at any of the following? IMDb (Internet Movie Database), Audible, Box Office Mojo, The Washington Post, Zappos, Goodreads, Twitch, ShopBop, and Whole Foods Market. He also owns Bezos Expeditions and Blue Origin.

One could actually wonder how much of an impact has the explosive growth of Amazon actually had on the slow demise of brick and mortar stores. I certainly do not blame it all on Amazon. Much of the fault belongs to the stores for not embracing the online marketplace.

Though all of those retain stores above had websites, many of them added their sites well after the internet age started. It was like they were thinking, 'we don't need to do that now. We'll get around to that later.' Like it was an after-thought.

JEFF BEZOS STARTED JUST LIKE YOU

We always look at these wealthy company owners and dream of becoming even a fraction of what they are worth. But guess what? All of these owners started out just like you, with very little money and a dream. Those that succeeded never quit, and it took them many years.

When you join Wealthy Affiliate you need to have the dream of learning how to build a business from scratch, apply what you learn, continue month after month to grow it, and scale it up year after year. Great wealth takes many years, so don't quit even after two years.

Always be a forward thinker. Do not have all of your money making streams of income coming from one source. Put in the time to build that first stream and when the time is right, build another stream, then another, and so on. This will take many years but you can do it.

Wealthy Affiliate makes it easy for us. Think about it, for only $49.00 per month you can have up to 25 different money making affiliate niche websites. You can take the knowledge you learn here and freelance your talents. Invest in yourself and get educated.

Jeff Bezos sure didn't become one of the richest men in the world for sticking to just the Amazon online retail website. He kept on re-investing in himself and kept opening more streams of income. Once he bought Whole Foods he expanded and created Amazon Fresh.

Diversifying is key to long term success and growth. Some of those stores above are doing the same thing, those that didn't are sinking or have already closed. There will always be brick and mortar stores but being part of the online marketplace is essential from the start.

We all have a GREAT OPPORTUNITY as members of Wealthy Affiliate because WA is our foundation to bigger and better things. The only obstacle you have to overcome is wanting to make a lot of money in a short period of time without devoting at least 8 hours a day.

I know Kyle and Carson didn't become success stories without working their butts off, and they are STILL working hard at keeping WA the best in the Affiliate Marketing Industry. Just like Jeff Bezos and all the other successful online entrepreneurs, they have not quit.

If you want to flourish in this online marketing world then you need to not quit EVER! Stop looking for that new shiny object of a quick fortune for little effort. Roll up your sleeves and get to building your online empire. Don't join the death of the retail stores. Make your business GREAT!