If Amazon is hollowing out local business, it is, at least in part, due to the convenience that comes from not having to get in the car and go through the rigamarole of having to drive as the means of accessing the goods. The appeal of Amazon’s model, their flagship service, if you will, is being able to deliver a purchase right to the home, at no additional cost, often within a day or two.
By creating spaces where consumers encounter possibilities to purchase goods and services they may need or want in the natural course of their day, you are enhancing the potential for local trade to occur. This is precisely what walkable neighbourhoods help do.