Many European countries have mixed-use zoning. That still hasn't stopped bookstores from hollowing out -- actual books getting fewer and fewer while most of the stock becomes hipster accoutrements like vinyl records and tea sets -- or closing entirely. The problem is that physical books are just not in-demand and high-margin enough to cover labour costs and rents in this day and age.
The problem is there is just too much variety in books. I've bought a fair number of books from physical bookstores over the past couple of years but they're almost always books I found while browsing. If I go into a bookstore looking for a specific title - unless it's a high profile new release or something common (Jane Eyre or Harry Potter) - they're _really_ unlikely to have it in stock. Sure, they can order it for me but then why aren't I just ordering it online?
This problem impacts smaller shops most of course but even the largest stores can't possibly hope to have more than a small % of every title in stock. That's just a natural consequence of how many books are out there.
