I remember going into a Woolworths store on its final day of trading in Malton, North Yorkshire, and feeling a mixture of sadness and embarrassment

Sadness at the sight of vast empty shelves, a hugely depleted pic n' mix counter, and staff clearly thinking more about what they were going to do next than the customers in front of them, jostling for the final items like cormorants around a trawler. Embarrassment because my first thought wasn't to try and haggle down already discounted prices, which some were trying to do. I found that absolutely surreal behaviour, knowing that the people behind the till were about to close the store for its final ever day of trading.

Fast forward to now, and another giant of the high street is about to vanish into the history books with the collapse of Wilko. Admittedly, some stores have been cherry-picked to become either Poundland or B+M, and that's great news for those locations. However, it's terrible news for Droylsden, with one of the town's biggest retail units about to fall empty. Ashton and Denton also have Wilko stores with the lights about to go out for the last time.

I'm not a retail expert, so this isn't going to be a piece offering a critique of what the family did wrong that led to the downfall of a brand that's been around for the best part of a century. There have been reports of big dividend payments, mismanagement, and a failure to look at which parts of the sprawling store estate were making money. However, I honestly think two things are chiefly to blame for this situation - online shopping and punitive rent and rates on our high streets.

The former is down to all of us. It's very easy to order bulky stuff on your sofa with a morning cuppa, whilst still in your PJs, and it will often turn up the next day if you have Prime. I'm absolutely not being judgmental about this either. I love internet shopping from time to time. .However, we all have a responsibility about where we spend our own money, and the choices we make. Sentimentality doesn't keep a store trading. I heard a number of people on the radio expressing sadness about Wilko closing, but admitting they never really shopped there, aside from heading down to see what was in the closing down sale.

The latter is a case of making things a level playing field. In a past life, many moons ago, I used to be part of a local council's Business Rates collection team. It was pretty jaw dropping to see the amounts we were asking for, when it came to rates at city centre premises. The whole thing is based on the "rateable value" of commercial premises, and large stores like Wilko will have to make a small fortune each week just to cover their rates bill, before we even get to rent and other bills.

A so-called "digital tax" on the likes of Amazon has been mooted in the past, but I really feel more needs to be done to "level up" (to use a favourite Government phrase, but in the wrong context). Bricks and mortar stores simply can't compete as things stand. I love going into shops, browsing, and selecting stuff. It's part of life's rich tapestry. As I've said in this column in the past, I'm a cheerleader for being positive about our town centres too, as frankly we have enough critics and mood hoovers.

If you like a store, tell your friends about it. If something is a couple of quid cheaper online, consider whether that saving is worth more to you than another empty shop. I know money is tight for all of us (how I chuckled at recent reports of big wage rises....it's simply not true for most of my friends I've spoken to about it!), but we are all culturally poorer without a good choice of shops on our high street.

Local authorities have their part to play, in terms of parking charges, and putting on events to make town centres a destination. Stuff like last weekend's Weave in Stalybridge is a perfect example of this, along with the Friday food and drink events in Ashton and Stalybridge. More of this please. But Westminster really needs to look at whether the current system of business rates is fit for purpose.

I'm not saying Wilko had a perfect business model. Their sector is squeezed and pretty saturated, with other brands innovating more. But I honestly think they could have survived, had things been a bit different. And I'm sad to see them go. My thoughts with all who are losing their jobs, and here's hoping for better things ahead.