I have been inaccurately predicting this for a few years (with a variety of big box stores/ many location stores).
I think what I was most wrong about is AMZN thinks a lot about the geographic overlap of their customers and where they will shop. That is why the Whole Foods purchase was so brilliant. Both the overlap of wallets shopping in at both AMZN (prime) and WF.
I wonder how well Sear's store footprint fits with the AMZN customer base.
With wealth and income gap divide, there not much room to bet big on the non-rich part of town. Find the Whole Foods and and Apple Store and Nordstroms and that's the mall or shopping area that will support higher profit margins.
No one will touch Sears. The debt they have is huge and all those pension crap of employees.
If Amazon have to do anything they will just open the stores. Buying Sears means opening own grave.
I can actually see this happening. Sears locations might make pretty decent mini-DCs/Echo sales centers. Ironically, I feel like they could turn Sears into Borders and do OK. A mini DC center in the back- this could allow for 2 hour deliveries to more suburnban/rural locations. In the front they could have shelves of Kindle files printed out on paper. I know, it sounds like Ye Olde Book Store, but here an Echo thingy would replace the Dewey Decimal or human employee. Alexa would manifest as a racially and gender ambiguous animatron who would not only answer your questions but also serve free Kombucha when you pick up your prescriptions or sign up for a checking account (cash converts to Amazon credits).
I can see Amazon making them mini-malls within existing malls until the already struglling other stores can't exist anymore. Once Amazon has the entire mall- well that is when things get crazy!