This is only going to seem slightly relevant, but whatever.
The availability of retail auto parts in the US has always fascinated me, being a Canadian in a border city. There are several major chains and a couple of independents in my area, but it seems like there's really only about 3 or 4 distribution networks they actually get their parts from, and prices are generally substantially higher than just (USD price * exchange rate). Most of the stores operate "standard business hours", e.g. M-F 9-5 type of deal, so your options for working on something in an evening or on a weekend are pretty limited and you make sure you stock up on whatever you might need before you tear into the project. For comparison, a half hour drive away near Detroit, there's an AutoZone distribution hub store open till midnight 7 days a week.
I buy a lot of stuff from RockAuto and ship it alternately to my home or work, or to my friend's house in Detroit and go get it (typically for really heavy stuff where the shipping cost across the border goes insane). But I've also spent a lot of money with Advance and a handful of money with AutoZone, and a smaller handful with O'Reilly, in all three cases, a mix of in-store, ship to home, and buy online/pick up in store. In one case I was changing u-joints on a Saturday evening and realized I had the wrong ones after the driveshaft was already out. No problem, hopped in my other car, drove across the border, and bought a pair of Advance's store brand U-joints, and was back in my driveway installing them an hour later. In another case, I was changing a rad hose in my friend's driveway in Detroit at 10PM and broke a hose clamp. No problem, walked 2 blocks over to an O'Reilly and bought a pack of them - for the price of a single one in Canada.
For the Ranger, on day 2 of owning it, the gas tank sprang a leak. Rust where the strap touches the tank. New Canadian-made Spectra Premium tank at a Canadian parts store? $475ish Canadian and had to be ordered in. Same Canadian-made Spectra Premium tank at Advance across the border? $88 US after a 30% off coupon code, and they had it in a local store.
I'll definitely be sad to see Advance go, if that's what this is the start of. I have a feeling the US auto parts market is going to gradually become a bit more like the Canadian auto parts market, and that's not a good thing for the DIYer.