Not such a crackpot theory. You've just described the shape of the labour market in a Reaganite/Thatcherist, deregulated, free-market service economy. In some continental European countries they call this the 'Anglo-Saxon model' of capitalism, because it is the one favoured by the USA and UK.
A lot of the small shops have been killed by the supermarkets or taken over by chains in the last 30 years. This is only obvious to someone of my age by looking at old photos of high streets in the 1960's and 70's. Some continue to prosper. My uncle still runs a greengrocer shop in Birmingham. Some of the small shops fill niches that supermarkets can't reach. Butcher shops especially seem to have survived in a bit of a timewarp.
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A lot of the small shops have been killed by the supermarkets or taken over by chains in the last 30 years. This is only obvious to someone of my age by looking at old photos of high streets in the 1960's and 70's. Some continue to prosper. My uncle still runs a greengrocer shop in Birmingham. Some of the small shops fill niches that supermarkets can't reach. Butcher shops especially seem to have survived in a bit of a timewarp.