Many small, local shops are closing as they are unable to compete with large supermarkets in the area. How does this affect local communities? How could this situation be improved?

With technological advancements, the world of shopping is changing at a rapid pace. Several small business owners are the most affected by

this

recent trend, as they aren’t able to match up with the giant hypermarkets and are forced to close down eventually.

This

essay will discuss two of the main reasons causing

this

and propose measures to address the same.

Firstly

, the local shopkeepers are undoubtedly no competition for the big players in the retail industry due to their grandeur, size and scale. They will often have a very tiny space to stock their products and mostly unorganized, whereas the supermarkets are ten times bigger in space.

Moreover

, their products are segmented by category, clearly labelled with pricing and systematically organized.

For example

, Tesco, which is one of the biggest chains of supermarkets have an entire aisle for each product

such

as Diary, Meat, Utensils and many more. To overcome

this

issue, small shop owners should adapt to the way business is done in the 21st century. They should take their store online, which would not cost much to set up a website and offer free home delivery service and attract the customers. Another major concern would be the product pricing and the offers provide by the supermarkets. The products there cost 1.5 times cheaper that any local shop.

This

is because they directly buy the stock from the manufacturers, thereby cutting down the middle costs.

For instance

, a 500 ml bottle of Head and Shoulders shampoo would cost around 120 Rupees in a supermarket, whereas the same would cost around 150 Rupees in any local shop. To address

this

problem, the local communities should tie-up with supermarkets for a long term period and discuss the contract terms in a way that it benefits both sides. In conclusion,

although

technology can be a threat to the small businessmen locally, these problems are not insurmountable. In my view, it is the responsibility of both, the local business owners and the supermarkets and they should begin by considering some of the solutions proposed above.