In recent years, many small local shops have closed because customers travel to large shopping centres or mall to do their shopping. Is this a positive or negative development?

During the

last

few years, the

number

of small merchants' shops has plummeted due to the significant decrease in the turnout of customers that prefer going shopping in large shopping centres or buying some groceries in vast supermarkets

instead

of purchasing from emporiums. In my opinion,

this

is definitely not a positive trend since it penalises local buying, which is vital for the economic well-being of small towns or villages.

First

of all,

this

tendency leads to a huge

number

of families becoming economically frail. Indeed, it is a matter of fact that a lot of people, living in small towns or villages, work in local shops,

thus

they can survive financially only if shops remain open.

For example

, particularly in touristy villages, a great percentage of inhabitants are emporiums owners or work as cashiers or shop assistants. As a consequence, the closure of these activities means the loss of a significant

number

of jobs. Another point worth noticing is that the increase in the

number

of purchases made from shopping centres encourages

a

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less sustainable shopping. Indeed, malls are full of plenty of fast fashion brands.

As a

result

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,result

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people prefer to save money buying items

poorer

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of poorer

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quality and

consequently

cheaper

instead

of choosing more sustainable products made of better material but obviously more expensive.

For instance

, if a youngster has to choose between buying a handmade and customized bag and a one of a commercial brand, he surely will choose the

second

one because it is cheaper than the

first

one. In conclusion, I strongly believe that

this

trend has to be reversed in order to safeguard the well-being of local shops’ owners and to encourage a more sustainable way of shopping, boosting sales of handmade items and local products.