Around here, the small village grocery shops hang on by the skin of their teeth. Margins are just too small to compete with chains and Walmart and this has been true forever. The major advantage to the little stores is many let customers run a credit line, paid when their checks arrive.
The IGA in the nearest town with a Super Walmart is employee owned, has better meat and produce and has survived against all predictions. In April, they had a huge batch of Black Angus whole muscle cuts in cryovac that was priced below the same meat at Sam’s and was sold out in a couple of days. They always have cheaper avocados.
We routinely drive 8 miles to the grocery store and have for 35 years. Once every 6-8 weeks, we drive 45 miles, one way, to stock up at big box stores, Aldis and a grocery with the best produce prices within 100 miles (for this, Green Bags are essential). Once or twice a year, we even drive 90 miles to visit a Trader Joe’s, a couple of Asian stores and do other things. Usually, I go with a girlfriend, as our husbands detest this sort of shopping. If the guys go along, we split up and they go to West Marine and the hunting supply stores and then we meet up for a nice dinner somewhere.
People do what they do. If the folks in this little town had supported the small grocer, they would still be in business. It is probable that most of them were more than willing to drive 12 miles for a bigger selection and better prices.
We used to call this capitalism based on consumer free choice and it was just how things worked.
We used to call this capitalism based on consumer free choice and it was just how things worked.
It still is, "capitalism based on consumer free choice" as you noted.
I was raised in a small town in Missouri, population about 1,600. Back in the 50s we had 6 small grocery stores in our town. Then just 7 miles away in a somewhat larger town, a Kroger and A&P opened for business. Over the course of just a few years all the stores in our town were closed, they could not compete. I think of that every time I see someone complain about W-M running mom and pop stores out of business. This has been happening long before W-M came on the scene.
I support the local hard ware store where I live for minor purchases but when I need something costly, I have found that Menard's or Lowe's is always less expensive for the same product.