File under "silver linings": Though rural independent grocery stores have been increasingly struggling in recent years, the covid-19 pandemic has provided them an unexpected economic lift.
It comes at a good time. Chains like Walmart and Dollar General have siphoned many customers from independent rural grocers in recent years, and "wholesale distributors have consolidated, making it challenging to find vendors that are even interested in supplying small stores," Nathaniel Meyersohn reports for CNN. "And sales have dried up as the population has declined in many rural areas and some jobs have shifted outside small towns to larger suburbs and cities."
The pandemic has brought increased traffic to independent local groceries as customers seek to stay close to home and avoid crowds, or hunt down necessities that may be out of stock at bigger stores, Meyersohn reports. But, though smaller grocers have tried to expand online ordering and delivery, such efforts eat into independent grocers' already thin profit margins.
The pandemic could accelerate consumer preference for online ordering, which could hurt independent rural grocers after the pandemic, said Jordan White, who owns five groceries in Kansas.
It comes at a good time. Chains like Walmart and Dollar General have siphoned many customers from independent rural grocers in recent years, and "wholesale distributors have consolidated, making it challenging to find vendors that are even interested in supplying small stores," Nathaniel Meyersohn reports for CNN. "And sales have dried up as the population has declined in many rural areas and some jobs have shifted outside small towns to larger suburbs and cities."
The pandemic has brought increased traffic to independent local groceries as customers seek to stay close to home and avoid crowds, or hunt down necessities that may be out of stock at bigger stores, Meyersohn reports. But, though smaller grocers have tried to expand online ordering and delivery, such efforts eat into independent grocers' already thin profit margins.
The pandemic could accelerate consumer preference for online ordering, which could hurt independent rural grocers after the pandemic, said Jordan White, who owns five groceries in Kansas.
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