A University of Illinois Extension educator has been studying the plight of small-town grocery stores. John Shadowens started looking at the subject five years ago. He says it’s a challenging business model, but he believes there is a future for those type of operations.
“I would say yes, but with one caveat, that the stores that will be successful are going to be the ones that continually adapt to the world that changes.”
Speaking of changes, some unique concepts have gained his attention.
“One of my contemporaries that I’m working with is saying that in Kansas, they’ve got a young couple that is starting a chain of stores that are 24-7 access, but they are completely unmanned except for a few hours a day to restock. Now, that’s a shock – some customers don’t like that. They like seeing the clerk and everything, but to have a profitable store, this chain has decided that their means of profitability will be to save on labor. You still have access, you can still have a membership, you get a key card, you can go in, you pay a nominal fee to belong to that. That might be what more of our local food access starts looking like.”
Shadowens says that independent grocers may also have to ...