Who is associated with the development of chain stores

A single firm, Wal-Mart, now accounts for 7 percent of all consumer spending. Ifthe current trends continue, independent retailers might soon be a thing of the past. But, in the midst of this unprecedented expansion by national retail corporations, another trend is underway: a growing number of communities are rejecting chain stores.

Last summer, residents of Ashland, Virginia mounted a spirited campaign to block a proposed Wal-Mart. In Octo ber, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the store. In Chelsea, Michigan, residents organized a picnic to protest plans for a Rite Aid drugstore. The event drew a crowd of people. Rite Aid quickly backed down. Similar events are occurring across the country.

Indeed,over the past two years, dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of neighborhood groups have sprung up to protect their homegrown businesses. In Lake Placid, New York, a group known as the Residents for Responsible Growth is working with neighboring towns to form a regional response to chain store expansion.

The debate over chain stores is often characterized as a struggle between our hearts and wallets. We may mourn the loss of the corner drugstore, a fixture in the neighborhood for three generations, or the local independent bookstore, but ultimately we believe that, as consumers, we are better off.

Over the long-term, however, consumers are best served when there are numerous competitors in the market. These businesses do not intend to compete with local stores; they aim to be the only game in town. Typically, a chain store will enter a new market sporting deep discounts. Many chains employ loss leaders to attract customers. Wal-Mart has been known to sell gallons of milk for 25 cents or to price entire departments below its own acquisition costs.

This sets up a battle that local merchants cannot win. Once the chain has eliminated the local competition, prices tend to rise. In Virginia, a survey of several Wal-Mart stores statewide found prices varied by as much as 25 percent. The researchers concluded that prices rose in markets where the retailer faced little competition. A similar conclusion was reached in a survey of Home Depot. Prices were as much as 10 percent higher in Atlanta compared to the more competitive market in Greensboro, North Carolina.

As for wider selection, consumers should be especially wary of the claims made by chain stores. Independent merchants are usually the first to sell products made by small companies.

By contrast, most national chains refuse to do business with small and mid-sized companies. They prefer to deal only with large manufacturers. The result is that small manufacturers—even those that make innovative products, publish great books, or distribute ground-breaking films—are having an increasingly difficult time reaching consumers. Consider the impact of this on book publishing. Although local bookstores tend to be smaller, collectively they stock — and promote — far more titles than either of the chains.

They take risks on unknown authors and small publishers. A number of best-selling writers, including Barbara Kingsolver and Amy Tan, contend that, without independent booksellers, their first books would have gone quietly out of print. Even if chain stores do save us a few dollars now and again, it comes at a great cost.

Chain stores contribute far less to the local economy than independent businesses. Developers often present new chain store developments as major additions to the local economy. They note the growth in retail sales and shopping options.

They tally up the number of new jobs and the added tax revenue that the development will bring. What is often overlooked is the other side of the balance sheet. Unlike new manufacturing facilities, which do create real economic growth, new retail stores simply shift consumer spending from one area of town to another. A new big box store can only be successful at the expense of existing businesses. A study in Iowa, for example, found that new Wal-Mart stores derive on average of 84 percent of their sales from existing businesses within the community.

What all of the studies find is that very little of the sales generated by a new retail store represent new retail spending. Instead these developments simply shift economic activity from one part of town to another.

The end result is not economic development, but rather economic displacement. The jobs expected to be gained by the Wal-Mart would be offset by the loss of jobs at other businesses. Many of these stores would be forced to close, leading to a significant net decline in total retail employment and property tax revenue.

Trading locally owned businesses for chain stores also entails the loss of significant secondary economic benefits. Local stores keep profits circulating within the local economy.

They also support a variety of other local businesses. They create opportunities for service providers, like accountants and printers. They do business with the community bank. They advertise through independent radio stations and other local media outlets. They purchase goods from local or regional distributors. Chain stores at present occupy a very important place in the distribution of goods at retail and their development has given rise to many problems that concern manufacturers, distributors and consumers of merchandise.

The increase in numbers of retail chains and the large scale upon which many of them are now operating has caused apprehension in certain quarters that monopolies may be in process of development in the retail field which will prove more dangerous to the interests of consumers than any existing big-business combination in the field of production. At the instance of Senator Brookhart, a resolution was adopted by the Senate, May 12, , directing an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission of any monopolistic tendencies that may have developed and calling upon the Commission for recommendations as to what legislation may be necessary for the regulation and control of chain-store marketing.

According to Paul H. With the exception of department stores, and other individual unit stores, chain stores are the most important retail outlets in the country. In the last two years the leading mail order houses have begun to open chain stores of their own throughout the country and further expansion is indicated for Help Login.

In the first Walmart opened its doors in Rogers, Arkansas. Target and Kmart also opened their first stores that same year. The efficiency and overall size of these indoor giants made them attractive to consumers looking for convenience and friction-free, no frills service. At these big box stores, customers could find the consumer goods they needed, and at much lower prices.

This was made possible by changes in the laws after World War II that paved the way for discount retailing. Big box stores, and specifically Walmart, are still dominating in the present day. Arguably one of the biggest flashpoints in retail history is the dawn of widespread internet shopping. Amazon was established in as a simple online bookseller. Clearly, over the past three decades people have jumped onto the ecommerce bandwagon.

There are a number of reasons for this. Ecommerce provides convenience and efficiency to the shopping experience and enables shoppers to research, examine reviews, compare prices, and make purchases at all hours of the day. The growth of ecommerce mirrored the growth of the internet.

As more and more people had access to the digital world, they became more interested in shopping there. Initially, some people were skeptical of providing personal data and payment information online, but the development of SSL security protocol in the s helped to assuage those fears. Facebook, the most successful social media platform ever, has over 60 million active business pages on it. Twitter provides a way for businesses to talk directly to customers, and with Instagram, they can showcase their products in authentic lifestyle situations.

Social media opportunities have been both an opportunity for retail brands to capitalize on and a new challenge for them to conquer. In , Facebook rolled out sponsored stories as a form of early advertising. Marketers could capitalize on the huge amount of data people provide Facebook to target very specific customers. Today, Facebook and Instagram are also channels where brands can sell their products directly. This brings us to retail today. Retail sales are growing slowly as a whole.

The growth of sales in physical stores in was merely 3. Customers are hungry for online shopping experiences, but not all ecommerce is created equal. Brands are developing strong multi-channel strategies. As the above walk through retail history illustrates, many of the changes in retail and ecommerce have both influenced changes in human shopping behavior and subsequently been influenced by these same changes.

These statistics paint a picture of modern retail but can also help modern businesses predict the future of retail. Those are some big numbers. Retail spending tells us a lot about how consumers are feeling in the economy.

Understandably, during recessions, consumer spending goes down and when people are more confident, those numbers go up. Much as people turned to the general store as they pioneered the west, and flooded suburban malls as fast as their new cars could take them, technology fuels major changes in retail.

The proliferation of mobile devices is no exception. People are increasingly using mobile devices not only purchase items, but research and compare prices. Physical stores have been a staple of American retail for hundreds of years so, even though ecommerce is growing in influence, it is still not replacing brick and mortar just yet.

Successful ecommerce ventures are finding success in having both an online and physical presence that work together seamlessly. For example, customers could exercise the ability to research online and buy the product in-store or even buy online and pick up in-store. Overall, this offers opportunities to businesses who want to expand online, improve their online experience, or better sync their online and offline channels.

This statistic really gets at the heart of how changing customer behavior and expectations go hand in hand. Previously, shoppers were excited about department stores that could provide lifestyle advice and personalized shopping experiences. Then they loved malls and came to expect the convenience of all the stores they wanted being in the same location. Finally, the ascension of big box stores gave them the expectation of a one-stop-shop guaranteed to provide steep retail discounts.

Now, they expect all of these things and the ability to have them while sitting in bed on their phones at 3 a. Many of the businesses doing well in the current retail landscape are those that are capitalizing on new technologies or providing a clear customer advantage or experience. Knowing that ecommerce is a growing market, it would be impossible for Amazon — the creator of the most successful ecommerce enterprise in the country — to not be on this list.

Each month, over million people globally visit Amazon. And in , their U. People flock to Amazon because they can often find lower prices than in stores. Additionally, the free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime has created a whole new standard for shipping speed expectations. Kroger is the leading supermarket operator in the U.