1. Still Open

Over the last 40 years the changes we have seen to our high streets and local shops have been as drastic as any in technology .
When I was young most of the shopping was done in traditional shops including the local Butchers, Bakers, Grocers and Newsagents .
Over the years as supermarkets appeared some of those traditional shops closed down and small corner shops selling many of the same things started to appear, often staying open much later than the new supermarkets.
As the supermarkets stayed open for longer and longer hours even many of the small corner shops disappeared. As the supermarkets (Hyper markets) have grown larger and more have appeared other areas of shopping which have been affected include Clothing, Hardware, Car Spares and many other areas.

As consumers we have gained through better prices, often more consistent quality and often better choice, but are we really better off?

Imagen de fryer en Flickr bajo CC

Cloze (1):JXUwMDFh

The growth of the supermarket has been the success story in our times, when they first appeared some specialised in fruit, vegetables and food items and others went for the opposite way with non food as the core of the business, but slowly they have converged and built bigger and bigger out of town stores and now sell anything from paint to toys to a mouse for your computer to fresh bananas . As they have grown a few very powerful forces in supermarket retailing dominate the market in each country.

• USA

Walmart in the US has become the 2nd largest employer selling any and every thing in massive super stores and have caused many small specialist retailers to close as they can not compete with pricing, and Walmart has also expanded into other countries sometimes buying existing supermarket chains and expanding them. Many consumers do complain about the loss of local specialist stores in their towns but are often the same people who shop at Walmart.

• UK

Tesco are the dominant player in the UK with large superstores in out of town shopping areas with easy and free parking and like Walmart in the US continue to expand in the UK and abroad.

As supermarkets and hyper markets become bigger and attack other areas of retailing we will continue to see changes to our traditional shops with many not being able to compete and others changing to suit any niches that the big supermarkets do not want to enter, also we must remember that many of these giants of retailing have created an Internet presence that goes beyond the goods they sell in their stores to attack even more market sectors.

Cloze (2):JXUwMDFk

The concept of a department store goes back in history to late 1800's but has evolved and changed as has the rest of the shops. Originally most of the department stores were independent and owned locally in the city they traded . This has been the biggest change in the last 50 years where now a single company may own 20 brands trading in City centres and out of town Malls .
Department stores are identified by the fact they sell a wide range of products including clothing, furniture, appliances, toiletries, cosmetics, jewelry, toys, and sporting goods. Two of the best examples of the largest of these Department Stores could be considered as Macy's in New York and Harrods in London .
In some areas as changes have evolved the distinction between a department store and a supermarket has been eroded. A good example of this would be Walmart which originally were considered a discount department store but now could be called (Department Store, Supermarket, Hyper market or a discount department store). Walmart has moved into food and grocery and have built new superstores that are large enough to sell the traditional products they started with together with a full range of foods and grocery's . As another example Marks and Spencers in the UK has added large food courts and furniture sales as part of their newer and larger stores so the distinction between supermarket and department store continues to become harder to identify.

Cloze (3):JXUwMDE5

The traditional corner shop has evolved by trying to find areas where the larger supermarkets have left an opening including longer opening hours, local produce, wider range of books and magazines, better choice of sweets and confectionery, lottery ticket sales, but as supermarkets continue to change and evolve it is becoming harder to find an area that can be profitable.

Over the last few years many of the corner shops have been run by immigrants as they are willing to work long hours and have an extended family willing to help with the hours needed to survive, but they are also starting to adapt to the market changes and are moving into the petrol/gas stations which also require long hours to succeed and adapt the sales area to create a corner shop inside the confines of gas retailing business.

Adapted from: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/shops.html