Jul 10, 2017

Forbes: Small, local retailers are taking over

It’s no secret big-box retailers are struggling in today’s digital shopping age. The stories about this chain or that chain closing stores are coming out weekly, it seems.

The doomsday retail rhetoric doesn’t need to apply to unique independent brick-and-mortars, though. In fact, a recent article by Forbes said the opposite: small local retailers are becoming king.

The article, written by Bryan Pearson, highlights things like desire for hyperlocal delivery, a service offered by just 24 percent of retailers, getting in with Amazon or Etsy to maximize internet opportunities, and Gen Z’s — the generation after Millennials that’s coming of age — growing interest in the brick-and-mortar shopping experience.

The Small Business Association reports more than half of U.S. sales are generated by small businesses, Pearson wrote. These are small retailers thinking outside the box and embracing the wants of today’s consumers, including convenience and multi-sensory shopping experiences.