With the emergence of several online shopping platforms and many large malls and supermarkets, many local shops may not be able to compete with them. This essay will discuss the way local communities are affected by this, and examine what actions can be done to improve this situation.
Regarding the effects of this trend on local communities, they are mostly negative. If many large supermarkents open in an area, people would be more likely to shop there instead of local shops that are more modest, because of the convenience and the wide range of products available. However, if fewer people shop from these local modest supermarkets, they would run out of funds, therefore, they would be obliged to close, as a result many inhabitants would lose their jobs because of the absence of customers. And if too many people lose their jobs, they and their communities would be dramatically affected, as they would not be able to afford essential products or even pay for necessities such as bills. For instance, a recent study done by an organization that specializes in the preservation of cultural heritage from around the world showed that in Seoul, 35% of local supermakets and shops closed during the last 30 years with the emergence of larger shopping facilities, which illustrates how fast and drastic the drawbacks of this trend can get.
Moving on to the solutions, many actions can be done to improve this situation; one of them is having governments to fund small shops to encourage shop owners to buy more products and eventually build a bigger supermarket or offer a delivery service. If inhabitants have the necessary funds to provide the same variety of products, and the same convenience as bigger supermarkets and online platforms, they would not only keep their customers, but also attract more customers, as a result, both communities and inhabitants would benefit from it, because not only it allows them to keep their jobs, but also to provide more jobs for people. In other words, this funding applies the priciple of ” by locals for locals”, because it allows small markets to compete with bigger shopping facilities, and it allows communities to financially benefit from it.
In conclusion, although more and more huge markets and online shopping platforms are emerging, it is possible to avoid its negative impact on local communities by funding small shops, allowing them to compete effectively. In my view, it is more than essential to take action about this issue as soon as possible, because some drawbacks are irreversible.