Local stores around the world are shutting down as they are losing customers to the trending online businesses. The principal problems this causes are job losses and environmental impact, and solutions are public awareness and government incentives.
Local shops provide employment for a sufficient number of people, but with their closure people become unemployed. This, therefore, results in the rise of the unemployment rate. Besides that, online shops often involve packaging waste and long-distance shipping, resulting in increased carbon emissions compared to buying locally. For example, Amazon is one of the most successful E-commerce businesses, delivering parcels daily, thus releasing harmful gases into the atmosphere and harming the environment.
One of the possible solutions is public awareness that can be spread by small business owners themselves. People should be aware of the harmful effects of long-distance shipping modes on the environment by using campaigns held by local shop members so that the public is encouraged to do local shopping. Also, the government should take the initiative to help native markets, by allocating funds, so that small businesses become capable enough to compete against online shops. For instance, Japan is a prime example, where the government once took the initiative to protect small owners by granting funds to local stores and protecting a larger number of small shops to get closed permanently.
In conclusion, the closure of local shops leads to greater unemployment rates and environmental degradation, however, these problems can be alleviated by government support and general awareness among citizens.