Band 5+: It can be difficult for small local shops to compete with large supermarkets and with on-line shops. How does this affect local communities? What could be done to improve this situation? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

Now a days, it is the problem for the small local shops to run the business with an extreme competitive environment created by supermarkets and electronic shops. The purpose of this essay is to examine the reason for this problem and suggest some preventive measures.

The major threat to the small businesses is of decline in the sales due to majority of individuals shifted towards supermarkets. To explain it more, before the concept of supermarkets people tend to buy grocery from near stores to avoid the cost of travelling. However, it was difficult for them to access everything they need from the store that close to them. For example, some individual need to purchase utensils and the available shops near their home not able to fulfill their needs. Therefore, people tend to shop one time in a month from the supermarkets that provide them with everything they need with an easy.

The other negative prospect is the technological shift. The habit of buy things instantly and at easy made competition even worse for the local shops operate on a small scale. In other words, online shops provide more ease to the people who do not want to go outside to the nearby shops and buy the things that are in need. For instance, if there is a need for milk and bread most of the people search for the online shops and order while sitting on the couch. Thus, this concept generate more worry among the local owners of the shop.

Despite these problems there are some measures to address this problem. The shops operate on a low scale should change their target audience and hit those buyers who can not afford supermarkets. Further, these shops should collaborate with the online platforms and list their products online in order to generate more sales. This is how they can compete in the market with the giants.

In conclusion, the idea of monthly grocery from supermarkets and online purchasing give small shops a hard time. Although, there is saying that if there is a will there is a way, so to beat the competition the little local shops should capture the right customers and make the small business technologically advance.