Facilities: Convenience Store

The local village shop is an endangered species in many parts of the country. Localnet can reverse this trend by completely redefining what the local store is.

This section discusses:

Existing Provision

What

Whether a village shop or “convenience store” these smaller retail outlets compete with the supermarkets for our money.

How

By being local - within walking distance for many of us - the local store tries to satisfy our urgent needs - for the thing we forgot to pick up on our weekly shop at the supermarket.

Volume and Frequency

The limited floor space in most such stores restricts the range of goods available. Although many of us will pop into our local shop a few times a week, it is often just to pick up one or two things. Few of those who have their own car will do the bulk of their shopping there.

Financial Model

The purchasing power of independently run stores is so much less than that of the big supermarkets and their overheads proportionately higher, that they struggle to compete on price.

Providers

Although there are still many independent shop owners around the country, a lot of these stores are now branches of the major supermarket chains or specialist convenience store chains.

Trends

Village shops struggle to survive against the relentless margin squeezing and increasing variety of goods on offer in the larger supermarkets.

With Localnet

What

Each LocalHub should house at least one (and possibly two competing) enterprises that provide the range of goods currently offered by the biggest and best supermarkets. I hesitate to call them “shops” as they are actually a hybrid between an online grocery delivery service (which uses the localnet vans of course) and a bricks-and-mortar store.

How

The physical shop within the LocalHub will not look much different from a convenience store today - except that with the localnet logistics system behind it, the store does not need to hold so much stock of each item, knowing it can replenish in hours rather than days as at present where the owner might have to visit a cash and carry.

Customers can order pretty much anything for overnight delivery - and much of that will come from the warehouse of a large supermarket chain - and therefore may not be handled by the local “shop” at all. Some things though are better seen, touched or tasted before being bought and here, the local shop can excel.

There are other categories of goods that the local “shop” can offer by being a local concentration point:

a) bulk, loose goods - stocked by the local “shop” and put into LiquidsBoxes or SolidsBoxes as needed.

b) Newspapers and magazines - sorted each morning just as the village shop does today but delivered along with post etc.

The “shop” can also take advantage of the whole catchment area - not just those who choose to pop in. If they find themselves overstocked with an item, they can advertise a special offer to the local residents immediately and shift their remaining stock before it goes out of date. This allows them to be more adventurous.

An astute and friendly proprietor will also learn how to help his customers to take advantage of things they could not do on their own. By networking with his customers he can bring his expertise and knowledge of what is available when to tailor special offers for groups of customers whose tastes he has come to know.

In particular, the local shopkeeper is well placed to start sourcing and selling local produce. Even casual gardeners with a small vegetable plot can be helped. By marshalling their separate efforts - such as encouraging several to plant particular vegetables at staggered times, an enterprising shopkeeper could build his own local supply chain. Although trading your own produce on localnet will appeal to some, others will be more grateful of a ready market for their surplus.

The local shopkeeper's role thus becomes more of a “broker”, “trader” and “expert” than simply trying to compete with the supermarkets on price and variety - a battle he cannot win.

Volume and Frequency

A good LocalHub “store” should be interacting with a significant proportion of the residents several times a week. Because anyone can order almost anything they need and get it within a few hours, one side of being a “convenience” store is shut off but being able to stock and distribute local produce efficiently opens up a more rewarding side.

Financial Model

While it may be possible to make a living on just the above services, it is more likely that the “shop” will also encompass bakery or other food services discussed elsewhere in this section.

Providers

It would be nice if this role were open to individuals with a passion for customer service and local produce. A franchise or license to operate in the LocalHub may be preferable to simply providing this service through localnet employees.

Evolution

The other services available in the LocalHub should increase footfall to the “shop” compared with that of the village shop it replaces. A gradual change in how we shop, spending less time in supermarkets (as our staples are delivered without us having to go there) should allow us more time to browse and chat with our local sourcing expert in our own LocalHub.

 

Comparison

The table below assesses the impact of localnet on this service on a scale of -5 to +5 (details here)

  Existing services As part of localnet Score
Scope

 
Frequency

 

 
Security

 
Convenience
Cost
Quality
Carbon Footprint
Time
Resources Used
Reuse & Recycling
Landfill Waste
Other Differentiators

Services