The mom-and-pop store in the community suddenly put up a "For Transfer" sign. For this reason, the author specifically found the owner to understand the situation, and also visited several local small shops. It was this visit that revealed the current survival difficulties of mom-and-pop stores. Daily revenue less than 700 yuan Community small shops struggle Walking into the store, two customers who had just picked up packages were walking out, ignoring the owner Brother Li's enthusiastic greeting and not slowing down at all. After the customers left, the author struck up a conversation with Brother Li. "Business is incomparable to before. Including cigarettes and alcohol, daily revenue is less than 700 yuan, and I haven't seen a profit in half a year!" When asked about the "For Transfer" sign at the door, Brother Li sighed. Brother Li's store has been in the community for nearly 9 years. In his words, before the houses were fully occupied, his store was already there. Although it's a rented storefront, it can be considered half a "native." In the past, when the weather was good, he would set up a table and chairs at the door for people to play cards and chess, and he enjoyed chatting with neighbors. But now, not only have customers decreased, even the chairs at the door are rarely used for resting. The reasons are twofold: one is fierce market competition, and the other is the impact of e-commerce. Brother Li told the author that opposite the community is a night market, and several chain convenience stores and snack shops have opened nearby. Many residents go to the night market, buy things, and go home without entering his store. The method of driving in-store sales through package pickup and delivery is no longer viable. "Previously, customers picking up packages would sometimes buy a bottle of water or a bag of chips, but now many people stock up on snacks and daily necessities online in boxes, even a toothbrush is bought online! " Brother Li said helplessly. Active self-rescue, but unable to do much Facing declining customer flow, to subsidize the small shop's business, Brother Li had to take on a part-time role as a community group-buy leader, hoping to attract some customers. But as he did it, his mindset became unbalanced. "The more I do community group buying, the more uncomfortable it feels. The same goods are in the store, but consumers buy online. If I do it, I feel uncomfortable; if I don't, I can't even earn this small commission! " Brother Li revealed to the author that selling a bottle of drink has about 30 percentage points of profit, while the commission from group-buying platforms is only 5 percentage points, and he has to provide the venue, sort the goods, and sometimes handle after-sales for defective products. What puzzles him most is that many consumers, even if they buy products that don't match the description, after suffering a loss, will still choose to order on the platform next time. In addition, with declining sales, even the usually easygoing Brother Li has started refusing to stock up. "There are only two boxes of milk left in the store now. In the past, I would replenish early, but now even if the salesperson talks until they're blue in the face, with various discounts and gifts, I don't dare to easily place an order." "It's not that I don't want to replenish; it's that I don't dare! Business can't see profit, and money can't all be tied up in inventory!" When encountering out-of-stock situations, Brother Li no longer blindly orders but compares prices and finds his own sources. "Take Suntory oolong tea as an example. Driving to the wholesale market to pick up a box costs 50 yuan, platform self-pickup is 48 yuan, and during promotions 46 yuan is possible, plus you can use coupons. In the end, it's cheaper than from the distributor!" But no matter how he increases income or reduces expenses, he cannot solve the current problems of declining customer flow and sharp sales reduction. Looking at this small shop that has been operating for 9 years, Brother Li can only helplessly say, "Clear out the goods, and after this year, I'm done." Eight stores closed on one street "Enduring" out competitors, continue "enduring" Brother Li's experience is not unique. Salesperson Sister Ji also said that she can clearly feel that small shop business is difficult this year. According to Sister Ji's description, in a certain area of the old city she is responsible for, this year eight small and medium-sized stores closed on one street, leaving only a small shop run by an old man still struggling to survive. The reasons for being able to "endure" out competitors are threefold:
1. Although the area is not large, fortunately it's their own storefront, so there's no rent pressure. 2. The owner also works part-time repairing cars and making keys, and besides subsidizing the small shop's business, he is very familiar with customers.
3. The surrounding residents are mostly elderly, accustomed to offline purchases. The owner only sells traditional mass brands with very few SKUs, doing business with old customers. However, after finally "enduring" out competitors, a frozen food store opened nearby. In the early days of opening, with the activity of "1 yuan for 1 bottle of soybean oil, 5 packs of salt" , it diverted many consumers. Watching familiar figures walk into the neighboring store, the owner was not as anxious as one might imagine. He believes that the two stores' product ranges do not completely overlap , and currently only a small amount of seasonings and beverages "collide." Even if they expand products later, he believes in the "loyalty" of old customers. Rooted in the community, taking "convenience services" to the extreme In the fierce market competition, mom-and-pop stores, once considered "invincible," are now facing severe challenges, and some are even on the verge of collapse. However, during this visit, the author also saw some excellent store owners overtaking on the curve, leveraging their advantages of being rooted in the community and close to consumers, actively making changes around consumer needs, and doing thriving business. For example, in a resettlement community in the new city, a small shop run by a couple born in the 1980s. Facing the impact of new business formats, the owner proactively adjusted the product structure: first, supplementing the product structure with fresh produce and internet-famous products , introducing tiramisu cakes, roast chicken, fruits, and other products to attract traffic; second, proactively eliminating some single items in the store to differentiate from community group buying. The owner said that when they started community group buying during the pandemic, they found that many consumers would order sanitary pads on the platform. Compared with the platform, they had no price advantage, so they proactively removed them from the store, leaving only three high-profit items to meet consumers' emergency needs. When asked if customer flow was affected, the owner's feedback was that they didn't feel much. On one hand, they established their own private customer group , so customer flow is relatively stable; on the other hand, besides selling in-store products, they also expanded a purchasing agency business. "Although it's a resettlement community, there are many mothers in the community who have a certain pursuit of quality of life. Every week, we open group orders in the group, purchasing on behalf of Sam's Club, Hema, or internet-famous products from other cities." The owner introduced, "Not only has customer flow not declined, but people from nearby communities often want to join the group." At the same time, for elderly people with limited mobility, if they place orders by phone and reach a certain amount, the store will provide delivery service. Taking the "convenience business" to the extreme. Final Thoughts Today, we are surrounded by concepts such as hard discount models, supply-demand relationships, and new retail formats, paying attention to industry trends like discount transformation and supermarket adjustments. They may not care about so-called hard discounts, nor know what supply-demand relationships are, nor know how the retail industry is changing. They don't have that much professionalism or innovation; they just guard their own small patch of land. And it is such terminal small shops that once solved the daily needs of neighbors and supported the livelihoods of millions of families. Now, some are slowly disappearing under the tide of the times. They are a microcosm of retail transformation and direct participants in the market baptism. The difficulties these small shops encounter also reflect that in the current market environment, it is no longer simple survival competition, but a comprehensive test of efficiency, adaptability, and innovation capability. Will traditional retail formats die? No, they will only continuously iterate and evolve. Low efficiency will inevitably be squeezed out and replaced by high efficiency. This is not only a challenge for mom-and-pop stores, but also for the entire retail industry. Everyone in the industry should think about how to seize transformation opportunities in the new cycle of change, find their own ecological niche, survive, and live better.