As the most grassroots and micro retail unit in society, the mom-and-pop store seems to be omnipresent. Source: Retail Boss Insider (ID: lslb168), author: Guo Zhifu. This article is republished with permission; for authorization, please contact the original source.

Core Guide:

1. Why are the mom-and-pop stores common in childhood now increasingly rare?

2. How do mom-and-pop stores penetrate the commercial capillaries of different scenarios?

3. What commercial and social value do mom-and-pop stores embody? Many people don't care, but they haven't visited one in a long time, or even seen a mom-and-pop store. For most post-80s and post-90s working in first- and second-tier cities, the "mom-and-pop store" born in the early 1980s almost monopolized many beautiful childhood memories. However, the post-80s and post-90s who once visited mom-and-pop stores countless times are now rarely going to them again. Xiao Yang, who came from a rural area and settled in a first-tier city, recalls her childhood mom-and-pop store with the same feeling: "I only get the chance to go (to a mom-and-pop store) when I return to my hometown; at most, I go twice a year. But it's also because I pass by when visiting relatives; it's convenient to buy things. Since express delivery is inconvenient in my hometown, I take my kids and can only buy things like milk and boxed canned goods on a temporary basis. If I didn't return to my hometown, I probably wouldn't go for 10 years." When the topic of "mom-and-pop stores" is mentioned, many people have similar feelings. "It's been a long time; when I go, I usually only buy water. Other products in mom-and-pop stores don't attract me!"

"It's been years (since I went to a mom-and-pop store), but aren't most of them replaced by convenience stores?"

...... Facts also prove that the mom-and-pop store, once a symbol of childhood happiness, is drifting away from us as we grow up. People always like to "meaningfully" reminisce about things they have lost. I once saw an interesting interpretation of mom-and-pop stores online, roughly meaning that modern chain convenience stores squeezed out the author's childhood memories, but the author doesn't blame convenience stores. Instead, they gathered a few childhood friends they hadn't seen for a long time and went back to the original mom-and-pop store. They held a "farewell party" for the soon-to-close mom-and-pop store by buying a large pile of snacks from it. In that scene, they said they didn't cry, but they felt very uncomfortable. Moreover, there are now frequent official bans such as "no more mom-and-pop stores in schools (kindergartens)." This raises a thought-provoking question of the times: Are mom-and-pop stores about to disappear? At the same time, let's look at mom-and-pop stores from a commercial dimension to see what commercial value this most terminal and micro form of commodity circulation has. Mom-and-Pop Stores Under Multiple Pressures The mom-and-pop store, a product of this special era, has no specific official definition. Often, people use "mom-and-pop store" and "husband-and-wife shop" interchangeably. The difference is that the form and operating area of a "husband-and-wife shop" can be large or small, ranging from a community supermarket of nearly 100 square meters to a small grocery store of a few dozen square meters. In contrast, the mom-and-pop store embodies the characteristic of being "small." The standard concept definition that Retail Boss Insider (WeChat ID: lslb168) attempts to give is: The smallest operating entity among all retail units in society, playing a strong rigid supply value in special scenarios. Mom-and-pop stores have strong adaptability in terms of location, mobility, and consumption scenarios. They are widely distributed in urban and rural areas, mostly near or inside schools and residential areas, and also in parks, squares, and major tourist attractions. However, recent news reminds us that this micro retail format with strong penetration is indeed becoming increasingly rare. According to the Ministry of Education website, the "Regulations on School Food Safety and Nutrition Health Management" was recently released. Article 20 is noteworthy: Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens generally should not set up food business venues such as mom-and-pop stores and supermarkets on campus. If truly necessary, they should obtain permits according to law and avoid selling high-salt, high-sugar, and high-fat foods. The regulation took effect on April 1. Mom-and-pop stores, which were once loosely regulated, had great operational freedom. In the memories of many post-80s and post-90s, holding a few cents and buying unknown-brand spicy strips from a mom-and-pop store was a great happiness. However, such category management has long failed to pass the high threshold of "school food safety" nowadays. Schools are also areas with a high concentration of mom-and-pop stores. As soon as the news came out, it attracted discussions among netizens: opinions were divided on this regulation. What most consumers don't know is that mom-and-pop stores also face great survival difficulties: Even though they sell goods at higher prices than ordinary supermarkets, they still have meager profits. Because the extremely small "mom-and-pop store" usually doesn't order large quantities, it has poor bargaining power compared to chain convenience stores or larger community supermarkets in upstream procurement channels, and its procurement costs are generally higher than other retail formats. In addition, as social retail formats have gradually diversified, especially with the emergence of e-commerce, shopping channels have become increasingly convenient, and the coverage density of community stores and convenience stores has also increased. Driven by consumers' diverse demands, these factors converge, putting small mom-and-pop stores with limited SKUs and low gross margins under greater competitive pressure. It can even be said that amid policy control and fierce market competition, those traditional mom-and-pop stores seem to be gradually "disappearing." The Fate of Mom-and-Pop Stores in the New Era Will mom-and-pop stores really disappear? We loudly say: No. Because mom-and-pop stores are the only micro retail format among all retail suppliers that uses an operating method to complement auxiliary scenario needs. How should this be understood? First, the uncertainty of scenario needs determines what goods mom-and-pop stores sell. This means that mom-and-pop stores change with the scenario, and the differences are reflected in that mom-and-pop stores in schools mainly sell snacks, stationery, and toys, while those in residential buildings focus more on daily groceries, and those in tourist attractions are even more different, mainly selling souvenirs. Even now, in third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities, and even in county, town, and village areas, mom-and-pop stores maintain the connections within each scenario. I believe that phrases like "go to XX's house to buy a bottle of soy sauce, go to XX's house to get a pack of salt" have been heard by some people since childhood. Second, the micro format gives them strong penetration capability. This is why most mom-and-pop stores can open inside closed schools or residential buildings, while convenience stores only choose locations at school gates or on streets outside communities. This penetration capability is incomparable to convenience stores. Even in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, when you enter a residential community, you might see a large handwritten or printed sign on a window on the first floor saying "Store" or "Cigarettes and Alcohol Sold Here." Such areas can be seen in Beijing's Chaoyang District Pixel Community and Fengtai District Nanting Xinyuan. Third, retail formats such as supermarkets, department stores, and husband-and-wife shops (community stores) all do fixed product business in a fixed scenario (business district), at most making seasonal product adjustments. But mom-and-pop stores, with the changing seasons and different times, almost overturn themselves to continuously adjust their product structure according to the needs of different scenarios. Most community stores operate fixed products all year round, such as cigarettes, alcohol, grain, oil, rice, flour, and household care products (not denying that a few also adapt to seasonal changes). But mom-and-pop stores, in addition to operating standard products like beverages and snacks, also adjust to seasons or festivals. For example, school mom-and-pop stores sell greeting cards at Christmas and photo albums during graduation season. In rural areas, mom-and-pop stores even sell fireworks and firecrackers during the Spring Festival. The retail market is fragmented, especially as the format gets smaller. At the same time, consumer needs are highly uncertain. Compared to other formats, mom-and-pop stores are closer to consumers and better able to meet their emergency needs. Fourth, from the operator's perspective, another important factor that sustains mom-and-pop stores is the value spillover of people's spare time. For example, the uncle in the gatehouse of a unit, or the stall at the entrance of a community, they have their own main business or job. The mom-and-pop store is somewhat like a side job. The condition for this "side job" is based on a fixed interactive relationship that has formed between one person and a group of people, and the mom-and-pop store is just one way to monetize this existing interactive relationship. The concrete manifestation of this is interesting: we find that most mom-and-pop store operators are middle-aged or elderly people who have plenty of time to do very "informal" retail business. Or, since they have nothing to do anyway, why not earn some money? The Permanent Value of Mom-and-Pop Stores I still remember during college, whenever the dormitory gate closed at 11 PM, there would be shouts from the corridor: "Chicken legs, pancakes, instant noodles, peanuts, melon seeds, iced cola, anyone need any?" At this time, classmates without stock in their dorms would come out and call to the senior, "Give me a cup of instant noodles. Are the pancakes hot?" The senior with business acumen used the price difference to earn a pot of gold. In addition, there is another interesting example: parks and squares are places where most people take evening walks, relax, or date after dinner. Those who have had such experiences must know that the closest thing to the restroom is definitely a mom-and-pop store. Moreover, the sales of tissues will be greater than the demand for drinks and mineral water. Why give these two examples? Because they reflect an obvious value of mom-and-pop stores—meeting consumers' instant needs. Instant needs are no longer covered by the concept of "immediate needs." Only the extreme adjective "instant" can accurately describe the characteristic of mom-and-pop stores in satisfying needs in seconds during close-distance delivery. And achieving transactions and delivery at infinitely close distances is also the biggest selling point of mom-and-pop stores. It seems that in this world, the retail method closest to you is the mom-and-pop store. The commercial value of Chinese mom-and-pop stores is actually equivalent to "unmanned retail with people." The value of unmanned retail is to use technological tools to connect the two most common points in retail—transaction and delivery—through smartphones and machines. The delivery form and value are reflected in the fact that unmanned retail can satisfy at infinitely close physical distances. To what extent? Like Japan, it can be placed right next to you. Mom-and-pop stores achieve fast transactions placed next to you through manual labor. What unmanned retail does with technology, mom-and-pop stores do with people. In the era of mom-and-pop stores, there was no such standardized model solution for unmanned retail technology. Therefore, in the era when mom-and-pop stores dominated community retail, almost no large company dared to say they could do such close-distance transactions and deliveries. The ancient mom-and-pop store and the new unmanned retail have very similar value points. Also, the mixed model of highly standardized goods and extremely non-standardized goods makes the value of mom-and-pop stores more unique. Standardized goods such as beverages, mineral water, and ice cream, which are not even worth counterfeiting, are must-have products in every mom-and-pop store. And non-standard products like handicrafts, local specialties, even hand-knitted slippers and hand-stitched insoles, which are almost zero-cost, are also unique product features that distinguish mom-and-pop stores from other formats. Retail, as the oldest industry in China, embodies its value in the transaction frequency and the three fixed conditions that facilitate transactions—from the operator itself, the product itself, and the scenario requirement itself—among these three rigid and fixed conditions, as long as one condition is realized, the retail transaction and product delivery can be achieved. Even if it's as low-end and rustic as a mom-and-pop store. This retail method of mom-and-pop stores will become a permanent phenomenon in the long history of Chinese commercial development. -END-