Are you old enough to remember when the big box stores weren't there?
I am! And I remember the days before self-service in grocery shops as well.
Only just though. And it was before I started shopping for my own groceries.
Anyway, "local shops for local people" sounds a nice idea, but it's an out of date business model for any but the most out of the way places now, I think.
I shop at my local supermarket, which happens to be run by a large chain, simply because I can't afford to do otherwise, and the only local shops that are really available are convenience stores open till midnight selling fags, mags and bags. And those are a really expensive way of buying food. So I don't.
There is a greengrocer in the centre of town which doesn't belong to a supermarket. They tell me that their prices are no more than in the supermarket, so I probably should shop there. But, you see, I really like to do my weekly shop in one go. Any more, and it becomes a pain (for some genuine reasons which I won't go into, but also because the more shops you visit the more time you spend on the chore).
However, when I need to employ a plumber or a builder I make sure it's a local firm (there are vast national organizations which go around areas from time to time touting for business, and I'll have nothing to do with any of them).
There's a local book shop as well which I don't support, simply because it's just so much easier and quicker to use amazon.
It's a shame about local shops: the high streets are changing rapidly. But what can one do?
As for other stuff, I'll occasionally go trailing round the shops, looking for, for example, a new sealing ring for something or other. Typically, I'll go in three or four shops asking for it (fully expecting them to have something really common), only to be eventually told "you could try on-line". At which point I give up for another year or two, until I've forgotten that shopping locally just doesn't work.
