←back to thread

The old internet shows signs of quietly coming back

(cheapskatesguide.org)
622 points ColinWright | 1 comments | 25 Jan 22 22:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.003s | source
Show context
madrox ◴[25 Jan 22 23:10 UTC] No.30079440[source]▶
When Walmart started taking over consumer goods, everyone thought small business was dead. All that was really died was the general store, and we saw a rise in boutique storefronts. Depending on their niche, people craved more than the lowest common denominator that Walmart provided, and these small businesses filled a need. I've long held that social media is following a similar trend. Much like Shopify, the next wave of businesses will enable companies to run communities that feel, as the article puts it, "smol." Discord is a great example of this.
replies(4): >>30079489 #>>30079555 #>>30079557 #>>30082515 #
1. giantrobot ◴[26 Jan 22 06:40 UTC] No.30082515[source]▶
> All that was really died was the general store, and we saw a rise in boutique storefronts.

Ouch, head outside a major metro area sometime. There's small towns all over the country with a Walmart on one side of town and a Dollar General on the other with nothing but shuttered buildings in between save for the occasional fast food joint.

Walmart destroyed businesses in small towns. They bought up cheap land on the outskirts of town and leveraged their huge infrastructure to undercut all local retailers. The local retailers would be paying Main Street rents with little to no economies of scale. There's just no competing with Walmart in many small towns.