In short, local stores cannot stay afloat anymore when 30% of their customers disappear.
Local stores that were profiting off their customers and not giving back to the community lose 30% of their customers who weren’t benefiting in any way from a local store to more affordable options when available? Wow
I get what you’re saying, but the profits going to locals is objectively better for the community than them going to large corporations.
It’s also a question of food availability. Perhaps food deserts don’t matter to you and I doubt you’d care but when businesses get pushed out by dollar stores the selection and variety of fresh produce goes down while the quantity and variety of prepackaged & shelf stable garbage goes up.
Here’s an interesting video on it: https://youtu.be/vQpUV--2Jao?si=EZA7136NtNf6zLKi