The death of grocery stores

Every fifth municipality has no local supplier

382 municipalities do not have a grocer.

(Bild: ©AntonioDiaz - stock.adobe.com)

Over the years, the number of grocery stores has decreased as they have been displaced by large supermarkets. Today, almost one in five municipalities no longer has a local grocer. However, a study showed that the number actually increased slightly in 2022. However, this is not a trend reversal. Small retailers are currently under severe pressure. "Unfortunately, the demise of grocery stores is not over."

Especially in very rural and sparsely populated areas, there is a lack of local suppliers that residents in small communities can reach within a short distance. The shoe pinches the hardest in Burgenland. There are no grocery stores in 30 percent of municipalities, which affects 14 percent of residents. By contrast, Vorarlberg, Salzburg and Styria are somewhat better served (see chart).

382 municipalities have no grocery store
Christian Prauchner, Chairman of the Federal Food Trade Committee, emphasizes: "Local supply remains stable in urban areas, but we are seeing a clear decline in rural regions." This mainly affects municipalities with fewer than 1000 inhabitants. 382 municipalities across Austria have no local supplier, which is 18 percent.

"Unfortunately, the death of grocery stores is not over"
There was even an increase in 2022, with a total of 23 retailers added across Austria. Exact figures are not yet available for this year and 2023; the increase two years ago is likely to be due to a one-off effect - the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, many support measures are currently coming to an end and inflation is now having a direct impact on the self-employed.

"Unfortunately, the death of the grocery store is not over," says the industry representative. A look at the longer-term trend shows this. From 2011 to 2021, food retailers in peripheral areas declined by 20 percent, while in more central areas the decline is slower (minus eight percent).

Small food retailers are closing time and again because no successor can be found. "The profits are not particularly high. Many young people are no longer willing to do this," regrets Prauchner. An average grocer makes a turnover of one million euros a year, with a profit margin of one percent. "That doesn't leave much left over."

Local retailers also want to offer tobacco products
To make a store worthwhile for retailers again, better conditions are needed. Prauchner advocates a reduction in bureaucracy, tax relief on overtime and more attractive conditions for pensioners who want to work longer.

He also calls for local retailers to be able to sell tobacco products more easily. Currently, it is very difficult to obtain a license due to the regulations of the monopoly administration. "We need as many product ranges as possible to be able to operate well," says the industry representative.

According to Prauchner, self-catering boxes and container stores are no substitute for a local supplier. This is because the social component is missing here: "In the countryside, people get together to shop, people cannot be completely replaced," the grocer is convinced.