What’s afoot? Saying goodbye to the weekly shop

An article a couple of weeks back in the Financial Times, ran under the header “Supermarkets’ shift sounds death knell for the weekly shop.” The article says that people are changing their shopping habits, and are becoming less likely shop using a car. “Young people (in the US) are staying single longer, and are much more likely to stay in urban areas for longer. Many also do not drive. At the other end of the spectrum, many ageing baby boomers are downsizing and returning to city living. Smaller kitchens and smaller families have reduced the appeal of large weekly purchases…” And it isn’t just the US where “....the death of the weekly shop has real benefits for society. Food waste, while still at appallingly high levels, is starting to drop in the UK, a trend that Tesco attributes to more frequent, smaller shopping trips in addition to more cautious buying because of the recession. Supermarket-owned convenience stores are also helping reduce traffic and adding to the vibrancy of UK high streets and US cities by making it easier to shop on foot.”