While the number of supermarkets and grocery stores is increasing in cities, it continues to decline in small communities. In densely populated areas the number increased by around 14 percent increased, in sparsely populated areas it decreased by 3 percent.
In just under a fifth or 401 the 2.114 There are no longer any local suppliers in Austrian municipalities or municipal districts. More than five percent of the Austrian population or 423,000 people are, according to a study presented on Tuesday SME Research Austria affected by it. Overall, the number of grocery stores in Austria rose by 3.6 percent to over from 2021 to 2024 9.100.
The differences by federal state are large. At 28.1 percent that shows Burgenland the highest proportion of communities without local suppliers, followed by Upper Austria (24 percent) and Tyrol (22.7 percent). In Lower Austria it is at least 20.1 percent.
Extended framework conditions necessary
Austria still has a very dense local supply network, but locations in small communities in peripheral locations are coming under pressure, said Christian PrauchnerChairman of the Federal Food Trade Committee WKÖ. If you want to maintain local supplies in such communities, you need the appropriate framework conditions so that the business can be operated economically.
This is also important because many operators will be retiring in the next few years and there are hardly any successors and investments will not pay off. In any case, maintaining local supplies only with subsidies is not effective, said the chairman of the federal committee.
How local supplies can work
“There are models for this,” said the head of the study Wolfgang Ziniel from SME Research Austria. They range from the Self-service outside the classic opening hours, up to The combination from coffee houses and local suppliers and the Range expansionfor example on lottery and tobacco products.
Social and social issues are also conceivable municipal services as well as Meeting point and event functions, says the study: By bundling multiple uses, fixed costs could be distributed and additional customers could be acquired.
There are also alternatives community sponsoring organizationssuch as cooperatives and associations, or mobile solutionssuch as mobile shops, shopping buses or pick-up stations.
No patent solutions
There are no patent solutions, said the federal committee’s managing director Wolfgang Atzmüller: Different communities need different models. Solutions would have to be developed locally.
Local suppliers are also important for social life in the community; the emotional connection is high, said Prauchner. Many would also accept that small retailers cannot compete with supermarkets in terms of price: “But if the sales potential is low, it will be difficult.”