Grocery stores sell multiple quality products (generic/branded), and you have various quality of inventory based on the market the retailer is targeting. For e

Grocery stores sell multiple quality products (generic/branded), and you have various quality of inventory based on the market the retailer is targeting. For example, Whole Foods/local higher end store, down to Costco/Trader Joes/Kroger, down to Aldi/Winco/etc, down to Dollar General. Then you also have lower priced stores operated by immigrants that attract more price sensitive immigrant diasporas. But broadly speaking, it would reflect the disposable wealth gap between buyers. With a widening income/wealth gap, I would expect there to only be a few viable markets to cater to, maybe even only 2. The source of the “problem”, however, would be the wealth gap, not the stores. The stores are a reflection. Another issue is also technology and instant communication making it more convenient and cheaper to use fewer vendors. Shopping and checking prices is work. If someone can drive to one big box store and get almost everything that need, they will choose to do that.