If you think it the other way round, you give local stores a way bundling together. and size sometimes matter. add some "buy over the internet" function with a partnership with local courrier services and you have a potential threat to the likes of wal-mart and even amazon. yes, amazon.
Why so? because they are doing the same thing, more or less. the biggest advantage amazon has is logistics and range. but sometimes locality matters. I think there will be enough place for both approaches.
But this idea will only work if you work out two things: sales for market penetration and to gain acceptance by local stores and logistics. Both issues aren't trivial but the idea certainly has potential, HUGE potential. In more than one way. I can imagine that as "your social and local amazon alternative". And the main benefit smaller stores have is a means to ultimately counter amazon in some way or the other. But again, convincing these stores, very hard, logistics, very hard. And that's exactly the reason why the potential is that big.
Why so? because they are doing the same thing, more or less. the biggest advantage amazon has is logistics and range. but sometimes locality matters. I think there will be enough place for both approaches.
But this idea will only work if you work out two things: sales for market penetration and to gain acceptance by local stores and logistics. Both issues aren't trivial but the idea certainly has potential, HUGE potential. In more than one way. I can imagine that as "your social and local amazon alternative". And the main benefit smaller stores have is a means to ultimately counter amazon in some way or the other. But again, convincing these stores, very hard, logistics, very hard. And that's exactly the reason why the potential is that big.