Groceteria.com

A good overview of supermarket history and an examination of current trends (and I'm not just saying that because I'm quoted in the article):

https://thewalrus.ca/why-grocery-shoppi ... s-way-out/

As much as I think "death of the grocery store" is a lot of hype and hot air, it's interesting to point out that they bring up the fact that the grocery store is a modern invention ("modern" being less than 150 years ago), the same people probably defend the idea of a traditional "downtown" (as a densified, centralized place for commerce) being the future of urban living despite being around the same age.

Interesting article.

This interested me: "The new supermarkets provided everything under one roof and a parking spot to help you haul it home. But, in one key regard, they offloaded the work of buying food to individual shoppers. “After World War II, the spread of automobile ownership and the growth of the suburbs led to the cessation of retail-­delivery services,” she adds. Those smaller local shops had required you to make multiple stops, but those stops were all in your neighbourhood, and much of the time, the shops had delivered."

So, today you see a reversal back to a less efficient delivery model with people ordering online and having orders assembled for pick up or delivery by someone other than the consumer. Not to mention the significant cost of delivery. Makes me wonder how this business model will stand up to the next recession. The opening of King Kullen and other supermarkets starting in 1930 correlates with the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression.