[goku12]

The small shops here are private entities. They're owned by low to mid middle class families - similar to what you might call a 'mom and pop store'. But they're so common around here that we simply call them 'provision stores', 'general stores', etc. There are also small specialty stores like for stationary, agricultural produce, diary and bakery, office work (photocopying, DTP, etc), etc. They usually exist within 5 minutes walking distance of your house. There are even small shops for much rarer stuff like electronics and mechanical components - but they're farther away (my special interest, since I'm an engineer).

They don't have everything - but it's quite possible to live here without having to visit a big chain supermarket. Those chains do exist here and we do use them and online shops like Amazon and Flipkart occasionally for the rare stuff. The point here is that the small shops aren't 'large' private entities. These store owners are in a similar social class as you are and often know you personally. They even help you get the best deals and personally deal with product quality issues. A similar 'middle-class' supply and logistics chain also exists behind them - so it isn't easy for any big player(s) to disrupt and (co-)monopolize the market. They all pay their regular taxes to the local government and spend their earnings in the same local economy. Their economic incentives also align with yours - inflation hurts them as much as it hurts you.

The advantage of this is that multi-billionaire chain owners with their own cartels can't decide when to hoard stuff and drive up profits and inflation. This is very useful in situations like the big-chain-driven post-covid inflation and the current anti-oligarchy protests seen in NA. I was in NA during the post-covid situation. It always felt like a part of that inflation wouldn't have happened if small stores existed everywhere there. Boycotts also work better if you have alternatives. So I made it a point upon return to Kerala to tell everyone how important they are. I shop almost exclusively from them these days.