The draw of big cities, like New York, London, LA, or Tokyo is that they are made of a series of distinct, colorful neighborhoods, each with their own identity, vibe, and demographic. What makes them different are the small, local, mom-and-pop shops—not the chains of identical mass retail stores.

We are entering a new evolutionary stage of retail, in which big companies will get bigger, many mom-and-pop dreams will burst, chains will proliferate and flatten the idiosyncrasies of many neighborhoods, more economic activity will flow into e-commerce, and restaurants will undergo a transformation unlike anything the industry has experienced... See more

Main Street businesses need to form online networks that enable them to compete with Amazon on price, convenience, and brand. E-commerce platforms Shopify, Lightspeed, Woocommerce, and Square, could enable this collaboration. For example: when one local retailer doesn't have a product in-stock, why don't they suggest another local shop that does?... See more