Filip Radwanski | Lightrocket | Getty Images
The retail battle narrative over the past few decades has cited one of two wars: Amazon and e-commerce against the big bricks-and-mortar retailers, and everybody big against small Main Street entrepreneurs. But in the current confusing economic environment — marked by inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and a volatile consumer changing spending patterns due to the high prices which followed Covid — small business experts say that Main Street should be more optimistic about the advantages of being small.
The inventory builds and subsequent markdowns from the biggest retailers, including Walmart and Target, show that even the best can get this consumer economy wrong. In fact, small business owners, being closer to relationships on both the supply and customer ends, may be able to more nimbly manage a fast-changing environment.
That’s the…
