Consumers Are Faced With Fewer And Larger Places To Shop.

In spite of tremendous growth in online purchasing, the number of bricks-and-mortar retail establishments in some sectors has grown in recent years, although the past decade has seen a drop in the number of stores in others. And many of the losses can be accounted for by consolidation into fewer, larger establishments, according to Audits and Surveys Worldwide (ASW).

The drop in the number of gasoline service stations is due to a combination of consolidation and retailers finding it more profitable to concentrate on their convenience store business. The number of auto supply stores declined modestly in the '90s, following big increases throughout the '70s and '80s. Used car dealers increased their number of outlets, largely due to a continuing supply of late-model cars coming off lease.

Independent drugstores are closing as chains expand their outlets, although the fall of the independents …