New service functions may help preserve village shops

Abstract

Experiments in four shops in Denmark create the basis for a distribution of service functions to village shops all over the country. Establishing some more or less untradi‐tional service facilities in a village shop improves the possibilities of survival for the shop. This is the conclusion of a controlled experiment performed by The Institute for Centre‐Planning, Copenhagen, in four village shops over a period of 18 months. The five most important and best‐paying service facilities were sub‐post office, dispensing of medicine, public library service, receipt of pools coupons and certain bank services. Furthermore the experiment comprised municipal consultation (area office), public telephone, and receiving of items for dry cleaning. The effect of establishing the supplementary service functions in the village shops was measured partly through information on the turn‐over in the four shops and the six shops selected as control shops partly through the use which the inhabitants made of the service offers. ...