李嘉雯
We can still recall the
happiness we felt the first time we got candies from the small grocery
stores in our neighborhood. The candies as well as the memories were so
sweet for us; however, these family-run stores are now gradually falling
out of business.
The existences of
traditional grocery stores are based on the simple needs of ordinary
household. Living standards were low at the time and credits are high
in the community. These stores settle in our neighborhood and integrate
into our daily lives. Moreover, the managements were just the people we
knew very well; therefore, it was natural that we kept a strong
connection with these stores. Earthiness was the most significant thing
that kept these stores running in those days.
Yet now the neighborhoods
are swamped with convenience stores. The clerks are not our
acquaintances; the formulaic greetings only mark the distance between
them and us; they could hardly narrow the gap between the store and the
residents. Still, the convenient stores are winning the war in other
ways. Convenience stores serve many functions to satisfy today』s
consumers. People nowadays live on the fast track; therefore, they want
efficiency and will tent to choose these convenient stores. It is
because of this fact that traditional grocery stores are vanishing,
leaving only sweet memories behind.
Our life styles have changed,
and that』s why our style of consumption has also changed. In that
sense, the disappearance of traditional grocery stores reflects the
transformation of social relationships.