Comic book shops and used book stores isn’t a lot of people’s thing, unfortunately. That’s why they fade into nonexistence while the convenience stores keep multiplying.
For me, it is small differences in selection. For example, I can get the body wash I prefer only at Walgreens, and my hair conditioner only at CVS except for occasional lucky finds at a random Target here and there.
Why not grab both online? Anything you are super picky about the exact product you need, you can find online, usually for a cheaper price as well.
The same phenomenon happens with auto parts stores. Around me, everywhere that has an Advance Auto Parts also has an AutoZone that is built shortly after Advance builds their store.
Sometimes you don’t want to, or simply can’t, wait for shipping.
Quite often for very small purchases the cost of shipping exceeds the cost of the item.
This is a good point. While CVS and Walgreens may not be on the same corner, at least in suburbia, they are often close to one another. Not sure who is the follower, tho.
I remember hearing about Burger King locating their restaurants near McDonalds - they just waited to see where McD’s was opening a store, then found property nearby to place theirs. That way they avoid having to staff a costly real-estate/location analysis department and could just leverage McD’s work.
I can see why Burger King might want to locate next to or near McDonald’s; customers might see that they are near McDonald’s but be in the mood for something different. So by locating nearby, they bleed some business off. (Although that reasoning doesn’t seem to apply to drugstore chains.)
I could see myself going, “Hmmm, a Whopper Jr. would sure hit the spot. Think I’ll go to that Burger King over there. But dammit I don’t like those fries. I wish they could be more like McDonald’s! Oh, whatdoyouknow! There’s a Mickie Dees right across the street! Aren’t I the lucky one!”
There is a street in my town where within two blocks there are:
McDonalds
Jack in the Box
Arbys
Taco Bell
Subway
Carls Jr.
Wings N Things
KFC
Two real Mexican places
A Chinese place
Baskin Robbins
At first it seems how could anyone make any business but it’s really handy if multiple people want different things. You can hit a different place for each person and be back home in 20 minutes instead of driving all over town.