Dortmund (dpa / lnw) - For many people in North Rhine-Westphalia, the nearest grocery store is far too far away for a quick purchase on foot. Almost four out of ten people in the most populous federal state can reach neither a supermarket nor a discounter within ten minutes without a car or bicycle, according to a study published on Wednesday by the Dortmund Institute for State and Urban Development Research ILS. Shops with a sales area of at least 400 square meters were taken into account in the study.
On the other hand, if you have a car, you can still quickly reach a grocery store in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the study, the travel time to the nearest supermarket or discounter is less than ten minutes for 99.1 percent of people living in NRW. According to the ILS analyses, the conditions for shopping by bicycle are still comparatively good. After all, 92.6 percent of people can cycle to the nearest grocery store within ten minutes.
The background: Food retailing has been changing for years. The offer is increasingly concentrated on supermarkets and discounters in high-demand locations. The number of businesses has decreased in recent years, while the average sales area of the businesses has increased. "Fewer sales outlets with a larger sales area on average usually mean longer shopping routes for customers," emphasized the authors of the study.
The authors of the study emphasized that the situation is often difficult, especially in very rural regions. "If there is no longer a grocery store in town, it is sometimes difficult or even impossible to shop without a car."
