20 • November / December 2026• abasto.com • ECONOMY FOCUS Proximity IsNo Longer Enough Convenience Stores Are Eroding the Main Advantage of Regional Supermarkets BY HERNANDO RAMÍREZ SANTOS F or decades, regional supermarkets in the United States competed with an advantage no giant could take away: being just a few blocks from the cus- tomer. That advantage is weakening. A re- port by Coresight Research, published on August 10, 2026, warns that on-demand shopping is diluting proximity as a com- petitive factor and forcing local operators to rethink their business model. The firm analyzed consumer surveys, Census data, and results from major chains. Its conclusion: delivery in less than two hours is no longer just for urgent needs. It now competes for weekly grocery shopping. The Doorstep: The New Point of Sale The reasoning is simple. If a delivery per- son brings milk, bread, and vegetables to the doorstep in 30 minutes, the neighbor- hood store loses its main appeal. The Co- resight report, authored by analyst Sujeet Naik, notes that the risk primarily affects perishables—which drive frequent vi- sits—and last-minute purchases. The numbers back up this assessment. In the 2026 annual survey, 37.9% of those who buy groceries online said they made “most” or “all or almost all” of those pur- chases via express delivery. Furthermore, home delivery outpaces in-store pickup by 35.5 percentage points—the widest gap in the firm’s historical data series. From Necessity to Habit DoorDash confirms the trend. Mike Gold- blatt, the platform’s vice president of Bu- siness Partnerships, told Coresight that many customers initially turned to the ser- vice out of immediate need, but over time it became routine. Today, they shop more frequently and fill larger shopping carts. According to the executive, the industry is stabilizing around 30- to 40-minute de- livery windows—a pace that consumers still perceive as fast and that offers a more sustainable business model. For regional supermarkets, this means their window for responding is narrowing. The report does not set a specific deadline, but it warns that treating fast delivery solely as a convenience service underestimates its role in the overall shopping experience. If a delivery driver brings milk, bread, and vegetables to the door in 30 minutes, the neighborhood store loses its main appeal. • Continues on pag. 22