Evening star., 1932-04-19
RURAL SHOPPERS
SHIFT TO CITIES
Newspaper Ads and Good
Roads Reduce Trade in
Country Stores.

The trade area OF the average big
city department store, according to a
Commerce Department report today
has spread to such an extent through
the aid of newspaper advertising. good
roads and efficient transportation that
it is now affording strong competition
for retail establishments In small mu-
inequalities and rural areas OF every
State.
The departments statistics show that
in each State the percentage of popula-
ton in small cities and rural areas Is
in excess of the percentage OF total
, sales indicating many persons go TO tne
urban centerS to do a considerable
volume Of purchasing.
Despite the competition from mer-
chants in the big cities, 1t was pointed
out. the Small-toWn dealer Is OF VITA
| Importance to supplying the needs OF
the people in his area. Particularly is
this true in some of the Western and
Middle Western States. In Idaho. for
example, 1t is found that 81 per cent OF
all sales in the State are made by mer-
chants in small cities and rural terri
tokes- %
of all inhabitants are located outside
the cities Of 10 900 population or more.
Pennsylvania merchants in the less
populated regions do a larger volume of
business than those in any other State,
The total, as shown by 1880 census
figures, published in Domestic Com
merce, was 81, ,087 $40, 900. This was 81
per cent of all sales in the State.
Forty-fiv per cent of the citizens OF
PENNSYLVANIA live in small cities or rural
areas, where 38 per cent Of the stores
are situated.
Figures made public for the country
as a whole disclosed that total sales in
small-toVn and rural districts aggre-
gated $14,926, ,221 900, which was 80 per
cent of ali retail sales in the United
States. Fffty-two per cent of the en-
tire population is found outside the
larger cities and As per cent of all stores.
Despite the fact Pennsylvania leads in
the volume of business in small cities
and rural areas, 81 other States have a
larger percentage of sales outside the
large cities. Pennsylvania is one of -
States in which the percentage Is
smaller than for the country as whole.
Seven of these II are among the first
IL States in point of volume of sales.
Rhode Island, ranking lowest in the
amount of business In rural and small
cities stores, with $21, 900, also has
the smallest percentage of business in
these stores-7. The stores are only IL
per cent Of all those in the State, while
only II per cent of the population is
located outside the metropolitan centers.
In six States 70 per cent or more of
all sales are made by merchants in
small towns and rural regions. These
States are Idaho. North Dakota, Yer
mont. Wyoming, South Dakota and New
Mexico, all of which have large per-
centages of rural population.
Tennessee has the widest range be-
tween percentage of sales in small towns
and rural areas and percentage of popu-
lation in the same regions. These dis
tricts account for 81 per cent of total
sales in the State and 73 per cent of
the population. The spread is also
comparatively wide in Georgia, Alabama
and Virginia.
This would indicate that in these
States the people go to the city to do a
relatively large amount of buying, or
that the purchasing power in the rural
areas is so low as to reduce average
sales considerably below those in ruraI
areas of other States.