One thing about big markets, the package sizes there are huge for a 2 person family such as ours. I'll rather pay a higher price per unit for the amount I need than buy 2x what we can consume at a cheap unit price.

Around here the small shops are making a comeback, particularly in ecological or biodynamically produced foods and are extending their selection. For example, a couple of local stores have started to sell liquid soaps / detergents by the volume: you bring your own container, fill it up, and they charge you for the volume of the container. You can buy as much as you need, and not have to buy (and later dispose of) the extra plastic package that you didn't need in the first place.

--J