Think back to the year 1988 for a moment. Walmart and Target didn’t carry a full grocery selection. Convenience stores sold convenience foods. Dollar stores sold trinkets. And there was no such thing as ordering groceries online. So in order to feed your family, you pretty much had to go to the grocery store. As a result, grocery stores commanded fully 90% of the grocery market share.  Here’s a short article from Coupons in the News here.