Communities test new grocery models as local shops close

Two municipalities in Lower Austria are pursuing different approaches to keep grocery shopping available locally after traditional stores have become difficult to sustain, ORF reported Friday.

In Nußdorf ob der Traisen, a municipality of about 2,000 people, the former grocery store in the town centre has closed. The site is now a construction area and is expected to be used differently as part of a town-centre redevelopment. Residents told ORF they regretted the closure, saying the shop had been important to quality of life.

The store had been run by an association and supported financially by the municipality. According to the municipal newspaper, the council provided about 145,000 euros in 2025 alone. The municipality said the business was no longer financially viable.

A survey of 253 people found that about 79 per cent considered a grocery shop in the town important or very important. However, only 27 per cent said they shopped there several times a week. The survey was not representative of the whole population. The closure also prompted political debate: the SPÖ opposed relocating the store, while the ÖVP pointed to low customer numbers and the costs of continuing the existing model.

A recent study by KMU Forschung Austria found that 115 of Lower Austria’s 573 municipalities had no grocery retailer in 2024, affecting 136,000 residents. That was about one in five municipalities. Across Austria, 72 per cent of municipalities with fewer than 500 residents had no grocery retailer of their own.

In Ardagger, a municipality of about 3,600 people, an existing grocer is moving to a new location beside the school centre. The supermarket will have about 700 square metres of retail space and is scheduled to open on October 22. Thirty-three apartments have also been built above the store.

Mayor Johannes Pressl said the new location’s central position, public transport links and proximity to schools and childcare could attract more customers. Whether the business will be financially sustainable remains to be seen.

The Ardagger store will operate as a hybrid market, with staff present during some opening hours and self-service access using a bank card at other times. Customers will scan and pay for their own goods. The municipality also plans Sunday opening. Under current national opening-hours rules, supermarkets and hybrid markets may open for a maximum of 72 hours a week. Nußdorf is also trying to continue a hybrid market in one of its cadastral communities, and the state supports hybrid local-supply models.