Brooklyn bodegas compete with chain stores by going modern

<p>Several bodega owners say their strategy to survive competition is to become more tech savvy.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jan 18, 2018, 10:35 PM

Updated 2,301 days ago

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Many Brooklyn bodegas are competing with convenience stores and other local shops by going modern.
Several bodega owners say their strategy to survive competition is to become more tech savvy.
The changes are as simple as replacing an old cash register with a digital one that can monitor purchasing patterns and assist with product pricing.
Mohammed Awad, a bodega worker, tells News 12 that the technogology costs about $1,000 in addition to a monthly fee.
Awad says the register notifies him if he should change pricing or move products to different locations in the store. He says that when sugar sales were down, the register notified him. That led him to reduce the price of sugar and relocate it to the front of the store.
Awad says the product is now one of the more popular items in the store.
"If we keep bringing in chains it’s only going to gentrify and make Manhattan and all of the other boroughs more expensive,” said customer Brittini Bombino.


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