NEW TRENDS IN RETAILING In past years retailers in North America have sounded a consistent theme: Bigger is better. Superstores increased in number and spread rapidly, often at the expense of smaller, family-owned retail stores. Today these superstores are more than 50 percent larger than in the 1980's and can be over 30,000 square meters in size. But small retail stores are now making a comeback. Many of the largest retailers have begun experimenting with small-store formats. Rather than operating the small stores as separate outlets, though, the companies are managing all the stores in an area together as a closely knit network. By distributing small outlets throughout an area, a retailer can guarantee that one of them will almost always be closer to a given shopper than the superstore at the edge of town. Moreover, small stores are often located within walking distance of public transportation, and, once inside, customers can easily find the products they are looking for. One advantage of the big stores has been the variety of products they are able to carry because they are so large. One way that has been found to increase variety in small stores is to use electronic kiosks for online shopping. Although the number of products in the stores is small, there are enough actual items to inform. customers about the range and quality of products. Customers are then offered computer access to a Web site that provides the full product line. With regard to costs, small stores that are managed as networks have become as inexpensive to operate as superstores. By combining the orders of these stores, for instance, retailers can take advantage of the full-truckload delivery price rather than incur the higher cost of partial truckload deliveries. What is implied about the kind of stores preferred by customers in North America?