Jordan Holman

John Knight is the executive director of Historic Harrisville, a nonprofit that works to preserve the town's historic buildings.

It bought the Harrisville General Store in 2008 and hired a manager to operate it like any other shop.

But the nonprofit also runs a campaign each year, raising $40,000 to $50,000 specifically for the store.

Of course, most country stores operate on a more traditional for-profit model.

Damaris Graham and her sister, Mariana Gibaldi, are planning to reopen the Gilson Village store in a couple months.

The last owner closed it a few years ago, but it first opened in the 1800s.

This is Graham.

The sisters plan to stock basic grocery and convenience items like milk and toilet paper.

The area is rural.

Some people in the region have to drive an hour-round trip to get to a grocery store in the nearest city.

Graham is counting on what was true 200 years ago to still be true today.

There's no need to schlep to the big city when you can just stop by your local country store.

I'm Jackie Harris for Marketplace.

Ok, he hablado con varios ejecutivos de ventas esta semana y algunos de ellos dijeron que incluso estaban sorprendidos por lo mucho que se gastó en noviembre y diciembre.

Pero creo que son pocas cosas.

De hecho, se está haciendo más difícil vender a la gente en bolsas o algo de mayor precio.

Pero usan un montón de datos personalizados o advertencias muy específicas.

Están descubriendo formas de entusiasmar a la gente.

Y también la otra cosa que piensas de un Walmart o un Costco, este tipo de negocio de una sola parada.

Los vendedores son los que realmente ganan mercancía.