In the 1960’s, Sam Walton had a bright idea for a new store. He proposed a store that “should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.” Walmart opened in 1962 and the superstore revolution began. Ever since then, Americans have taken for granted the abundance of stores that carry anything and everything! For efficiency, we just go on a “Target run” and are done with our shopping for the week.

The popularity of big box shopping is here to stay, especially in this tough economy. But the benefit of their price breaks is offset, as gas prices also hurt consumers, since the stores are in other cities. Walmart has many locations in Oakland and the East Bay, K-Mart has a location in San Leandro, while Target has two locations on opposite sides of Highway 280 in Colma and Serramonte. The nearest non-hardware megastore to San Francisco’s city center is 7.1 miles away, definitely a problem.

These big retailers have previously not had locations in San Francisco. Good news, the city has finally caught on to the trend. Big box stores are beginning to open within city limits, thanks to the efforts of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, an independent organization dedicated to improving living conditions in urban areas and facilitating economic development. Target is currently developing one of its first urban locations in the Metreon in downtown San Francisco, set to open its doors early next year. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, the city’s Planning Commission granted Target approval to open another location at the Geary and Masonic mall. This means that there will soon be not one, but two Targets in the city. The hardware superstore Lowe’s also opened its first San Francisco store in 2010 on Bayshore Blvd. in the Bayview district, harkening back to the days when Bayshore was a haven to hardware customers with Goodman’s Lumber, open from 1949 to 2000.

San Francisco will greatly benefit from the chains that come to our city. The stores will provide hundreds of new jobs. According to an Oct. 30 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Lowe’s on Bayshore Blvd. hired more than 200 employees, most from within the Bayview area, to work at the new store. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 10 percent of all people who live in the Bayview district were unemployed. On Sept. 16 the California Employment Development Department reported an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in San Francisco. In this economic climate, the number of new jobs generated by superstores could greatly affect people’s lives for the better.

Although critics argue that Targets and Walmarts would hurt local small businesses, these stores have the potential to revive neighborhoods where development has begun. The new stores, by employing more local people, help more money flow into the area. The Bayview district did not previously attract many people from around the city, but now that there is a Lowe’s in the area, people come from all over San Francisco to shop there. Location does make a difference; the stores will be accessible to shoppers who previously had to venture out of the city to do their shopping and to new customers on public transportation. The greater traffic through the area will also promote other businesses in the Bayview.

The same can be said for the Metreon mall downtown, which contains little more than a movie theatre and a few restaurants. The addition of a Target store will draw crowds to this urban mall, making it a popular place for people to shop. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle published, the Metreon has been struggling financially ever since it opened its doors in 1999. The revitalization of the Metreon will draw more people to the area, which will also promote local businesses.

This newfound interest in big box stores is supported by the city’s aggressive attempts to attract and keep businesses, from local “Mom and Pop” stores to international corporations that headquarter in the city. While high-profile retailers have only recently been allowed to develop in the city, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is begging million-dollar online companies to stay in the city. The Bay Citizen reported that the Board of Supervisors approved a tax cut in late April that could save online companies based in San Francisco, such as Zynga, Twitter or Yelp, millions of dollars. This new tax break was approved to help shore up San Francisco’s reputation as a technology hub by offering an incentive to Internet firms to stay in the city. In January, Twitter contemplated moving its headquarters out of San Francisco to Brisbane, but agreed to stay when offered the tax cut. Twitter is now moving to a location in Central Market, where the city hopes its presence will enhance the area. It is clear that bringing in established companies generally rejuvenates downtrodden areas of the city.

Our country has gone through a commercial revolution. Since the 1960’s, the way we shop has been changed irrevocably. Now, San Franciscans will get their chance to save on both large jugs of laundry detergent and gas - and enjoy a potential boom to their city’s economy.

A version of this article first appeared in the Oct. 7, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.

Illustrations by Vivian Tong.