In earlier times food shopping involved going to a number of specialist shops to buy vegetables, meat, bread, etc. But in the last century the supermarket was born and shoppers can now buy all the food they need in one place, as well as clothes, household goods and electrical equipment. Many are even offering financial services. Today a few large supermarket chains dominate the retail sector. By becoming large, they receive many economic benefits which often appear to be passed onto the customer. For example, they make contracts with farmers to sell them produce at low prices and they purchase large quantities at one time. This allows them to keep prices low and attract new custom. They also provide other social benefits such as employment opportunities for thousands of people. The negative side of this is that small independent retailers have found it difficult to keep up with the increased competition and there are far fewer family firms today than there were in the past.