ALFRED, Ontario – For years, traditional grocery stores have provided Canadians with a place to stock up on that basic requirement for life: food. But these days, the model that emerged a half century ago might not last for another 50 years, according to Sylvain Charlebois, professor in food distribution and policy at the College of Management and Economics for the University of Guelph.

In an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail, Charlebois posited that several “key metrics are telling us that the days of the typical grocery store are numbered.” His first example is Loblaw’s move into non-food products as part of its business model. The country’s number-one food retailer might even start a drive-thru business.

Walmart is one reason why traditional supermarkets are looking to expand into other areas. With its supercenters, the discount retailer has captured nearly 10% of the Canadian market, with its eye on becoming the top retailer in Canada, much like it is in the United States.

Online shopping has also made inroads into the market share formerly held by traditional grocers. Amazon has enlarged its food offerings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, with the possibility of piloting similar programs in Canada, among other countries.

“Customization will become an important driver moving forward, which means that specialty stores, once written off by many, may have a future after all,” wrote Charlebois. “Ethnicity and food trends are game-changers as well.”

While the future will still have large supermarkets, Charlebois predicted that no longer would one model have clear dominance in the market place, but those numbers will decrease as other retailers fill food niches.