I would think the only reason they still allow is because they're afraid they'll lose the customers to places like KRM/Bingo to which they can't compete.But don't think they just have loads of cash sitting around.
A little bit of research into the newspaper industry tells you they make money from the ads.
If they were losing money on them, why would they want to keep them as customers?
How long could they stay open if they lose money on 50-75% of their customers ?
In many cases those accounts are inactive, the people are now shopping somewhere else. And this is not with a few people, it's a big crowd like this
FTFY
Its lose-lose
Which is back to my opinion that it's a mistake to extend credit to begin with.
If it was that simple they wouldn't. Many are requiring cc on file
And I can ensure, that people that started to shop by Bingo from the local groceries didn't pay their account before
So who is left?
Only in the frum world are printed publications still making money... In general printed publications are a thing of yesterday, and papers are closing down left and right... I ride the train daily and i see no one reading printed papers, everyone is on their phone... 10 years ago 50% of the train would be holding a paper.
When you shop in clothing/jewelry/pharmacy/restaurant etc you buy on credit ?
Yup, and I hope you do to.
Every business gives out credit. People buy on credit and pay later, even while constantly running up huge balances. This is how the economy works. And yes, they making a living.
