Retail trucks now on the mobile business menu

Move over food trucks, mobile retailers are rolling in.

Following the trend of selling food out of mobile kitchens, retail trucks are popping up next to the food truck forerunners in St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City, according to Missouri Business Alert.

Selling items from clothing, shoes and crafts, many retailers consider the trucks a springboard to brick and mortar stores. In Springfield, trucks selling sunglasses and handmade rugs have been spotted on street corners.

Le Fashion Truck in Los Angeles is thought to be the first of its kind when it opened in January 2011. The American Mobile Retail Association estimates there are now 500 retail trucks in operation, and the association counts 100 members, 14 in the Midwest.

The dangling carrot from the American Mobile Retail Association: It typically takes just $20,000 and six months for retail truck operators to see a return on their investment.
 
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