Shopkeeper originally surrounded by surplus, scattered (6)
I believe the answer is:
sparse
'scattered' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'shopkeeper originally surrounded by surplus' is the wordplay.
'originally' suggests taking the first letters.
'surrounded by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'surplus' becomes 'spare' (synonyms).
The initial letter of 'shopkeeper' is 's'.
's' going within 'spare' is 'SPARSE'.
(Other definitions for sparse that I've seen before include "rarely occurring" , "Meagre, scanty" , "One's not at all thick" , "Thinly dotted about" , "Thinly distributed" .)