Supermarkets Are Well Thought Out Establishments

• The average grocery store has 47,000 products which makes it look like there is a large variety of choice – but it is an illusion – there are only a few major companies and a few major crops involved

Extensive research concludes that the average customer will stray away from their shopping list and will purchase something on impulse. 70% of buyers bring lists into the store, roughly 10% of shoppers stick to their list. Managers have succeeded when a shopper buys what is on the end shelf or on sale. It is by design that milk, meats, and bread is located towards the back of the store. Managers and owners cause customers to walk past as many products as possible before they pick up the products they went in

The grocery industry has a relatively high market commonality; a lot of grocery stores are somewhat related in terms of technologies used, labor force and the products or services offered in the stores. Differentiation with other competitors is key for survival in this highly competitive industry.

1. The grocery industry is a commoditized industry, which makes it difficult for grocers to sustain through differentiation. Buyer power is high and thus, cost leadership and operational efficiencies are critical. There is fierce competition amongst various grocery stores, with the main players such as Loblaw and A&P holding multi-banner stores in various market segments. Traditional grocery stores also lose some of their market share to drug stores, convenience stores and other retailers who have entered the industry. Threat of substitutes from fast-food and take- away outlets is not as prevalent, since many grocery stores have started stocking ready-to-eat meals and have deli services available for consumers. Competitive

In the United States, the food retail industry is absolutely massive. According to Statista, this industry brings in nearly 5.27 trillion dollars annually and 594.4 billion of that is from grocery store sales. In this market, the 20-ton gorilla in the room is Walmart, racking in nearly 20% of the entire market at around 118 billion dollars in 2013 according to the Harvard Business School case study. Following Walmart, Kroger and Costco own the biggest next largest slices bringing in 76 billion and 71 billion respectively. In this highly competitive market that has some of the smallest margins of any industry it can be tough to get ahead and even tougher to grow. However, Trader Joe’s has managed to pierce what was once a very small world

Nestle writes an article that is relevant to almost all of her readers because most people shop at supermarkets. Since almost everyone goes grocery shopping, we’re bound to be exposed to the supermarket’s many marketing schemes. Coming from a family that goes grocery shopping at least three times a week, I feel that this article will allow me to avoid some of the supermarket’s sneaky

Last of all, in Marion Nestle essay, “The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate” she states that supermarkets manipulate you on buying extra things you do not need. During her research, she realized there were a lot of different studies for designing the layout of the stores (Nestle 499-500). For instance; Stores do not use a lot of islands, they put certain things in the back of the store and put

Operating on very thin profit margins, players in the supermarket industry traditionally either focus on a premium segment or follow a discounter strategy at the low end. Premium players address educated and more price elastic consumers who value healthy, natural and organic food; the share of perishable items for these players is normally distinctly higher. Players that focus on a discounter strategy offer a higher share of simple necessity items and value price competitiveness over premium features like healthiness or organic origin. Independently of the focused customer group it is imperative for players in the supermarket industry to be cost efficient and optimize operations

Grocery shopping is more diversified and evolved than ever before. Individuals across the nation have access to everything from exotic products to unique delivery services. Often, specialty stores have limited locations whereas specialty services have a limited reach. However, two retailers have expanded to hundreds of locations while adhering to unexpected market positioning for previously untargeted market segments. Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s have become household names while also innovating beyond regional and national traditional chains. Despite comparable size in

The UK supermarket industry is a very competitive and profitable industry. It is made up of four main players with significant share of the market, and then various smaller companies who focus on smaller niches in the market such as the bottom of the market discounters and the top of the line speciality stores. It is an interesting market and this report evaluates the attractiveness of the industry using Porter’s five forces model with an insight into how market nicher Waitrose sustains a competitive advantage. Next this report looks at how major player Sainsbury’s successfully competes against its rivals using differentiation strategies, and analyses current consumer trends and problems can effect this industry.

Larger stores also offer people the convenience of additional services along with their shopping, for example post office, pharmacy and opticians. By addressing consumer’s expectations and using their buyer power they can offer a choice of products to reflect consumer’s diverse budgetary, dietary, ethical and environmental requirements. Furthermore their global buyer power enables consumers to benefit from choosing exotic produce all year round. With 30,000,000 customers (Bevan cited in Allen, 2009) choosing to use the big four supermarkets on a weekly basis it would suggest that they provide a format that consumers want.

Layout of Store- A great layout is vital for success. Grocery shopping can sometimes be tedious, so it is essential that the layout makes the process as easy as possible for a consumer. If a customer is having trouble finding things then they might start shopping elsewhere. Also, things that will spoil are usually in the back left of a store because that is where the customer will finish shopping thus reducing the time the product will spend not being refrigerated.

Grocery industry is a highly competitive market with thin profit margins. Super markets are dominant players in the grocery industry. They use grocery offerings to drive traffic to their higher profit margin retail items. With its operations efficiency, Walmart, the largest grocery retailer has been able to offer significant price drops. This also forces other grocery stores to drop prices which keeps the profit margin thin. Even with all the advantages of operational efficiency and economies of scale, Walmart’s share in grocery sales was down at 51% in 2011.

Ritz (2005) argues that large supermarkets offer higher range of substitute products and by implementing the technology they focus on increasing the positive experience and convenience of the customers who are conscious of their time (e. g. installation of automated self-checkout stations). The convenience stores do not offer the big variety of products but they benefit to the customers who do not have much time to shop in large supermarkets. The fast food restaurants are included because they offer the variations of prepared food products at the reasonable price while saving the time for the customers to go shopping and prepare the meals themselves (Johnson & Scholes

The UK supermarket industry resembles an oligopolistic industry, with several characteristics. Oligopolistic markets tend to be characterised by high concentration ratios, barriers to entry and…Since the turn of the century, the industry has been scrutinised by both the Office of Fair Trading and has been referred to the Competition Commission on two occasions. (Seely, 2012)