Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

  • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Archives
    • Dick Young’s Safe America
    • The Final Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report
    • You’ve Read The Last Issue of Intelligence Report, Now What?
    • Dick Young’s Research Key: Anecdotal Evidence Gathering
    • Crisis at Vanguard
  • Investment Analysis
    • Bonds
    • Currencies and Gold
    • Dividend Investing
    • ETFs & Funds
    • Investment Strategy
    • Retirement Investing
    • Stocks
    • The Efficient Frontier
  • Investment Counsel
  • Dynamic Maximizers®
  • Retirement Compounders®
  • Free Email Signup

Has the Internet Broken the Grocery Store Model for Good?

October 4, 2018 By Young Research

Image used under license from Shutterstock.com

Most grocery stores are set up in more or less the same way. Aisles and aisles of refined carbohydrates stacked in the middle, surrounded by produce on one side, meat in the back, and dairy on the other. On the ends of each aisle are high calorie impulse purchases tempting shoppers who must pass by to get to the healthier options. Online sales may break this time-tested model.

Online shoppers are less likely to want impulse foods because they have more time to consider their options and plan ahead. In response to online shopping behavior, at least one store chain, Smart & Final, is altering the layout of its stores to better serve those shoppers. Heather Haddon reports in The Wall Street Journal:

Smart & Final Inc. has made some changes lately that would seem like near-heresy for a supermarket: The California-based chain ripped out racks of snacks and other profitable impulse purchases near the doors of some stores and instead installed freezers there.

But grocery executives say the seemingly irrational move is simply one of many signs that the supermarket business is radically changing. The freezers will serve as pickup points for customers who order their groceries online and may never go any farther into the store.

Such online sales, says Smart and Final Chief Executive David Hirz, is “becoming a meaningful piece of our business.”

After years of inertia, U.S. supermarket chains are racing to add online options, such as home delivery and in-store and curbside pickup, to keep shoppers from shifting more of the $800 billion in annual food and beverage spending to e-commerce firms such as Amazon.com Inc. The process is spurring retailers and major food brands to change fundamental aspects of their operations—from staffing and supply networks to the way they organize their parking lots and stores. At the same time, the online shift has created complications for the physical stores.

Bill Bishop, co-founder of consulting firm Brick Meets Click, calls it the biggest change to supermarket operations since the introduction of bar codes to consumers goods. “There really hasn’t been anything this sweeping operationally since,” Mr. Bishop says.

Read more here.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

You Might Also Like:

  • A New Amazon Model for India
  • The New Model is the Old Model in Real Estate Development
  • Never Checkout at the Store Again?
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Young Research
Latest posts by Young Research (see all)
  • Europeans Closing Businesses Early to Save on Energy - August 10, 2022
  • Federal Reserve Governor Signals MORE Big Rate Hikes - August 8, 2022
  • BIDEN UNCONVINCING: Saudis Holding Fire on Spare Capacity - August 5, 2022

Search Young Research

Most Popular

  • If the Phone Doesn’t Ring…It’s Me
  • Big Corporations Making Big Investments
  • DESANTIS RESISTS: Suspends Soros-Funded Destruction of America
  • SHOCK: Home Prices FALL in San Francisco as Market Dries Up
  • Federal Reserve Governor Signals MORE Big Rate Hikes
  • Your Retirement Life: Let the Slow and Steady Be Your Way of LIFE
  • The Power of a Compound Interest Table
  • Vanguard Wellesley (VWINX) vs. Wellington (VWELX): Which Fund is Best?
  • Resilient Nordic Market Spawns Fast Growing Offshoot
  • The Key Ingredient to an $8 Million Estate Is This

Don’t Miss

Default Risk Among the Many Concerns with Annuities

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth

Could this Be the Vanguard GNMA Winning Edge?

Cryptocosm and Life After Google

Warning: Avoid Mutual Fund Year End Distributions

Is Gold a Good Long-term Investment?

How to Invest in Gold

Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): The Original Balanced Fund

What is the Best Gold ETF for Investing and Trading?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Stock: The Only True Dividend King

The Dividend King of the North

You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life

RSS The Latest at Richardcyoung.com

  • Is Merrick Garland Taking the Blame to Protect Biden?
  • Our Commander-in-Chief Fumbles On
  • Buying A Boat: Who’s Looking Out for You?
  • DOJ Career Officers Disgusted by Garland’s Political Raid on Trump
  • Dick Young’s Investing in Fine Wine
  • If It Smells Fishy … ?
  • The Great Jon Rappoport on Kari Lake
  • How’s the Economy?
  • Your Survival Guy’s Favorite Number is 72: Here’s Why
  • DEMOCRATS PLAY DIRTY: Megynn Kelly Calls Bulls#$t on “Classified Documents” Story

About Us

  • About Young Research
  • Archives
  • Contributors

Our Partners

  • Richard C. Young & Co.
  • Richardcyoung.com

Copyright © 2022 | Terms & Conditions

 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.