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What features would you like to see in future supermarkets?
So asks The New York Times (TimesSelect). Randall Williams responds:
I like to try interesting recipes which often have exotic ingredients. But I often don’t need a whole bottle or bunch of a spice or other ingredient that I might never use again. It would be great to have an “assembly area” similar to the deli section where I could take my recipe and get a tablespoon of this and an ounce of that, measured into little plastic cups that I could take home to cook with.
The excess bundling is a form of price discrimination. If you can't be bothered to go to an ethnic market, which is both cheaper and sells in more flexible quantities, they figure you will pay the higher price.
As for me, I used to wish for shorter check-out lines, but now usually I get them. Dark chocolate is there too. I still would like ready-to-buy, truly fresh cooking stocks (beef and chicken), better magazines, and home delivery.
We should expect supermarkets to overinvest in encouraging impulse purchases. (Wegman's should put a given item in only one place and yes I will learn where that is.) Maybe that is the economic problem with home delivery. Smells, squeezes, and full-size items -- not Internet links -- sell profitable foodstuffs. The boring bulk stuff which is easy to order over the Internet also brings the lowest profit margins, I believe.
Here is a (non-gated) article on how supermarkets are evolving.
What do you wish for, and what is the analysis behind your wish?
Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 21, 2006 at 07:20 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink
Comments
You can get home delivery. Go to safeway.com
Posted by: joan at Sep 21, 2006 7:44:20 AM
I don't know how Fairfax Wegman's is behaving, but in their home territory they not only stock items in more than one location but they move them around ALL THE TIME. It is very annoying.
Still, having a Wegman's makes life in Geneva, NY (pop. 15,000) quite bearable.
Posted by: Michael Tinkler at Sep 21, 2006 8:30:08 AM
The store at which I most often shop, QFC (a subsidiary of Kroger found AFAIK only in Washington state), does sell bulk spices. You just spoon it into a bag, write the code on the twist tie, and take it to check-out.
Posted by: Brandon Berg at Sep 21, 2006 8:39:29 AM
The non-gated NYT article states that "Hispanic customers . . . spend on average $40 more a week than other shoppers." Any theories about the reason for this? The first thing that pops into my mind is that the $40 figure is per household, and Hispanic households tend to be larger due to the tendency for extended family members to live together (this is demographically true and not just an ethnic stereotype, right?). There may be more enlightened theories out there though.
Posted by: curious at Sep 21, 2006 9:08:21 AM
I would assume larger families, specialty cooking, and a greater likelyhood to cook at home contribute to Hispanic households spending more. Just a guess though.
Posted by: DaveH at Sep 21, 2006 9:19:14 AM
>The excess bundling is a form of price discrimination.
Actually, it is a form of boosting profits. If you purchase a container that is so large, you'll end up throwing it out when it goes bad. Or, in the case of prepared foods (like frozen), larger sizes mean you eat more, gaining weight for yourself and profits for the manufacturer. Omnivore's Dilemma covers this in part.
I'm not too thrilled that, for many of the aisles, the manufacturer of the product is responsible for the inventory and stocking the shelves. In the past couple months, my preferred potato chip (lay's deli style) has vanished from all the supermarkets here in Denver. In the past couple weeks, my second choice has gone from a size container that I can finish before they go stale, to a larger bag that is so big, the chips go stale before they get finished (printed, non-discounted price on the bag went from $2.99 to $3.49, and I suspect I'm discarding the 50 cent difference). I'm sure that these changes were done to boost Lay's profits, but in my case, I won't be buying potato chips. I don't like throwing food out, but I also can't "get my money's worth" without getting fatter than I am willing to get.
I also have noticed a number of foods that I've eaten for decades have changed taste/presentation/recipe/texture in the past year. What's happened in the past year that has made some foods go from "tasty" to "not" ? In the past, I've noticed some changing, but they appeared unconnected to each other. This past year it appears that more than a few have done so.
Posted by: Peter at Sep 21, 2006 9:37:05 AM
i actually shop at a wal-mart in texas thats predominatly hispanic. It would seem that they are definitley purchasing for a larger household. For insance its not uncommon to see up to 3 gallons of milk in carts. Where as i buy maybe a dozen eggs the other carts have 2 dozen. The fact their doubleing up on staples like milk, eggs, and bread to me seems like it would mean a larger home and not just that their eating that much more.
i have more goofy assumptions so i guess ill share them. I see lots of guys that are still dressed as if they have been doing construction loading up on like on particular item like only purchasing soda. another one will load up on like sandwhich stuff his cart will be all stuff for tons of sandwhiches and thats it. So what im assuming is that they have an agreement at work where like one guy brings the drinks for the week the other brings somes sandwhiches and they kinda split things up like that, if you were trying to track purchases i would have to imagine that kinda data would really skew things...
Posted by: mr. Yawn at Sep 21, 2006 9:48:11 AM
Peter: I imagine at least some of the taste changes you are experiencing across a broad range of foods are due to the required labeling of trans fat and the subsequent modification of recipes so it doesn't have to appear on the label. Trans fat labeling became mandatory this year.
Posted by: proboscidean at Sep 21, 2006 10:04:50 AM
brandon: "You just spoon it into a bag, write the code on the twist tie, and take it to check-out."
In a post-9/11 world, I'm reluctant to purchase food items that are not factory-sealed.
Posted by: JohnDewey at Sep 21, 2006 10:19:09 AM
JohnDewey: "In a post-9/11 world, I'm reluctant to purchase food items that are not factory-sealed."
Odd, considering that food poisoners have had absolutely nothing to do with militant Islam and considering that there has been no rise in malicious food contamination since 2001. Of course, you will say, "well the terrorists might use that as their next weapon". They may. But they may also choose to drive a truck through a shopping mall walkway, so best avoid those too.
Posted by: Ross at Sep 21, 2006 10:33:08 AM
I want RFID checkout, so I can just push my cart through a scanner to have all the items totaled instead of having to scan each item individually.
I really like the self-checkout devices at my local Tops. I tend to wait a lot longer to check out at Wegman's (which does not have the devices).
Posted by: Dan Maas at Sep 21, 2006 10:34:34 AM
As the stereotyping already's begun, I'll add my share. It's usually a better idea to get behind a man in the checkout line than behind a woman, even if the man has a significantly larger order. Women are much more likely to have big wads of coupons. Why is this an issue? Invariably some of the coupons will be expired or will be for items not in the woman's order,and invariably this will delay matters as the woman haggles with the clerk, a manager has to come over and double-check the coupons, etc. Women are also much more likely to pay by check, which tends to be a slower process than credit card or (especially) cash payment.
Posted by: Peter at Sep 21, 2006 10:38:10 AM
When the terrorists gain the ability to start working inside factories, JohnDewey will just starve to death.
Because he is a very serious person.
Posted by: Barbar at Sep 21, 2006 10:43:30 AM
As the stereotyping already's begun...
Stereotypes usually exist for a pretty good reason.
Posted by: Anom at Sep 21, 2006 10:56:03 AM
I don't pay any attention to food costs over sequential weeks, objective specialness of specials, total cost per trip. I would like to be able to access the same data that they associate with my discount card, to track how they're trying to fool with me. Market it to families (it will never happen, but would certainly be faster than even scanning barcodes at home). Pair it up with that "Grocery Game" website I remember reading about and it's a consumer's dream.
Posted by: Chi at Sep 21, 2006 10:56:58 AM
Here in NYC, lower prices.
People say that the markets are passing on the cost of rent, but this makes little sense to me. The rent is the passing on FROM the market of the value of having a large supply of customers with low price elasticities of demand, but the markets are not charities and should be selling for whatever price maximizes their aggregate profit regardless of rent or other fixed costs. For badly desgined stores, or during rush hour, it is possible that their revenues are limited by the time required to check customers out. In that case they should speed check-out with RFID, boosting their volume, or should implement sales to smoothe their demand throughout the week.
Posted by: michael vassar at Sep 21, 2006 10:57:18 AM
What do you wish for
WebVan.
Posted by: eddie at Sep 21, 2006 11:01:28 AM
I sometimes hesitate before buying food items from those open bulk bins (or from salad bars) not because I worry about terrorists, but because I think of little children picking their noses and/or scratching their posteriors, then thoughtlessly sticking their fingers into the foodstuffs.
Not that it's only children who might do such things.
Posted by: Peter at Sep 21, 2006 11:02:40 AM
Ross and Barbar,
You guys may not take the threat of food contamination seriously, but others have.
“The malicious contamination of food for terrorist purposes is a real and current threat, and deliberate contamination of food at one location could have global public health implications.” World Health Organization, 2002
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/general/en/terrorist.pdf
“In the aftermath of those incidents, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took steps to improve its ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to, incidents of food sabotage.”
“Acts of deliberate food contamination have already occurred in the U.S. In 1984, for example, the members of a religious cult contaminated salad bars with Salmonella typhimurium in order to disrupt a local election. This incident caused 751 cases of salmonellosis and resulted in the hospitalization of 45 of the victims.” Food and Drug Administration, October, 2003
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/rabtact.html
‘Deliberate contamination of the food supply could have a devastating public health and economic impact. … The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act (Bioterrorism Act) of 2002 provides authorization for a series of federal actions that will help protect the American public against terrorism. .” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, September, 2005
http://www.hhs.gov/emergency/mediaguide/PDF/06.pdf
Posted by: JohnDewey at Sep 21, 2006 11:16:01 AM
I really like the self-checkout devices at my local Tops. I tend to wait a lot longer to check out at Wegman's (which does not have the devices).
My local Stop & Shop supermarket has self-checkouts, and while the idea is good, in practice they work very poorly. I finally gave up on using them after requiring staff assistance most of the time. And no, I wasn't doing anything wrong, they just don't work properly.
Posted by: Peter at Sep 21, 2006 11:38:40 AM
JohnDewey: look at it this way. You're a terrorist. You want to create public terror. Do you
a) Go to individual supermarkets (at high risk of discovery) putting poison into unsealed spice bins, which would kill a few people cooking a curry.
b) Put poison into a factory-line, where you can have your canned food zip out all over the country, poisoning thousands.
I think that the rational terrorist would pick (b), which makes you primary concern about unsealed food a little off the mark.
Of course, I 'take food contamination seriously'. When it occurs. But 45 people being hospitalised (not dying) in another country (I'm in the UK) when I was less than one year old (1984) doesn't register too highly on my threat-radar.
Besides which, if this has been going on since 1984 (and before) what on earth is the relation with 9/11? Has food poisoning ever been a weapon of Islamic terrorists?
Posted by: Ross at Sep 21, 2006 12:10:33 PM
I just hope that the people who buy only factory-bagged food to avoid Al Qaeda aren't buying spinach.
What I wish for is a good, 3rd party/non governmental certifying organization to certify food for rational health and food safety (as opposed to mystical beliefs about how happy the cows were). And I wish that it was legal to test your own cows for mad cow as much as you want. With idiotic farming practices, the overuse of antibiotics in animals, and government limitations on safety testing, we are tampering with our own food supply more effectively than Al Qaeda ever could.
Posted by: DK at Sep 21, 2006 12:15:30 PM
A Wegman's store in greater Denver, that's all I ask!!!
Posted by: Noah Yetter at Sep 21, 2006 12:23:09 PM
I would like to be able to buy really good tasting fruits and vegetables. For instance, the best
tomatoes I've ever had are easily worth $10 a piece to me. Same with Squash. Oranges and grapes also
vary tremendously in their taste, but are all sold by the pound.
Posted by: jim at Sep 21, 2006 12:24:44 PM
I'd like to see something I saw in markets in SE Asian. They had assembled packages of all the ingredients in the quantity necessary for one dish. You could buy, for example, an assembly of one onion, one tomato, several mushrooms, two stalks celery, a couple stalks of lemongrass and a bag of mixed spices. Fresher than a pre-made soup, but already put together, so that you could grab that and know you had what you needed for that dish. It would be very useful for a beginner cook. It would be handy but less useful for experienced cooks with a stocked kitchen.
Posted by: Megan at Sep 21, 2006 12:30:44 PM
