Build it and they may come!

Store Equipment & Design, August, 2000

One-stop shopping has always been a goal of a certain, at times very large, segment of the supermarket industry. The theory was that consumers were always strapped for time and would find the convenience of not having to drive to more than one store more appealing than the inconvenience of having to shop at a huge store. The reality is that many shoppers never use the extra products or services that you've worked so hard to squeeze into your store.

According to the Food Marketing Institute's recently released Trends in the United States -- Consumer Attitudes & the Supermarket 2000, there has basically been little change over the past year in the number of visits to the supermarket. It doesn't matter what special sections or merchandising that has gone into the store, the expansion of Internet shopping doesn't seem to have any great effect either. Consumers visit a supermarket 2.3 times each week on average, 1.8 of those visits are to the household's primary supermarket.

When choosing a primary supermarket, cleanliness, high quality produce and meats and friendly employees tend to be the major reasons cited by consumers. On the other hand, low prices and cost savings were the main reason for choosing a secondary supermarket, along with convenient location.