Grocery Store Overview
Introduction
A grocery store is a store created primarily for the retailing of food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, typically stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells them to customers. If a grocery store stocks a large variety of products other than food, such as clothing or household items, then this type of grocery store is often referred to as supermarkets. On the other end of the spectrum, small specialty or niche grocery stores that mainly sell fruits and vegetables are known as greengrocers. Another classification of small grocery stores are those that predominantly sell snack foods and sandwiches are known as convenience stores.
Grocery Store History
The first grocery stores were probably the first trading posts, which sold not only food, but many other items needed to survive in everyday living -- clothing, cleaning supplies, hardware, and even furniture, as well as other miscellaneous merchandise. These trading posts evolved into larger retail businesses and became known as general stores. Today's grocers are descended from general stores. Many rural areas still contain general stores which sell an extremely wide variety of goods from fine silk dresses to cheap mouse traps. These stores normally offer a friendly way of providing their customers with "accounts" which allows the customer to take home goods and pay for them later, sometimes through a series of payments.
International Grocery Stores
The grocery store business is different from nation to nation; however, the stores are all similar in the sale of consumable foodstuffs. The nature of the food varies with local availability and their customers eating habits.
European Grocery Stores
Because many European cities are already densely packed together, crowded, and offer expensive real estate, large supermarkets, may never replace the local grocery store. However, 'Big Box' stores have been appearing in town and cities in many countries, leading to the reduction of independent smaller stores. The biggest impact to the grocery store has been the hypermarkets, such as Carrefour in France, have been steadily taking marketshare from smaller stores.
United States Grocery Stores
American grocery stores cover a wide variety of different styles ranging from rural family-owned grocery stores, to urban boutique chains that specialize in different niches of foods.
The establishment of the "everything" retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target has really forced a consolidation among many of the older, established grocery businesses. The huge buying power of these multi-billion dollar companies has put an increased financial burden on traditional grocery stores along with most of the national supermarket chains.
When a small grocery store is in competition with large supermarkets, the grocery store, to survive, must develop a niche market or an elevated service level that is not provided by the supermarket. Some examples of this niche marketing is friendlier staff with greater authority to make decisions for the customers (Trader Joe's), online orders delivered to your door (theoriginalonlinegrocerystore.com). Another way grocery stores can be superior to supermarkets is by being located closer to neighborhoods so that the customers can walk to the corner grocery rather than drive across town to the hypermart.
Other local grocers differentiate themselves from larger supermarkets by providing ready-made foods such as salads, sandwiches, pizza, and beverages. Although large chains have begun to add food service, smaller grocery stores have an advantage since they can generally provide fresher and cheaper prepared foods (due to their low overhead and small quantity), and a more relaxed environment in which to eat them.
Cultural Impact of Grocery Stores
Many specialty grocery stores carry food from a certain culture such as Cajun, Irish, Italian, Polish, or Middle-Eastern have served as community meeting area. With neighborhood hiring practices, many neighbors will see the teens of their friends working at the grocery store.
Prominent Grocery Stores
Some notable grocery stores and supermarkets include Byerly's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, Ralph's, Von's, Fred Meyer, IGA, Farm Boy, H-E-B, Cumberland Farms, Save-a-Lot, Brookshire Grocery Company, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, HyVee, Safeway, Schnucks, Stewart's Shops, and Food Lion.
by The Grocery Lady
Author Information
The Grocery Lady provides a comprehensive view of the grocery shopping experience covering everything from fruit to flank steak. You can find grocery information at her website http://www.theoriginalonlinegrocerystore.com. She also authors the free Grocery Store Bargain Newsletter.
