Time for supermarket reinvention?

Enlightening story in yesterday's New York Times by Melanie Warner about how grocery stores are losing customers to stores like Whole Foods and Wal-Mart. Interestingly, the same people are shopping both upscale and discount chains.

People shop Whole Foods for produce, interesting cheeses and breads, prepared foods and other upscale items and then buy paper products, toiletries, sodas, bottled water and other shelf-stable foods at the discount retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

Some grocery store chains, Safeway for instance, are reinventing themselves by offering more prepared foods and stopping customer-hostile tactics like putting milk and eggs in the back of the store. For years, supermarkets have forced customers to wind their way through many aisles to get to essentials and thereby be tempted to buy more stuff.

"Why have we played these games with customers?'' Robin Johnson of the Food Lion chain asks in the article.

Why, indeed? Safeway has five new stores in Northern California called Bloom, where customers can run in and grab milk, eggs and something already prepared for dinner at the front of the store. I think they are on to something.

Time for traditional grocery stores to wake up, don't you think? There are too many options out there for shoppers who don't want to negotiate the obstacle course at 5 p.m.

And if they want to be a friend to harried working moms, get rid of the candy and coloring books at the checkout. Put the stuff she needs there, like cereal and bread, not the sweets that encourage meltdowns.

Comments

[Mr. Cheesecake]

I honestly believe Sam's Club has the best peanut butter cookies in the world.

[Anonymous]

Take that idea and add the St. Pete angle to get us to a place that screams for something more authentic and gourmet and convenient near downtown St. Pete. Nothing against Publix, but this market calls for something like a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

[fabpackaging]

Would love to see a Jungle Jim's.

[Green Bean]

After living up and down both the East and West coasts, I have to say the markets in the St. Pete/Tampa area (including Farmer's Markets) are a joke. Doesn't anyone realize that there has been a food revolution going on for 2 decades? Has anyone heard of Alice Waters or has all the fried foods clogged the arteries to the brain? Whole Foods? Trader Joes? Now you’re talkin'! Let go for fresh, wholesome food.

[Anonymous]

Like Whole Foods - you'll LOVE Sweetbay Supermarket. They open their first St. Pete store in Midtown on 11/5. Corner of 22nd Street S/16th Avenue S.

[Anonymous]

Bloom is a concept store of Food Lion, not Safeway.

[Anonymous]

Sweetbay is a repackaged Kash n Karry but they don't mention a thing about carrying organic foods. When will Whole Foods be opening in St. Pete. Now that's something to get excited about!

[珍珠]

Good page!