USA Supermarkets

USA Supermarkets

There are now thousands of USA supermarkets serving millions of Americans. Studies show that shoppers have a weekly spending of $99.90 on groceries in 2010, representing an increase of 1.5% over the figures of 2009, and it is expected that the figure will continue to increase. The most important factors responsible for the choice of a favorite supermarket are price (75%); fruits and vegetables of high-quality (73%); and money-saving specials or items on sale (67%).

There are many things which have been taking place in the food industry for some years. These are some of them:

1. Many USA supermarkets are introducing low carbohydrate/cholesterol/added-sugar foods. For instance, cane sugar has taken the place of syrup as the major ingredient used in some drinks, while the calories and fats contents in ice cream have been greatly reduced. The need to lose weight has brought about the development of different dietary foods by major companies like Unilever, Kraft, and Danone, adding certain fibres to delay digestion and make the food more filling. Many supermarkets use all these features when advertising their products, as a way to have more sales.

1. Americans now prefer to go for organic food in place of the ones processed with harsh chemicals, and many USA supermarkets are taking advantage of that. Organic food is the type of food produced or grown without using pesticides, chemical synthetic fertilizers and preservatives and which have nothing to do with genetic engineering. Official definitions differ from country to country, but may require a high standard of growing practices, processing, storage, distribution and management. Organic food includes different types of products like meat, wine, cheese, spices, canned goods, nuts, etc. According to a report from the US Organic Trade Association, the average annual rate of growth the sales of organic food increased by more than 25%, and reaching US$36 billion in 2010. The rate of penetration of organic food was around 6.2% of total food sales made by USA supermarkets.

1. The demand for better shopping convenience and more diversified food tastes has been making many USA supermarkets to continually change their business strategies. For instance, many Americans now want one-stop shopping, driving hundreds of grocery stores to expand the number of sales departments, increase product variety and more of consumer services. This restructuring in the food business has called the creation of new departments and a broader range of workers to staff them, like the fresh fish and prepared food departments and deli counters which make some other departments to be completely  wiped out because their style did not meet current consumer behavior. More USA supermarkets are also expected to develop different niches to become more profitable, and the mix of workers in such supermarkets will definitely be adjusted to reflect new buying habits of consumers, and the changing product focus.

Stiff competition will continue to characterize the industry in which USA supermarkets operate. Many changes have taken place and will continue to do so, especially at the grocery level.  For instance, in 2010, the major U.S. food retailers (Wal-Mart, The Kroger, Albertson’s, Safeway, Costco, Ahold USA, Sam’s Club, Publix, Delhaize America and H.E. Butt) had sales of more than $650 million in 2010, accounting for more than 70% of the total market share.  Wal-Mart now has about 30% of all the grocery products sold in the U.S.