Added: 03/02/2006 |
Supermarkets As A Major Alternative To Grocery StoresWith the invention of supermarkets, which are larger in size and have a more extensive choice of products at lower prices, grocery stores have been replaced by these more beneficial alternatives. However, regardless of the superiority of supermarkets, grocery stores do have their own niche to provide a customer with traditional food that cannot be found in supermarkets. In some countries, like in the United States, supermarkets are referred to as grocery stores.
Supermarkets differ from grocery stores in many ways. The concept of a self-service shop was introduced in the 1920s by Piggly Wiggly and Clarence Saunders stores, while the first supermarket was opened in the United States in New York in 1930. Since then, their number has increased significantly, with the majority of supermarkets being part of a chain. The combination of a full-service supermarket and a department store is known as a hypermarket, which usually offers a larger variety of services, including photography, cafes, gas stations, and pharmacies. In many countries, supermarkets are co-located with department stores in strip malls that have a regional character.
While shopping, customers put products into baskets or shopping carts, and pay for them at the checkout counter. Currently, a number of supermarket chains are trying to reduce the labor costs by involving self-service checkout machines, supervised by an assistant. The majority of supermarkets now offer a number of specific member cards, loyalty cards, and club cards that allow special discounts.
In many European countries, out-of-town supermarkets are blamed for the disappearance of local grocery stores, as well as for the dependency on motorcars and consequent traffic. Today, supermarkets compete with warehouse stores, like Costco, and a number of discount retailers, such as Wal-Mart. As of 2006, there exist nearly 55,000 grocery stores in the nation, as reported by the US Industry & Market Outlook.
Created in 1859 as the Great American Tea Company in Elmira, New York, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, commonly referred to as A&P, is one of the largest supermarket chains operated in the United States. In 1870, it acquired its present name and, several years later, the chain had 67 stores, with their number increasing to 1000 by the year 1915. In the early 1930s, the company operated more than 16,000 grocery stores, thus being recognized as dominant on the American retail market.
Today, A&P is no longer among the largest US retailers, operating a total of 650 stores throughout nine US states and the District of Columbia. In addition to A&P, the company operates ten retail banners, among which are conventional supermarkets, discount food stores, and food and drug combination stores.
Formerly, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company operated 236 stores through the A&P Canada unit in Ontario, until its sale of the Canadian operations was finalized to the grocery retailer Metro Inc., based in Montreal. For so many years, A&P supermarkets have been pioneers in the use of such in-house brands as Eight O'clock Coffee, Ann Page and Jane Parker, and Our Own Tea, seen as even more notable to shoppers as the outside retail brands carried by the store.
With the rapid increase of Internet usage, the amount of online grocery stores increases as well, providing customers with a wide selection of high-quality food. In many areas, delivery is available, which makes online shopping more convenient, quick, and trouble-free.
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