Where U.S. grocery dollars are going

[Jenise]

This is straight out of the latest TIME magazine.

Walmart 25%
Kroger 11%
Costco 10%
Albertsons 7%
Sams Club 5%
Ahold Delhaize 5%
Target 3%
Aldi 2%

The article's author, Alana Semuels, begins: "Every week I go onto Walmart's website and order a bunch of groceries to be delivered to my house, and then feel a little guilty. By shopping at Walmart, I am likely contributing to the demise of the independently owned grocery store, which is disappearing across the country. But the prices make the choice easy...a 42 ounce bag of Quaker Oats was $9.95 at Key Foods and $5.68 at Walmart...California Olive Ranch olive oil was $14.49 vs. $8.37, and Rao's homemade tomato sauce was $9.99 vs. $6.88. These prices are one major reason why Walmart captures 1 in 4 grocery dollars in America."

Honestly, I had no idea that Walmart prices were so low.

Walmart was here before I moved to this area 20 years ago and I've probably been in there 3 times; the last was maybe 6 years ago because I needed something only they had. First of all, I hate the place. I hate the way they hire then overwork part timers in order to avoid having to pay fulltime benefits, I hate the blue glare inside the store, I hate the likelihood of my car getting bashed up in a parking lot full of pickup trucks, and more recently I hate being shoulder to shoulder with Trumpers. Want to get Covid along with your bananas? Shop there.

As detailed in the article, Walmart has incredible leverage with suppliers and gets favorable pricing, despite the existence of a 1936 law called Robinson-Patman that essentially says suppliers can't give lower prices and special deals to big chain stores if it costs them the same to serve those stores as the little guys. But the FTC hasn't been prioritizing consumer welfare and it became costly to prosecute cases which they have found increasingly hard to win. Logical, but when Walmart is paying a below-cost price, the suppliers then make up by overcharging everybody else.

For most, the big box phenomena has been gradual. But I lived in Anchorage Alaska from 1990 to 1995. At the beginning there was a Costco, a Fred Meyer and a K-Mart. When we left, with no increase in population, there were three more K-Marts, another Costco and 2 Walmarts, plus Borders Books, Lowe's, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, CompUSA, Best Buy and, well, you name it. They all showed up. And I watched the indie retailers who had kept Anchorage going for decades--my friends and neighbors--put out of business. One had to wonder, once everyone buys a new toaster then what? Where are all the customers going to come from? It was heart-wrenching.

I still avoid those places to the extent I can. If there's a local independent store selling what I need, I shop there. Walmart will never get my business.

"By shopping at Walmart, I am likely contributing to the demise of the independently owned grocery store...."

She is correct.

I have this ongoing battle with CIGNA, my health insurance provider, regarding my perpetual prescriptions. They want me to have the orders fulfilled somewhere of their choosing (I read an article some years ago that said they were using underage girls in Canada?).

In any case, my local CVS means more to me than just the place I get my pills. I know the pharmacists, I buy cards, food, seasonal decorations, etc., there. So, I want them to stay in business. No doubt having a lively pharmacy onsite helps them to do that. So, no, you can ask me a hundred times but I'm not moving that business away. I like having shops in my neighborhood.

Returning to Ms. Semuels... She shops by web browser? How impersonal. How lacking in the ability to pick the fruit that smells or feels good to you. How lacking in op-shop. But she's probably accustomed to not having these casual relationships with vendors. Too bad.

She shops by web browser? How impersonal. How lacking in the ability to pick the fruit that smells or feels good to you. How lacking in op-shop. But she's probably accustomed to not having these casual relationships with vendors. Too bad.

Indeed. I try to buy as much as possible as close as possible to the source (farmers market). Nothing like getting to know the people who provide you with your food/flowers/other products. It's more human that way. Of course I also shop in stores, but still try to keep it as close to the source as possible. I.E. shops where the owner is buying the goods directly, as opposed to dealing with layers of corporate distribution chain profits. And I like the human interaction.

That said, there are good websites these days where you can buy high-quality artisanal products, which probably expands the market for some of those goods, which is a positive thing.

And even if I'm not one for delivery food, there is a place for that, for people who can't get out for various reasons. That said, right now we have clearly gone overboard with delivery food and the workers are suffering low wages as people do not pay the 'true cost' of the delivery. Although as the delivery guys get proper insurance, proper wages, etc, and the prices go up, the lower-income older folks who might need delivery would suffer.

Society is tough!

I think I have been into a Walmart only a very few times in my life despite the fact that we have one not far away.. You know those either scary or laughable photos of what Walmart customers look like? A lot of it is true! (Our closest outlet is a bit more upmarket but....)

I only indulge in the superstores when I need something - Costco isn't so bad but I have let my membership lapse quite awhile ago - I joined temporarily when we moved as I wanted a bunch of stuff - that I bought and then never went there again.

OTOH, our local equivalent big box store is the Real Canadian Superstore which is a Loblaws subsidiary, and we shop there once a week (and go once a week to the local yuppie store where the same products cost twice as much but were we can find some things not available at the Superstore).

For other stuff there is Amazon (only if you shop carefully - idiots who are loose with their money can buy the first item that shows up in a search and pay triple for that item what another 20 seconds searching would have found for them)

I will not shop at Walmart, I dislike how they treat the employees and their practices. I shop at a local and employee-owned store less than 5 minutes from my home. They know me, bring in customer-requested items, and mark them as such. The meat department goes overboard to accommodate my special requests and cuts. They have some drawbacks as they do not carry "everything" I keep in my pantry, nor do they have bone-in roasts. However, they are building a huge, new store across the street and will have an area for more products. The employees are super nice and make everyone feel welcome.
On the other side, our daughter who is a special education teacher in Ohio, also works nights at Walmart. She is nearing retirement and she and hubby are working on getting all bills taken care of before they retire. She loves working there, they are good to her, work around her winter and summer school schedules and she refuses to work on Sunday, which they comply with. She is sassy, and strong and goes after the thieves even when told not to do so. She also loves the bargains she gets there. She does not put up with crap from anyone and seems well-respected. Of course, she is a hard worker, always early to the job, and does good work.
As for home delivery, I love it and use it at least once a month. My store is Raley's which has "the everything" I mentioned above. I get great produce from the shopper, and everything is in stock. I use them when it is too darn hot, storming, or when I buy super heavy items in bottles. One can also order ahead of time and pick up at one of their designated parking spots. One can call upon arrival and the bags are brought out by a store employee to your car and placed where you want them. I have needed to use that a time or two.

There is also a very small and locally owned store near the airport called Kents Meats and Deli. Their cheese and deli selections are great, the service is great, and there are certain things I buy there. They are more expensive as is my other market near me but the products are worth it. The wife runs the deli and she makes her family recipes of tamale pie, chicken enchiladas, and so much more, all of it just like mom used to make. They have great sandwiches and the BBQ is always cooking away on Fridays with chickens and Tri-tip. Of course, I have been going to our local Farmer's Market every Saturday, when in season, for 46 years.
So, yes I am also a huge fan of supporting locals.

[Jenise]

In any case, my local CVS means more to me than just the place I get my pills....I like having shops in my neighborhood.

Makes perfect sense. Even if not independent, for you it's the same as local. And when it comes to pharmacies, in a lot of newer areas like mine where everything is something you get to by car, chains are the only options. The nearest is 14 miles away. The mom and pop operations of the type I grew up with have already been put out of business.

How lacking in the ability to pick the fruit that smells or feels good to you. How lacking in op-shop. But she's probably accustomed to not having these casual relationships with vendors. Too bad.

I've had those kind of relationships and I still favor that style of shopping where I can. I do a fair amount of my shopping at the local Food Co-ops, which is somewhat the same thing.

Too, I can't imagine letting some teenager pick out my produce. But this is the way things are now. I note that even the markets around me that, during Covid, didn't initially provide personal shoppers and customer pick-up are now redesigning the stores to accomodate it. The customers who got used to it have continued to want it--it didn't end with the pandemic.

And then there's Instacart. Watching CNBC when Instacart went public last week I saw a couple of the female anchors o both coasts waxing poetic on their love for this service. They have city jobs and they're mothers; for them Instacart is now indispensible.

In any case, my local CVS means more to me than just the place I get my pills. I know the pharmacists, I buy cards, food, seasonal decorations, etc., there. So, I want them to stay in business. No doubt having a lively pharmacy onsite helps them to do that. So, no, you can ask me a hundred times but I'm not moving that business away. I like having shops in my neighborhood.

I don't know if you are aware of this, but CVS IS a chain. In my area the staff are so mistreated that they have to close the pharmacy just to have a lunch break. I hate having to present some tracking card to get the "sale" price there. There is an independent pharmacy in the next town from me that I go to that means driving past several chains. Also, CVS is one of the companies that own both a pharmacy and a Pharmacy Benefit Manager. These PBMs "negotiate' drug prices with insurance companies.

As a side note, it wasn't until recently that you couldn't get a 90 day supply of meds from CVS. When you did, they gave you 30 days worth and subtracted one refill - effectively giving you 4 months worth instead of the 1 year the doctor wrote the Rx for.

[Jenise]

Dan, Jeff is obviously aware that CVS is a chain, hence his ostensibly pointing out that in some locations a chain operation can still be that neighborhood provider. It reminded me of our stay in downtown Philadelphia where, if I lived there, I would probably feel the same about the CVS store that was across the street from our apartment which we had a need to go to daily, it seemed. None of the chains around here come anything close.

The Walgreens I usually go to (wasn't a customer before Covid, but once drive-thru isolation made sense it became our norm) also closes for lunch. But that's not employee mistreatment, it's just plain old short-staffed.