A crowded grocery market in metro New Orleans has stores specializing, touting their strengths to get customers in the store. And that has shoppers doing a lot of shopping around.
It's not unusual, now, for shoppers to visit three, sometimes four, different supermarkets in a week to pick up the family groceries.
That may sound like a lot of grocery shopping, but the trade publication, Progressive Grocer, says it's becoming the norm. Local retail expert, Wade Ragas, says that's because the stores are beefing up their own special selections and offerings to get customers in the door.
Every store now seems to claim they have the best of something...be it the bakery, the butcher or their own backyard gardeners. They're looking for that niche that sets them apart.
"Each one of them will tell you that they have some area in which they're better than the competition," says Ragas."They're trying to draw from a big geography and each one is vying for enough of a share to make money in a market with very low profit margins."
He says the stores are selling themselves as something special...having the best beef, the freshest seafood or that perfect produce. But, that's making it increasingly difficult for folks to feed their desires for everything they want in just one place.
A local shopper may visit Trader Joe's, closest to home, at least once a week for produce, frozen items, and nut butters. Whole Foods might be another weekly stop, for items like rotisserie chicken, yogurt, healthy snacks and specialty foods like almond flour tortillas. Winn-Dixie may also be on the list for buy-one-get-one offers.
Every other week, there may be a stop at Costco for essentials like meat, produce, eggs and condiments. But Target is where many go for cleaning and household supplies. And, there are also occasional trips to the local stores like Rouse's, Robert Fresh Market, Zuppardo's, Langenstein's, or Dorignac's...maybe for the wine selection or prepared foods.
And, while most of the grocers now offer delivery services, they're still likely to tout their 'in-store' specials to get shoppers in the door.
"The stores are tying to each sort out where their strengths are, so they can get the customer in the store. Because they buy more merchandise if they can get the customer in the store."
Ragas says the fact that consumers are shopping around could help explain why the metro area is able to sustain an inordinate amount of grocery stores today. He says the fight for market share has been heating up for years. But, interestingly enough, no one has dropped out of the fray.
Some say the market is ‘overstored,' but don't tell that to local grocers. Some even say there's room to expand.
"The market here doesn't think of itself as being over-built at this time. There may be some geographies that will get over-built, with Veteran's Highway being the most competitive geography on the south shore of the lake. You can find four or five grocers within one mile on Vets. So, it's not difficult for shoppers to hop from store to store.
Change in the supermarket industry — as with the broader retail sector — is constant, says Justin Langlois, regional vice president at Stirling Properties, which works with grocery stores. And the change we're seeing today is something of a reversion.
“In the early 1900s, people would go to three or four places — the butcher, a general store and a produce market_for groceries,” Langlois says. “We stopped doing that with the advent of Sam's and Costco. But we're getting back to that routine again.”
Though online ordering and pickup have become popular offerings. Consumer trends also show young people, especially Generation Z, still enjoy the physical store experience, says Jim Dudlicek, editorial director of Progressive Grocer.
“If brick-and-mortar weren't here to stay, why would Amazon buy Whole Foods?”
