How do you think similar businesses stay in businesses? (i.e. Krogers, Walmart, Giant Eagle, etc.)

Location.
Customer service.
Merchandise.
Price.

People develop favorite stores. They have good experiences so they go back.

@marinelife I agree
1. Walmart is too crowded.
2. Publix is too expensive and having a bad job experience there (ex: We are the costumers slaves).
3. etc…

Those are just the opinions of other persons. Of course, people will hear and maybe even avoid that store.

For me, I go everywhere. It depends on where I’m at that moment. I live near Wal-mart about 4 minutes away but if I go an opposite direction I go to Meijers. Also, Meijers has my bank. I also agree that the crowdedness sometimes get to me. I find that other stores have fresher produce than Walmart many times.

I think Walmart is in a class by itself, because it’s known as not just a grocery but a place where a consumer can get other types of merchandise in one stop. So you may be able to go to a Kroger’s and get the occasional air conditioner, or flip flops or something seasonal, but in a Walmart you can get every type of merchandise under the sun in one stop. Also, Walmart has a base of customers that will go there just because it’s Walmart. While a customer is in Walmart, they may go get some groceries that they did not originally plan to get. It’s for that reason that I don’t think Walmart can be lumped into the comparison so easily. It’s apples and oranges.

Many reasons. Brand loyalty is one. States like Michigan are pretty loyal to Meijer’s, I always say Meijer’s was the first supercenter not Walmart. Most people in that state don’t want Walmart coming in because they traditionally have shopped at Meijer’s and many people question the way Walmart treats their employees and other practices.

Some markets don’t have all the various choices, so in that partocular market there might be just 2 or 3 choices, and room for everyone. Where I live there is Kroger, Walmart, Target, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and a local international market. Each one targets a different market segment of the population either through price, merchandise selection, or atmosphere. Hispanic foods I find at Walmart and the international market. The cheese I like best I can only find at Target. Produce at Kroger for the most part sucks. Etc.

@JLeslie: True. For organic and “better” quality, or if company’s coming LOL, try Whole Foods.

Okay if you get really into it Trader Joes vs. Whole Foods…. both organic. Which one preferred? lol

When it comes to grocery stores location is everything. I still go to the crappy Vons by my house for basics because it’s close. There is an albertsons and a Vons about 3 miles away that are much nicer. I will got here if I’m doing a bigger shop. The albertsons is two blocks closer. I got mad at Albertsons because they didn’t honor a posted sign and decided I would go to Von’s instead. The last time I went shopping I had my cart half full before I realized I was in Albertsons. I was so mad at myself! Habit, convince , and location location location.

@chelle21689 I like Whole Foods for their salad bar and already made foods at the deli counter. I like Trader Joe for things like pecan pralines. LOL.

JLeslie, I actually found a site that says Trader Joes Vs. Whole Foods and it seems that there are different than things like about both. I guess that’s the beauty of it. You can have competition but still be successful LOL

Politics, too. My city hates Wal-Mart (with help from your friendly neighborhood overpriced Schnuck’s Market) and so doesn’t have one.

Like @JLeslie said, you can go into Whole Foods and get some prepared food and sit down and eat it. This includes cakes and desserts, which is nice for us dessert eaters. Whole Foods also includes a big selection of health and beauty aides, like soaps and shampoos. Trader Joe’s has a few things in the HBA category. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have a place to sit and eat. Whole Foods has a big meat counter, prepared foods for sale by the pound (like for a party), whereas Trader Joe’s has a big frozen foods selection, and snack foods abound. Where I live, the Trader Joe’s is about half the size of Whole Foods. Each has it’s own use. I get my cat food from Trader Joe’s. I don’t go to Whole Foods too often, because you have to park in a parking garage and it’s kind of a bigger deal to go there, whereas Trader Joe’s is easier to get into and out of, with just a parking lot.

I wish we had a whole foods. :-(

@Judi I wish we had a Publix and Trader Joe’s.

Most people like having a grocery store as close to them as possible, so that helps. It’s also illegal to have a monopoly on the market (you know, assuming the government takes notice). Plus, different people like different things, so the small things really add up. Safeway doesn’t have many self-checkout lanes and when they do they’re annoying as hell, so I go to Kroger.

Woah. I thought Giant Eagle was a local store. I didn’t know it was well known.. anywhere. I thought it was just here.
I do think that a lot of it boils down to loyalty. Even stores that sell similar products still have a different variety, different brands, different generic products, and different sales. I agree that location is helpful, too. If I can choose between Giant Eagle or Walmart to run and buy a gallon of milk, and Walmart is closer, I’m going to Walmart. The person closer to Giant Eagle is probably going to GE.

As far as I’m concerned, Krogers is the bottom of the barrel. But they’re less than a mile from me and they do give generous gas points on prescriptions.

But at least once a week I trek down to Meijer. Their cust. service and management is great. Food quality is high and the prices on their sale items can’t be beat.

Plus, who needs a Walmart when there’s a Meijer. They have everything under the sun and much better quality than most of the crap at Walmart.

Because of their quality, great prices and customer service Meijer is heads and shoulders above the competition.

Here in Bogusville, the most successful stores are Traitor Joe’s, Floormart, and Partial Foods. ;-)

I guess some of their costumers are easily fooled, and for others it’s just their way of shooting the shaft to the biggies.

Another factor is the layout and population density of the region. The Save-a-Lot is maybe a mile from the Wal-Mart, but the street layout is such that you’re going to get to one or the other first, depending on your direction. On the population end, one store can only supply so many people per day – on big shopping days, you can see what happens when the entire store’s clientèle tries to buy things all at once. Black Friday for general merchandise, the 3rd of July for fresh meat, etc.