We hop from store to store, searching for the best deal and the best quality. How the business of selling groceries is changing—and improving—to suit us.
Stop & Shop was hardly the first supermarket in the area. A & P (Atlantic and Pacific) and First National were already in operation in and around Massachusetts and elsewhere.
I am not at all happy with this situation. I am frustrated.
As noted in the article, I can no longer buy all my weekly groceries in one store. Instead, I spend a large chunk of my weekend, which I prefer to spend with my family, driving from store to store to find unsalted peanut butter (Hannaford and sometimes Stop & Shop carry their own brands, but it vanished for several months this past year), or wheat germ for under $4.50 a jar (recently at Hannaford and Target, but not at Stop & Shop), or paper towels in a store brand that work better than the name brands (Target). The paprika we have used for dozens of years is suddenly no longer available at most stores. The reduced-fat provolone slices have been banished from Hannaford, but can be found at Stop & Shop. Wyman's frozen blueberries have always been available (until today, for some reason) at Hannaford, but only sometimes at Stop & Shop or Price Chopper. Yogurt - don't even get me started - flavors and sizes vary by brand, but good luck finding your favorites in the same store for more than a few consecutive weeks! And why has Apple-Grape juice vanished? It was renamed Grape Juice Blend by both Hannaford and Stop & Shop's store brands, but now it is simply gone, as if it never existed.
I consider myself very lucky that one of my daughters is willing to stop once or twice a week to pick up a few items on her way home. One Sunday last month I had to go to Rite-Aid, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Target, and then my daughter went to BJ's. After all that, we still had a list of items that were not found in any of these stores, but that we have been buying for years and years. I have started going to Whole Foods for specific items, but I can not afford to shop there weekly.
This marketing trend of trying to "zoom in" on individual shoppers is costing me my sanity! Grocery shopping on a budget has become more and more difficult as stores discontinue products and try to market others that will profit them more. Go ahead and discontinue that no-salt peanut butter. You will lose me as a customer and my $10,000+ annual grocery spending will be done at the ONE grocery store that tries to supply everything I need under one roof, for a reasonable price. (If I am frustrated, I can not imagine how hard it is for families on a much tighter budget.)
Comments
Stop & Shop was hardly the first supermarket in the area. A & P (Atlantic and Pacific) and First National were already in operation in and around Massachusetts and elsewhere.
No wonder people claim they're always too busy. What a waste of time.
I am not at all happy with this situation. I am frustrated.
As noted in the article, I can no longer buy all my weekly groceries in one store. Instead, I spend a large chunk of my weekend, which I prefer to spend with my family, driving from store to store to find unsalted peanut butter (Hannaford and sometimes Stop & Shop carry their own brands, but it vanished for several months this past year), or wheat germ for under $4.50 a jar (recently at Hannaford and Target, but not at Stop & Shop), or paper towels in a store brand that work better than the name brands (Target). The paprika we have used for dozens of years is suddenly no longer available at most stores. The reduced-fat provolone slices have been banished from Hannaford, but can be found at Stop & Shop. Wyman's frozen blueberries have always been available (until today, for some reason) at Hannaford, but only sometimes at Stop & Shop or Price Chopper. Yogurt - don't even get me started - flavors and sizes vary by brand, but good luck finding your favorites in the same store for more than a few consecutive weeks! And why has Apple-Grape juice vanished? It was renamed Grape Juice Blend by both Hannaford and Stop & Shop's store brands, but now it is simply gone, as if it never existed.
I consider myself very lucky that one of my daughters is willing to stop once or twice a week to pick up a few items on her way home. One Sunday last month I had to go to Rite-Aid, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Target, and then my daughter went to BJ's. After all that, we still had a list of items that were not found in any of these stores, but that we have been buying for years and years. I have started going to Whole Foods for specific items, but I can not afford to shop there weekly.
This marketing trend of trying to "zoom in" on individual shoppers is costing me my sanity! Grocery shopping on a budget has become more and more difficult as stores discontinue products and try to market others that will profit them more. Go ahead and discontinue that no-salt peanut butter. You will lose me as a customer and my $10,000+ annual grocery spending will be done at the ONE grocery store that tries to supply everything I need under one roof, for a reasonable price. (If I am frustrated, I can not imagine how hard it is for families on a much tighter budget.)