How does a supermarket make money?
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The Secret: Besides your groceries, who pays supermarkets?
Brands pay for shelf placement. Margins on food are thin, so slotting fees and promotional payments from manufacturers for eye-level and end-cap space are a meaningful income stream. Source: Wikipedia – Slotting fee
Why They Stay: Why do shoppers keep going to the same store?
Habit and proximity: they know where everything is. Grocery shopping is routine. Knowing the layout saves time, and loyalty cards add personalized discounts that make comparison harder. Source: Wikipedia – Loyalty program
Why They Leave: What breaks grocery loyalty?
A discounter like Aldi or Lidl opens nearby. Hard discounters reset what a basket 'should' cost. A study of US grocery stores found nearby supermarkets cut their markups after a discount store opened, which shows how much loyalty depends on price. Source: Retail Markups and Discount-Store Entry (Review of Industrial Organization, 2023)