As a pre-teen, my friend used to break out in hives the minute he saw his mom making vegetables (broccoli or cabbage washer). Now he collects grocers and cooks from them. He literally eats her vegetables and figuratively eats her groceries in a very sexual manner. It has become an icon of our generation.

 

In a recent episode of “The Simpsons”, Homer Simpson is seen purchasing a ton of groceries at the supermarket. One can’t help but notice the decadence of the act: Marge pays a lot of attention to her groceries, while Homer works diligently to finish his final purchase. However, instead of paying attention to the amount of groceries purchased, one hears “Oh, I almost finished that grocery.” As a funny clip from the movie suggests, “Pay attention to the details; you’ll be happy about it later.” In other words, instead of marveling at the amount of groceries purchased, one will instead be glad about the fact that all the groceries were paid for in full scale.

 

Groceries plays an important role as commodities sold in modern society. A grocery store is a very visible, and very effective, marketplace. It sells food in bulk quantities. It serves as a meeting place for households and neighborhood associations. It connects consumers who regularly shop together with producers who regularly sell foods to consumers in large quantities. A supermarket is a great place to shop and it serves as a valuable resource for families looking to improve their family’s nutrition.

 

Yet our lifestyle does not support frequent shopping at a supermarket. Instead, we prefer buying groceries at a convenience store or through the inter-bank mail. This fact accounts for the vast majority of the decline in the retail foodstuffs sale. We tend to rely on the grocery stores for bulk commodities sold in large quantities. It is convenient, more hygienic, and it saves time.

 

This trend toward buying groceries at a convenient store has been accentuated by supermarkets’ marketing efforts which aim to make people use grocery shops regularly. Groceries are also promoted by supermarkets as gifts for special occasions such as holidays and birthdays. The advent of the greengrocer has contributed to the increase in sales of processed and ready-made foods. Greengrocers promote themselves as places where people can find healthy and good-quality foods at reasonable prices.

 

General stores have always had a say in rural areas, promoting local produce, meat, and household goods. But, generally, people living in rural areas did not have access to specialty groceries. Groceries meant for the city dweller were not available there. As the penetration of the market for groceries increased in the rural areas, general stores adapted by offering more varieties and choices to customers.

 

The advent of the supermarket chain made it possible for general store owners to offer better variety to their customers, including dairy products. A milk bar was introduced in many general stores, providing a choice of all-natural and organic dairy products, all of which were more expensive than local milk sold in the past. The introduction of the milk bar provided competition for farmers who had previously marketed locally produced dairy products and had been hit by the introduction of the milk bar by supermarkets. Farmers began to sell their products through the supermarkets, as they could now earn more money through the sale of the milk and other dairy products. This trade-off was beneficial to both farmers and buyers.

 

Hypermarkets are different from supermarkets in many respects; it is a kind of mega-market that attracts a large number of people with its huge collection of goods. These are called hypermarkets. The products on offer are not necessarily exclusive to local products and are accessible to people living in suburbs too. Most groceries in the United Kingdom are located in or around London and Birmingham.