Supermarkets’ Shrinking Share in Food Retailing Market Sparks Opportunities for Alternative Food Retail Channels

New York, April 1, 2006 — Major demographic, lifestyle, and technological changes are creating a fertile environment for the re-invention of the food retail milieu, according to The Future of Food Retailing, a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, a leading provider of industry-specific market research reports.

Supermarkets continue to see their share of the market fall into the hands of warehouse clubs, natural food chains, C-stores and even restaurants. Indeed, according to Packaged Facts, food-focused retailers’ share of groceries and consumables has plunged from 73% in 1998 to an estimated 51% in 2005. At the same time, general merchandise-focused retailers’ share of the grocery business has grown from 16% in 1998 to 33% today.

“Supermarkets are being beaten at their own game by other food retail outlets that are doing a better job of continuously innovating, technologically advancing, and cautiously up-scaling food choices—steps that are better servicing today’s value-driven, gourmet-seeking consumers.” said Don Montuori, the publisher of Packaged Facts. “Many supermarkets will either suffer a “slow death by stagnation,” or self-revolutionize to meet today’s consumers’ expectations.”

Supermarkets have not been completely remiss in responding to retail and consumer pressures. Many have added in-store eateries, well-promoted organic and private label choices, and “smart carts,” evidence that the future of food retailing is already happening. “Lifestyle stores” are taking off like wildfire, and well over 50% of retailers have invested in leading-edge technology systems, such as biometrics (finger print and iris identification) and self-checkout to quicken the shopping experience.

Analyzing the trends in flux within four retail channels—traditional grocery, value, convenience, and alternative—The Future of Food Retailing examines the technological advances changing the way consumers shop, the in-store choices changing the way consumers buy, and the retail environment revolutionizing the overall shopping experience. Priced at $3,000, this report comprehensively digests the forces re-inventing the grocery industry. It can be purchased directly from Packaged Facts by clicking: http://www.packagedfacts.com/pub/1152349.html. It is also available at MarketResearch.com.

About Packaged Facts
Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes research reports on a wide range of consumer industries, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, and demographics. For more information visit www.PackagedFacts.com, or contact Tom Ehart at 240-747-3014, or tehart@marketresearch.com.