Sunday, November 17, 2002
After I recently went supermarket shopping in Beijing's Chengxiang warehouse supermarket, I came away convinced that my Smart Shopping readers could not only cope with buying their groceries in this Chinese neighborhood, but would enjoy the experience. From the 30 varieties of bulk-frozen dumplings -- pick your own, mix and match -- to the 60-roll package of compressed bathroom tissue, it was an adventure.
When I reached Shanghai, I was told I could visit the biggest supermarket in China, the Super Brand Mall. Just the thought of it started my pulse racing.
The Super Brand Mall is an imposing building, and from the outside it looks more like a huge sports arena. The supermarket is on the lower level. When I took my first look, it was so big I couldn't see the far walls. To give you an idea of just how large this store is, it has 61 checkout counters!
The layout
At the entrance, I picked up a full-color sale circular. Walking into the store, I found a wall of values on my right with dozens of grocery bargains. My nose tingled at the aroma coming from the bakery on the left. The Chinese know the same tricks U.S. supermarkets use to get shoppers to buy more! I walked forward into a large fresh produce department with hundreds of items, most offered in bulk for shoppers to select. Shoppers bring their produce to a central weighing station where they are packaged and a UPC code is attached.
An aisle display featured red and gold, five-pound boxes of fresh pears for about $3.50. Small, 3-pound watermelons were priced at the equivalent of $4.
As I walked into the fresh meats area, I saw several freestanding counters where shoppers could select from piles of chicken parts resting on beds of ice. At one counter, a group of bargain hunters was selecting whole chickens on sale at 50-cents a pound.
Fresh meat and seafood are offered along one wall with a line of display cases and service counters that stretch for several hundred feet. I noticed prepared roasted chickens in almost a dozen varieties. The seafood department offered fish that were familiar, some on ice and many live in tanks of water.
In the grocery aisles I was surprised to see big signs, & quot;Low Prices Every Day & quot; in English! There are many brands, like Nestle and Procter & amp; Gamble that American shoppers would know. However, since the names on the labels are in Chinese, you recognize the brands from their color and graphics. For example, it would be hard to mistake the red, white and gold label on the bottle of Coca-Cola.
I wish I could have spent more time there, but my ears were beginning to ring. That supermarket was loud, and I mean loud! Employees at service counters use power megaphones to attract shoppers to their counters and their bargains. Very, very loud. There are a few things American supermarkets could learn from their Chinese cousins, but this is not one of them.
England
American supermarkets are keeping an eye on the new Sainsbury supermarket in Manchester, England. J. Sainsbury is one of England's largest supermarket chains. A Sainsbury spokesperson says the chain used customer comments to create a "wish list," that helped design the new store. The store has priority parking spaces close to the main entrance for parents shopping with young children. Inside the store, shoppers can drop off their kids in a supervised Kid's Zone play area. The store has an Internet Cafe where patrons can not only enjoy tea and a crumpet, but receive and send e-mail.
The store has a "Quick Shop" convenience store stocked with items shoppers want to pick up on-the-go. Quick Shop customers have their own entrance and parking area. Shoppers at the new Manchester store can place their grocery order on the Internet and arrange for pick up at a pre-arranged time at a special location in the parking lot.
New York
New York City is the place where the first supermarket was created back in the 1930s, but because of smaller store sizes, it is usually a follower of trends rather than a leader. However, tests are now being conducted that could impact supermarkets in other areas.
D'Agostino's is involved in an interesting checkout test in several of its Manhattan stores. It has eliminated express lanes! The test was prompted by situations where express lanes were empty and customers were lined up at regular lanes. A D'Agostino's spokesperson said eliminating express lanes might be fairer to all customers.
At the Whole Foods market in the Chelsea section of lower Manhattan, shoppers wait in three lines and Bill Jones directs the person at the front of each line to the next available checkout counter. With a flourish and hand signals, he announces: "You have number 6," and "Number 4 is ready for you." When shoppers are called, they know they will directed to a cashier who is just finishing up with a customer and they will soon be out the door. The triple line has been used for some time. However, before Mr. Jones was hired, cashiers called shoppers from the wait lines to their register, and they didn't like it. Mr. Jones, a retired radio broadcaster, says he has never had so much fun in his life. He says most customers are pleased with his assistance. He has been offered jobs, dinners and marriage proposals. Occasionally, when he leaves his position at 8 p.m., he gets a round of applause.
What do you think of no express lanes? Should your supermarket test a smiling, energetic Bill Jones to help shoppers check out faster during the store's busiest hours? Please write and let me know. Write to Martin Sloane, The Supermarket Shopper, in care of The Vindicator. I publish the most interesting letters.
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United Feature Syndicate