North America, 1989
North America Council, 1989: Dynamic changes in food retailing and consumer shopping behavior were forcing traditional supermarket operators to rethink how they would continue to successfully compete for consumers’ food dollars in 1989. The environment for supermarkets had changed radically, generally to their disadvantage, and competition would only intensify over the coming 1990s.
In order to survive and prosper, food retailers would need to determine the roles they could most effectively fill in their trading area, and then refocus their merchandising to accomplish that objective. This report was designed to help them identify and create the merchandising innovations needed to give consumers a compelling reason to buy from them.