North America, 2004
North America Council, 2004: The supermarket’s share of the total grocery business has declined broadly in recent years – average visits made by U.S. households dropped from 85 in 1998 to 72 in 2003. Consumers have moved a significant portion of their grocery spending to other types of stores. The strengths and weaknesses of new competitors – supercenters, warehouse clubs, health/food supermarkets, etc. – are well understood in terms of price, variety, quality and service. As members of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council debated this issue, it became clear that this understanding was not enough and that current thought processes may even be limiting our ability to develop the most effective responses.