You may not know it, but there is a rapid shift going on in the supermarket business these days. The tumult in the industry is apparent everywhere, including in California where a brutal strike has been going on for months. Three major chains have been on strike after being told by management that they are going to have to work for less. In the upper Midwest, Farmer Jacks is converting many of its stores into “food basics,” according to the Detroit News. This means that the stores will be stripped only to the basics, and customers will be able to get deals on non-perishable items. There will be very limited numbers of perishable items. So, the supermarket business is going through a huge change much like it did in the 50s, and supermarkets will not be “one size fits all.” Some will have tons of different things going on inside like flower shops, banks, pharmacies and video stores. While others such as Aldi will be open very limited hours and will have a very limited supply of food. More and more stores are taking a tip from the Wal-Mart handbook and are giving people more of what they want - better prices.

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Speaking of shopping, how do you feel about check out lines at grocery stores? Kroger is experimenting with having all lines open 24 hours a day, so no one has to wait. But not all stores can do this. So, what if you never had to “check out” and wait in those lines at all. One store in Germany called the Metro group is eliminating lines as we know them. In these stores, you use a smart card to “ring up” items as you put them in your cart. So, there is no check out when you’re ready to leave. You card has been charged and you simply walk out. Think about it. We fill up our carts, one item at a time, only to empty them back out when we’re ready to pay. It’s not very efficient. We may be five years or more away from this in the States, but it will happen.