When bad storms come through, the power will inevitably go out. So what do supermarkets do when the power goes out? Do supermarkets have backup generators?
Most larger supermarkets and grocery stores have backup generators to operate basic systems, cash registers & emergency lighting. They are usually not capable of running large refrigeration equipment. In most cases, the low risk of long-term power outages outweighs the high cost of a large generator.
But it’s not quite that simple. Grocery stores use a LOT of power, and a generator large enough to power the whole store indefinitely would be HUGE!
So we’ll dive deeper into that, as well as some natural follow up questions like:
Do grocery stores have to close when the power goes out? How much power do grocery stores even use? I answer all of those questions and more in this article. Just keep reading to find out!
What do grocery stores do when the power goes out?
A lot of people think that grocery stores have backup power. Surprisingly, most stores don’t have backup power or generators.
Selling groceries is a low-profit margin business, and backup generators are very costly to purchase initially and to maintain.
Luckily, power outages are relatively rare. And when they do happen, it is for short amounts of time. If the time is short enough, they don’t have to worry about waste.
However, if the power is out for longer periods of time, like 30 minutes or more, most stores have procedures in place. These procedures not only deal with product waste but customer safety as well.
If the store has a generator, it’s likely to provide just enough power to ensure the emergency lighting, cash registers, and computer servers are working. Cash registers also often have battery backups at each station too.
The store employees will most likely start ushering the customers out of the store and use caution tape to ensure that the freezer and cooler doors aren’t opened. Open refrigerated cases typically have pull-down vinyl curtains that can be closed to help keep the cold inside the case.
Prepared hot food items will be thrown out once they can no longer be kept at a safe temperature.
Grocery stores hate throwing away merchandise. They have very low-profit margins. However, to keep customers safe, they will throw it out. Nobody wants sick customers just because the power went out.
But again, generators are expensive and grocery stores make low profits.
Just how little do grocery stores typically make in profit? Head over to this recent article to find out. Many only make 1-2% net profit which makes them one of the least profitable businesses.
But don’t feel sorry for Target or Walmart. In this article, I also uncover some of the tricks used to maximize their profits and get you to buy more.
— Woodstock Power Company (@WoodstockPower1) March 29, 2019
Can a business stay open without power?
They can, but not for very long.
If you’ve ever been in a grocery store with the lights turned off, you know it gets very very dark.
It can be very dangerous when it’s that dark. Especially for elderly people. People can’t see each other and can’t see merchandise that may be in front of them. If someone runs into an elderly person, they could fall, potentially injuring themselves and the person they run into.
Even with a backup generator powering the cash registers and some lighting, shoppers are encouraged to leave and come back when the power comes back on. Oftentimes, the registers are kept open to get the customers out that were in mid-order at the time of the power outage.
But without power, there’s likely no internet, making it risky to take credit cards as there might be no way to know for sure the card is good.
Again, even backup generators don’t provide power to cold and hot food. This means that if the power is out for too long, that merchandise will have to be thrown out.
And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the theft potential.
When the power goes out, people with buggies full of food can just walk out the door and load up their car. There’s always a certain amount of surprise and chaos when the power goes out. When that happens, initially, store employees aren’t paying attention to customers.
Instead, they are focusing on safety procedures and getting the power back on. Eventually, stores will post someone at the exit to prevent theft, but if there is an opportunity, there is a chance someone will take it.
So, while stores can stay open briefly, it’s in their best interest to close at least temporarily. Not just to prevent product loss, but for the safety of their customers.
How long does it take for food to spoil when the power goes out?
Grocery stores will always follow USDA guidelines when it comes to food.
Hot items get thrown out within thirty minutes.
Cold food can be kept cold for several hours if the store has bags of ice on hand. They will either have them in frozen storage in the stockroom as well as in ice displays on the sales floor.
Stores always have refrigerated and frozen walk-in coolers and freezers in the back.
As needed, items can be moved there (quickly as to minimize the number of times doors get opened) to extend their lifespan. Loading products into shopping carts make this process go quickly.
Employees will ice down the cold items like meat, temperature-sensitive produce, fine cheese, and packaged lunch meats. Essentially anything that is not behind closed cooler doors. Just like ice, closed doors can keep cold items cold for several hours.
Cold food can be kept like this for about two to four hours, however, frozen items may have to be thrown out after this point.
Large chain stores may have nearby warehouses with refrigerated and frozen trucks. Those trucks are driven to the store and then the employees move the cold items onto them. This helps minimize how much has to be thrown away.
Does a generator produce enough power to run a grocery store?
Generators can produce enough energy to run a very small grocery store.
However, it may take multiple generators, depending on the square footage and exactly what the grocery store wants to power. In most cases, they do NOT produce enough power to run the complex refrigeration systems of a full-sized grocery store.
Typically, backup generators provide just enough power to run emergency lights, cash registers, and computer servers. But they can also send power to small freezers and refrigerators.
If you’re interested in geeking out on all of the numbers, check out this GENERATOR SIZING GUIDE by Generac. Generac shows us how much square footage their generators cover and how much power gets produced.
Power outages are pretty infrequent. Infrequent enough that the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and testing generators outweigh the benefit of having it.
If the power goes out for long periods of time, as I mentioned, grocery stores will have refrigerated trucks they can load the cold stuff into.
If all else fails, grocers can take count of the groceries they have to throw out and file a claim with their insurance. They can also write it off as a loss at tax time.
Having a plan in place to deal with power outages is one part of running a successful grocery store.
To read more about how grocery stores are run successfully, read this recent article. I share with you all the best tips I learned in running several of Whole Foods Market’s top stores over a long period of time.
On average, supermarkets in the United States use 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity per square foot, each and every year. That equates to more than $200,000 per year in energy costs for a 50,000 square foot store! (source)
But grocery store owners can do quite a bit to save on energy usage and costs. And a lot is going on behind the scenes that you may not notice.
Grocery store owners and managers may have meetings and energy audits.
These meetings may result in procedures to conserve energy. Things like motion sensors to turn lights on and off, automatic thermostats, and natural lighting can all save money and reduce energy usage.
Having skylights and natural daylight sources, they can reduce lighting during daylight hours. They can adjust thermostats in the evenings and during seasonal changes.
They can also make sure that electrical components are properly maintained. And replacing old, less energy-efficient equipment is also a great way to improve energy costs.
Have you ever noticed the lights are off in the refrigerated section, but they turn on when you get in front of the door? That’s because the store has implemented at least some energy-saving methods.
Because grocery stores have very low profit-margins, saving money on electricity is an important part of keeping costs low.
Final Thoughts
Most grocery stores do not have backup generators. They are very costly, both in initial cost and maintenance.
Grocery stores use a lot of power. One generator would not be enough to power a whole grocery store. But it would be enough to power essentials like cash registers and computer servers.
While grocery stores can stay open for short periods of time, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest if they close for long power outages.
If you’ve ever considered owning a grocery store, work in one, or are just curious, you may have wondered how do grocery stores make money?
As a general rule, grocery stores operate on a profit margin as low as 1-3%. So they make money by selling large quantities. They also try to minimize shrink (theft and spoiled products) and keep labor costs as low as possible, often by hiring more part-time employees (who get fewer benefits).
But there’s a lot more to grocery store profitability than just that. So let’s (as they say in The Princess and the Frog), dig a little deeper.
Grocery store profit margins are very low. Even so, owning a grocery store can be very lucrative.
But how exactly do grocery stores work? How much do grocery stores pay for inventory and what is the profit margin? What is the most profitable item in grocery stores?
I’ll answer all of these questions and more. Just keep reading!
How do grocery stores work?
Grocery stores, when staffed with the right people, run like a well-oiled machine.
Grocery stores provide a service. They don’t typically sell a product of their own unless they have a large prepared foods section.
Rather, they buy existing products from distributors for stocking their local stores to sell to customers.
Once those products make it to the local store, it’s up to that store’s manager and team members to provide the services and resources that attract new customers and retain loyal ones.
Grocery store managers are responsible for all aspects of running the store. From supervising employees to maximizing profits.
They are the conductor of the orchestra if you will. If one part of the store falls apart, the rest of the store suffers.
In turn, if the store doesn’t have a good leader, the whole thing falls apart. So the manager is responsible for not only keeping the team together but the store running smoothly.
Grocery store managers are responsible for hiring and training employees.
They look for employees that can be trained to be the best in their department. And they also communicate with their employees to discuss potential stocking issues, answer questions, and address any staffing needs.
Lastly, they also need to think about what makes a good grocery store.
Good grocery stores have decent parking, even when the store is busy. They also have nice, wide aisles and competitive prices. They have properly staffed checkouts and an atmosphere that makes you want to hang out and shop.
There is so much that goes into running a good grocery store, and how they work.
It really can’t be properly addressed in one section of an article. So I wrote an entire article on how to run a successful grocery store!
To read all about what it takes to run a successful grocery store, read this recent article.
Most large grocery chains earn between 1-2% net profit whereas specialty grocers including Whole Foods Market typically earn between 5-12% net profit.
So they can be profitable. But margins are low and there is a lot of competition.
You probably think about Publix, Whole Foods, or even Walmart. Typically, when you think of a chain of any kind of store, you probably think they make a lot of money.
And those conventional chain stores are pretty profitable. But not in terms of a profit margin; just gross dollars.
In fact, conventional grocery stores only make 1-2% bottom-line profit. Compared to other kinds of businesses, that’s pretty low.
But as I mentioned stores like Whole Foods Market may actually generate a 5-12% profit.
However, for small independent grocery stores, 1 to 4% is more typical. There are also a lot of factors that affect independent owners more, such as marketing, product costs and shrink.
Because smaller markets sell so much inventory, typically don’t give out free samples, or usually have an in-house butcher, 1-2% profit margin is pretty good.
Think about it this way.
If the average Safeway does $1,000,000 in sales per week, that means $20,000 per week profit, max. That adds up to a little over a million dollars profit per year for that one store.
Smaller mom and pop stores might be closer to 10-12% profit margins, but they likely won’t do as much in sales, which means much lower profit.
There is a lot more to talk about when it comes to the profitability of grocery stores.
To read more, check out this recent article. In there, I go a lot deeper into how to maximize profits for a grocery store, and the one thing that will almost assuredly tank a store’s profit.
What is the most profitable item in a grocery store?
Here are the Top 10 most marked-up items in a grocery store:
Prepared Foods
Vitamins
Bodycare
Fresh coffee
Reuseable shopping bags
Cheese
Deli meat
Produce
Bulk Foods
Frozen Foods
But trying to figure out how much to price a product and how much profit you can make when you sell it is tricky.
And this is kind of a tricky question.
The items with the highest retail markup will bring in the most profit per item. But, if you only sell one or two of those items, it won’t be very profitable.
On the other hand, markup can be lower if you are selling large quantities of items, resulting in a higher profit dollars.
The way grocery stores typically make a profit is by selling volume. So selling more of a lower priced item at higher volume will bring in more profit than selling one or two items with a higher markup.
I know the difference between markup and margin is confusing.
To read all about the differences in profit margin and markup, and how to calculate them to make the most profit, just read this recent article.
Click the link on my site to read the article, and hopefully take away some of the confusion.
For this example, I’m going to talk about the single most profitable item with the highest markup.
Bottled water and alcohol.
Alcohol typically has a 25% markup where other items are only 5-10%. (source)
Bottled water is marked up significantly, too. It takes about $1.50 to make 1,000 gallons of water. A single bottle of water may cost anywhere from $1 to $3, making it very a very profitable grocery item. (source)
But most of the profit made by grocery stores comes from volume. Canned goods, produce, lunch meat – the things that people purchase regularly are what’s going to keep money coming in.
Grocery stores often operate on a gross margin between 25-35%, meaning that the cost of their goods is often between 65-75% of the price they are charging.
But without looking at their books, there is really no way to know exactly how much grocery stores pay for their inventory.
There’s also a big difference between a Dollar General and Whole Foods Market.
Because grocery store mark up is pretty low, you can rest assured that grocery stores aren’t paying much less than their customers. They also take hits that customers don’t always see.
For example, if a grocery store pays 60 cents for a can of beans and sells it to you for $1.00, they’ve made a gross profit of 40 cents. 40 cents for every can of beans sold, sounds great, right?
Well..that’s not exactly how it works.
Gross profit is the amount of profit a store makes before any expenses have been deducted.
For example, if our can of beans was dented and couldn’t be sold, you’d have to eat that cost, unless the vendor gave you credit for it. Most distributors give stores a flat percentage to cover damage losses rather than allowing them to return every item for full credit.
But grocery store profits are much more complicated than our simple bean example.
To read more about how profitable grocery stores are, read this recent article.
— Resiliance Consulting LLC (@resiliance_co) May 10, 2019
What is the profit margin on grocery stores?
Profit margins, a commonly used term that has to do with describing the profitability of a business. A profit margin represents what percentage of sales a business has turned into profit.
In other words, and to put it even more simply, a profit margin shows how many cents of profit a business makes for each dollar of sales. And that number is typically represented as a percentage.
But they make their money by selling in large volume and multiple locations. However, stores in natural, organic, and gourmet niches tend to see bottom-line profit margins closer to 5-10%.
But there’s a lot more to know about grocery store pricing and profit margins.
To read more about how grocery store profit margins and how they maximize profits in a competitive industry, read this recent article. I even get into some of the display techniques designed to subliminally get you to buy more.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Final Thoughts
Grocery stores may not have very large profit margins, but they do a pretty good job of making money.
Let’s face it – people have to eat. As such, there will always be a market for supermarkets. It takes a lot to run a grocery store. From having the right people, to how the store is laid out, and even the general atmosphere.
All of these things are taken into consideration when determining how grocery stores make money.
Are you planning on owning your own grocery store?
Nothing quite beats the convenience of having a delivery service like Instacart bring you your groceries right to your doorstep. But what about alcohol? Can Instacart deliver alcohol?
Instacart currently delivers alcohol in 14 states, both from grocery stores, where allowed, but from liquor stores too. Beer, wine, & liquor are available in those areas, but recipients must show ID & cannot be visibly intoxicated. Instacart also cannot leave alcohol unattended; you must be present for delivery.
But there’s a lot more to know about Instacart delivery, alcohol laws, and how they both tie together, so let’s dig in a little deeper.
Instacart is awesome! They can even deliver them in under an hour in certain circumstances.
If you want a glass of wine or some beer with your dinner, will they deliver it with your groceries?
Instacart has alcohol delivery available in 14 states and Washington, D.C. Alcohol is available from more than one-third of their retail partners.
What 14 states those are is listed in the next section.
Purchasing alcohol through Instacart is easy.
Simply open the Instacart mobile app or head over to their website at www.instacart.com. Select your city and store, and shop like normal.
When your delivery arrives, be sure to have your ID handy, as you must be 21 years old to purchase alcohol.
Don’t forget to tip your Instacart driver when they deliver your groceries and booze.
They are providing a service, after all. Instacart drivers are not only making your life easier by doing your shopping for you, but they also are sure to pick the best items.
They make sure to get the items with the best expiration dates, that don’t have any damage and are priced the best.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to tip 15-20% like at a restaurant. Just read this recent articlewhere I break down exactly how much to tip, and whether you need to do it in cash or on the app.
They are continually rolling out alcohol delivery in more states. So if it’s not available in your state, keep checking. It may be available soon!
If Instacart doesn’t deliver alcohol to you, you might want to consider having alcohol directly shipped to your home.
The majority of states allow for out-of-state to ship alcohol directly to consumers. However, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Utah specifically prohibit the direct shipment of alcohol to consumers.
Of the states that do allow the shipment of alcohol, only five states allow the shipment of all spirits.
They are:
Arizona
Florida
Hawaii
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Eight states allow direct shipment of beer and wine. They are Delaware, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Virginia. The rest of the states allow direct shipments of wine only.
Having alcohol directly shipped to you can be a great way to try new and interesting flavors of beer or wine. However, it can get really expensive, as many alcohol delivery services are subscription-based.
You also may not get to pick exactly what you want.
Just as an example, FirstLeaf will send you wine that they pick out for you at about $13.00 per bottle. You fill out a quiz before signing up, and they will send you wine based on those answers.
Each shipment will contain different wines. However, if you find something you like, you may not get it in the next shipment, but you might be able to order it individually from their website.
To purchase alcohol through Instacart, customers must be 21 or older, have and show a valid government-issued ID card, and not be visibly intoxicated. They also much be present at the time of delivery as alcohol cannot be left unattended.
First and foremost, understand that alcohol is not available at all retailers in all markets. They cannot fulfill special requests or replacements for alcohol.
You must present your ID upon delivery. When the order is delivered, you must sign for the delivery.
No alcohol will be left unattended.
No alcohol will be delivered to anyone that is visibly intoxicated.
If you do not present your ID, are not present, or are visibly intoxicated, alcohol will not be delivered. In this case, you will not be charged for the alcohol.
To read their alcohol policies for yourself, just click here. This link takes you straight to Instacart’s Alcohol policies page on their website.
Of course, you should always be responsible regarding your alcohol consumption. Don’t drink and drive and certainly don’t purchase alcohol for minors.
Instacart delivers beer, wine, and spirits in certain states where legally allowed. In states that allow it, Instacart can deliver liquor from grocery stores. But in states where that is not allowed, they have also partnered with specific liquor stores for delivery.
The abolition of prohibition in 1933 left states with the power to regulate alcohol sales. So now there is a confusing hodgepodge of liquor laws across the country.
To read about which states allow the sale of liquor in grocery stores, read this recent article.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
If your state doesn’t allow the sale of liquor at grocery stores, take comfort in the fact that Instacart also delivers for some liquor specialty stores.
These stores include BevMo!, Binny’s Beverage Depot, and Total Wine & More.
If you don’t live in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, or Washington, D.C., you’re just going to be out of luck. Even if your state does allow for the sale of liquor in grocery stores.
Those are the only state in which Instacart delivers alcohol.
Sometimes, Instacart does charge more than store prices.
According to Instacart, they charge an average of 15% more money on stores that have a markup. This isn’t so bad if you’re purchasing $50 in groceries. This is very bad if you purchase $200 worth of groceries.
However, Instacart partners up with different stores to provide delivery services without a markup.
If you purchase your alcohol from one of the partner stores, you shouldn’t see a price increase.
To read more about what stores Instacart have partnered up with, and their pricing policies read this recent article.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
The best way to know whether or not you’ll be charged more at a specific store is by reviewing Instacart’s pricing information page.
According to that page, it’s the retailers themselves that set the prices charged through Instacart.
Don’t let the potentially higher prices steer you away from the app, though. Instacart is a thriving business for many reasons.
Instacart also charges a delivery fee of $7.99 for one-hour delivery or $5.99 for a two-hour or more delivery.
The convenience value alone is enough to make the markups and fees well worth staying home. There’s certainly a line where it’s probably a better idea to go out instead. Still, it all depends on the markup percentage.
If you find that you don’t mind the markup percentage, and use Instacart regularly, you may find that their annual membership fee is a better value. For $149 per year, you can get free two-hour delivery on orders of $35.00 or more.
Pair the annual fee with a partner store and two-hour delivery, and it could be very affordable.
Final Thoughts
Instacart offers fantastic convenience. It makes life so much easier when you can have groceries dropped at your door.
It can make life even easier when you can have alcohol delivered to your door. In this article, we took a look at the ins and outs of Instacart alcohol delivery. We discussed the rules of having Instacart deliver alcohol, and whether they mark up prices on alcohol.
While it’s not available in every state, it may be available in your state soon. If it’s alcohol delivery is not available in your state, it could simply be because of your local laws and regulations.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”TYI6vFMW” upload-date=”Mon Aug 03 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Can Instacart Deliver Alcohol? (Yes, but not in every state)” description=”Nothing quite beats the convenience of having a delivery service like Instacart bring you your groceries right to your doorstep. But what about alcohol? Can Instacart deliver alcohol? I decided to check into it and discovered: Instacart does currently deliver alcohol in 14 states, both from grocery stores, where allowed, but some liquor stores too. Beer, wine, & liquor are available in those areas, but recipients must show ID & cannot be visibly intoxicated. Instacart also cannot leave alcohol unattended; you must be present for delivery. But there’s a lot more to know about Instacart delivery, alcohol laws, and how they both tie together, so let’s dig in a little deeper. Instacart is awesome! They can even deliver them in under an hour in certain circumstances. If you want a glass of wine or some beer with your dinner, will they deliver it with your groceries? Will they deliver liquor? What states even allow alcohol to be delivered? Does Instacart mark up prices on alcohol? You have questions. I have the answers! Just keep reading to find out.”]
Grocery store departments and aisles are organized to make it easier for shoppers to find what they need. While some chains have some unique aspects or categories, most grocery stores have similar layouts, so what are the different sections of a grocery store?
Almost all grocery stores start with the Produce department and then line the walls with Meat, Seafood, Deli & Bakery. Then the center of the store encompasses the Grocery department, along with Beer & Wine, and Health & Beauty. The Front End is where the cashiers and baggers finalize the shopping experience.
But that just scratches the surface!
Some small grocery stores are specialty stores that may sell primarily organic and healthy food. Some may have full-service meat departments with butchers.
All grocery stores, though, have certain things in common.
So in this article, we’re diving deep into grocery stores. We’ll explore the layouts, department names, why milk is always at the back of the store, and much more!
As you shop, you’ve no doubt noticed that some days the store is totally full and other days totally empty. Why is that?
What are the most common areas of a grocery store?
Grocery stores are specifically designed to make it easier for the shopper to find what they need as well as increase profits.
Many grocery stores have a deli, bakery where they make fresh cakes, or coffee shop with tables and chairs, encouraging you to hang out at the store as long as possible. Some grocery stores have floral departments while others do not.
Lots of grocery stores are mom and pop stores. These stores are usually tiny and often don’t have a butcher, if they have a meat department at all.
But there are a few things that every grocery store has in common. No matter how big or small, you’ll find that every grocery store has common categories, aisles, and areas.
Let’s start with the common areas of the grocery store.
When you first walk into the doors of your favorite grocery store, the first thing you’ll notice is the Produce department. This is where all the fruits and vegetables are. We’ll explore this and the other major departments in greater detail below.
While up at the front of the store, you’ll also likely notice what is called the Front End department.
This is usually where the cash registers are located. The customer service desk will likely be nearby as well. There may be an ATM or even a full-service bank.
Then we have what is called the perimeter departments.
These are departments that line the walls around the store. We’ll get to the interior, or center of the store in a minute.
The perimeter may include a bakery, deli, meat, seafood department, or even a coffee bar.
The perimeter is also where you’ll find your dairy products as well, typically about as far away from the front doors as possible. More on that below too.
Finally, there is always going to be a center area of the store.
This is where your general grocery items are going to be located. But it is also where you’ll find household cleaners, pet food, and other miscellaneous items.
The center of the store is typically called the Grocery department and while it doesn’t always make up the largest percentage of a store’s sales, it is the largest department in the store. It is also the one department that virtually every customer shops in.
So the Grocery department is critical to a store’s success.
The health & beauty products may also be located in the center of the store as well. This will include not only vitamins, herbal products, but also make-up and body products.
Are grocery stores designed to make you walk a certain way?
Yes, is the short answer.
Grocery stores are typically designed to encourage you to travel from the right side of the store towards the left. The next time you go to the grocery store, pay attention to where things are located.
The produce department will typically be the first department you shop in. The cooler/freezer section will likely be the last section you reach.
But while grocery stores don’t often move entire departments, it’s not uncommon for them to move products and categories from one aisle to another.
This isn’t just to annoy their shoppers (although it often does).
Curious about the psychology behind how stores are laid out, and why the change the layout? I have the answer in this recent article from my 20+ years of working for Whole Foods Market.
Grocery stores can sometimes be hard to navigate, especially when you see terms like “free-range”, “organic”, “grass-fed,” and “all-natural.”
So let’s explore some of these terms one by one:
Organically grown foods
Organic food is food that is made without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other artificial treatments. They are regulated by the government and are not as common as non-organic food.
Organic food can also be more expensive. To read about the cost difference between organic and non-organic food, read this recent article.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Grass-fed
When purchasing beef, “grass-fed” sounds appealing, and it is great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s organic. Grass-fed beef means that the animal was pasture-raised and was not fed corn or soy.
So when you are shopping for meat, look for organic grass-fed beef with a USDA rating of at least Choice.
All-natural
The FDA doesn’t have an official ruling of the term “natural” or all-natural”. Because of that, you’ll see that term on products that aren’t really all that natural.
The FDA does go on to say that they”considered the term “natural” to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.”
But they are quick to point out that this general definition was not intended for “food production methods” “food processing methods” or “manufacturing methods”. They also steer clear of implying whether the term relates to health or nutrition. (source)
So basically it’s a worthless term. Check the ingredient list to make sure that the ingredients you want to avoid aren’t in that product.
But food-related terms aren’t the only terms grocery stores use.
You’ll also hear terms like “rain check,” “rebates,” “unit price,” and “end cap,” among others.
When things go on sale, they will sometimes run out. When this happens, stores will sometimes issue a rain check. That way, you can still get the sale price when the item is back in stock, even if it’s not on sale anymore. Think of it as an in-store coupon.
A rebate is a refund for a portion of your purchase.
Sometimes they are instant and applied at the register upon purchase. Other times, you’ll have to mail in the rebate coupon with a copy of your receipt. Rebates are issued directly from the manufacturer.
The best way to make sure you are getting the most value for your money is to look for the unit price. It is found on the shelf tag and will tell you how much an item costs by a unit of measurement. It is usually by the ounce, but can also be by the pound or per item, like with paper products.
The special display shelves that you’ll find at the end of the aisles are called end caps.
These displays are to drive purchases. Sometimes the items are on sale, but just because it is on display, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s cheaper.
Another term to look out for is limit.
Oftentimes, when something goes on sale, there will be a purchase limit. So, if you see a “limit 10” on a shelf tag or in a sales circular, that means you can purchase a maximum of 10 items at the sale price.
Limits are usually per shopping trip or per day, so feel free to go back the next day to purchase more!
What are the common grocery store categories & aisles?
The majority of grocery stores will have many categories and aisles in common.
Smaller mom and pop stores may not have all of these categories, but generally big chains will have most of them.
Common grocery store departments and sections are:
The Produce department
The Meat department
The Seafood department
The Beer and Wine section
The Health and Beauty department
The Deli/Prepared Foods department
The Front End
Grocery stores may also have a separate floral department, often connected to or adjacent to Produce.
They may also have other specialty departments, like a cafe or coffee bar.
Before we get into what is in each department, let’s talk about the middle aisles of the grocery store.
This is where you’ll find things like cereal, baking ingredients, canned goods, cleaning products, and paper products.
Aisles are organized so that similar products are grouped together. This makes shopping quick and efficient.
The cereal will be in the same aisle as other breakfast items, like cereal bars, oatmeal, and pancake mix. This is also where you’ll find coffee and coffee filters.
The beverage aisle will be where you’ll find soft drinks, juice drinks, water, and energy drinks. Large grocery stores may have more than one beverage aisle.
The bread aisle is where you’ll find hot dog buns, hamburger buns, sandwich rolls, and sandwich bread. It’s also where you’ll find things like peanut butter and jelly. you may also find paper plates.
If paper plates aren’t on your bread aisle, they’ll be on your paper products Isle this will have paper towels and napkins toilet paper. it may also contain cleaning supplies and laundry detergent.
The snack aisle will often be combined with the candy aisle. This is where you’ll find chips and popcorn, pretzels and of course candy.
The canned aisle is where you’ll find canned goods. It is usually comprised of more than one aisle and contains a variety of canned vegetables, fruits, and meats.
The pasta aisle is where you’ll find your dried pasta, pasta sauce, and boxed dinners like Hamburger Helper.
It is also where you’ll find rice. I’ve found that some grocery stores have canned tomatoes on the pasta aisle instead of the canned vegetable aisle. I suppose this makes sense, considering you’ll usually use canned tomatoes in semi-homemade pasta sauce.
Now, let’s look at each individual department.
The Produce department
The produce department is where you’ll find your fresh produce. If a store doesn’t have a separate floral department, it’s also where you’re likely to find fresh flowers.
The freshest and most seasonal produce (and also often the cheapest) is placed at the front while that is not so fresh (and pricier stuff) is put in the back.
It’s normally located just near the entrance of the store. Produce is typically located right at the entrance because of the freshness and bold colors. It’s designed to imply that the whole store is fresh and abundant.
The least expensive items are also positioned at the front of the department to imply that the whole store has great prices and is value-packed.
Ever wonder why produce departments spray water on some vegetables?
The meat is where you’ll find beef, chicken, and pork. You may also find some specialty meats like oxtail.
Just like the rest of the store, the meat department is organized so shoppers can quickly find what they are looking for. This department may just be fresh and frozen packaged items.
But larger stores will have a meat counter where you can get specialty cuts or things cut to order.
If you are lucky enough to have a full-service butcher, get to know him or her. They can be a wealth of information. They can also be a good source of how and when to purchase your meat.
Wondering which grocery chains have the best steaks?
Not all steaks and meat are created equal. And there is a lot of variety on meat grading standards. Luckily, I take the mystery out of it for you in this recentarticle. In it, I talk about which grocery stores have the best steak.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
The Seafood Department
The seafood department is where you’ll find, you guessed it, seafood! Fish, scallops, shrimp – everything that lives under the sea can be found in this department.
It is usually found next to the Meat department on the back wall of the store. In smaller stores and chains it may even be part of the Meat department.
Sometimes you can even find live lobsters in a tank or freshly prepared sushi.
Not all grocery stores sell beer and wine, but the ones that do will also have a separate department for it.
There would typically be a lot of bottles and cases on dry shelves as well as a large aisle of refrigerated beer. There would also typically be a small selection of chilled white wine, rose, and champagne.
Of course in some states, there will also be liquor at the grocery store too!
Which states allow that and which ones don’t and are there restrictions on the hours and days you can buy it? The so-called “blue laws” can be confusing!
Luckily, I break it all down in a recent article where I give you a state by state guide on grocery stores and liquor sales and the history of blue laws.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
The Health & Beauty Department
The health and beauty department is where you’ll find shampoo, makeup, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and vitamins. Basic first aid items, as well as feminine hygiene items, are located in the health and beauty department as well.
This may also be where you’ll find over-the-counter pain relievers and allergy medicine. It is usually located right next to the pharmacy if there is one in that store.
Not all grocery stores have pharmacies but just about every grocery store sells basic health and beauty items.
Deli/Prepared Foods Department
The deli, just like the bakery or meat and seafood departments, will be located along the wall of the grocery store.
This is where you’ll find pre-packaged meats and cheeses. If you have a full-service deli, it’s also where somebody will slice meats and cheeses for you.
Grocery stores will often have fully cooked and hot meats and side dishes ready for purchase served cafeteria-style. Some grocery stores, like Publix and Whole Foods, will even make sandwiches by the order or have self-serve salad bars.
The Front End
The front end is probably the most important part of the grocery store and where all the magic happens.
This is where you will typically be able to find managers if you need help, a customer service desk, and of course, cashiers.
The customer service desk may be where things like rain checks and refunds are issued.
You may find an ATM nearby as well as coin machines. Sometimes there will even be a full-service bank. Western Union and other money wiring services are often located here as well.
This is also where cashiers get change for their registers.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that the front end is where the store bookkeeper works. The bookkeeper is not only responsible for keeping the books, but they also ensure that the cashier’s tills are stocked with correct amounts of money.
The customer service desk is like the heart of the grocery store. Employees, as well as customers, get what they need from the customer service desk.
If you are a brand new grocery store worker this is probably where you’ll start out. If this is your first job, and you’re nervous about working in a grocery store, read this recent article.
There I talk about all of the things that can make you successful in a grocery store environment. It can be very stressful, but it’s important to keep calm.
Cashiers don’t just checkout customers.
They also have to answer customer questions, and often are responsible for bagging groceries. Cashiers also need to be able to accurately count change back to customers. They are typically the person that customers complain to when the store is out of items or there is a price discrepancy.
They also have to keep their eyes and other senses open to prevent product loss.
Milk is a staple item that ends up in almost everyone’s shopping cart.
Even if you’re vegan, chances are you are at least buying cartons of almond or coconut milk which are also located in the same area.
And if you pay attention, you’ll see that this area is almost always at the complete back of the store, typically as far away from the front doors as possible.
Why is that??
Well, it’s not an accident. For decades, savvy grocery store owners, managers, and companies have known that all shoppers will seek this department out. If they placed this are near the front doors, some shoppers would undoubtedly come grab their milk, check out, and be on their way.
So they figured out that if shoppers have to walk all the way through the whole store, they are much more likely to pick up a few extra things along the way.
It’s that same savvy psychology that leads expert grocers to also place stacks of handbaskets throughout the store for those who didn’t grab a cart on the way in.
Many times I’ve gone in to just grab 1 or 2 things, gotten my hands full only to spy a nearby stack of handbaskets. Once I unload my arms into the basket, I’m them much more likely to keep picking up items along the way.
So psychology, marketing, and a keen focus on profits are why the milk is at the back of the store.
Final thoughts
There are some things that every grocery store has. From canned goods to meat and produce. Most every grocery store has packaged lunch meat, but they don’t all have a full-service meat department with a butcher.
Depending on what state you live in, your grocery store may or may not sell alcohol.
Some large chain stores have interesting seafood departments. On the other hand, mom and pop stores probably won’t have a seafood department. In fact, if they sell seafood at all, it will likely be frozen.
But why are some chains only in certain states?
And even then, some stores are only in certain cities and not others even within the same state. Kroger is a good example in Texas where I live as we have them in Dallas, but not in Austin.
What is your favorite grocery store?
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”Mjzwj6Zt” upload-date=”Mon Aug 10 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”What Are the Different Sections of a Grocery Store?” description=”Grocery store departments and aisles are organized to make it easier for shoppers to find what they need. While some chains have some unique aspects or categories, most grocery stores have similar layouts, so what are the different sections of a grocery store? Here’s what I know from my decades of experience: Almost all grocery stores start with the Produce department and then line the walls with Meat, Seafood, Deli & Bakery. Then the center of the store encompasses the Grocery department, along with Beer & Wine, and Health & Beauty. The Front End is where the cashiers and baggers finalize the shopping experience. But that just scratches the surface! Some small grocery stores are specialty stores that may sell primarily organic and healthy food. Some may have full-service meat departments with butchers. All grocery stores, though, have certain things in common. So in this article, we’re diving deep into grocery stores. We’ll explore the layouts, department names, why milk is always at the back of the store, and much more!”]
If you enjoy a good cocktail but find it inconvenient to buy liquor at a liquor store, you may wonder why don’t grocery stores sell liquor?
After the end of prohibition in 1933, states were allowed to regulate alcohol sales themselves. But it resulted in a wide variety of laws from state to state. However, many states in the US do sell liquor at grocery stores. But, each county within the state can have its own laws regulating the sale of liquor.
But there’s a lot more to know than that!
Many states allow you to buy beer and/or wine in grocery stores. But some states do not sell any alcohol in grocery stores. Some states will allow you to buy liquor on Sundays, but even some of those don’t let you buy it before noon.
For example, in Nebraska, you cannot purchase liquor until noon. But in Florida, there are no time restrictions on liquor sales, but you can only purchase liquor from liquor stores.
And other states limit the liquor licenses chain stores have so not all locations may actually sell liquor. It all gets very confusing and frustrating.
But have no fear! We’ve done the leg work to make sure you are well informed about the sale of alcohol in various states.
Just keep reading!
What states do not sell alcohol in grocery stores?
Alcohol is prohibited from being sold in grocery stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Alaska.
Alaska and Delaware have no Sunday restrictions, but you can only buy alcohol at liquor stores. This is any alcohol – beer, wine, and liquors such as tequila, vodka, gin, etc..
In fact, if you are in Alaska, you can’t even enter a licensed premises if you are under 21 years of age unless you are with a parent, guardian, or spouse that is of age. (source)
With a bar for every 60 residents, Alaska is notorious for having high rates of alcoholism.
As a result, they have a very high rate of violence and crime stemming from intoxication. So it’s no surprise that Alaska has such harsh laws regarding alcohol sales. They’ve even been known to arrest bar patrons for being too drunk. (source and source)
While you can’t purchase alcohol in all grocery stores in Pennsylvania, you can purchase beer from some gas stations. You can also purchase up to two six-packs of beer from local bars. (source)
However, over time, the laws have started to loosen a bit and some grocery stores have started selling alcohol. The grocery stores that are allowed to sell alcohol must do so at a separate register.
The states listed below DO allow sales of liquor in grocery stores:
Arizona
California*
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana**
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
*Fun Fact: California does not allow alcohol to be displayed within five feet of the cash register if the establishment also sells motor fuel.
** Louisiana liquor sales are allowed in grocery stores. But, individual cities, towns, and villages may disallow it. Shreveport does not allow hard liquor sales in grocery and other non-liquor store outlets. Bossier city does allow hard liquor sales in grocery stores. Rural Caddo Parish allows it as well.
Each state comes with its own limitations on the sale of liquor in grocery stores.
Read this recent article for a more thorough explanation of what those limits are. You might find it interesting to know that Kentucky, home of Jim Beam, has some of the most confusing liquor laws in the country.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Hey Indiana, it’s Sunday and Missouri sells alcohol AND cold beer in a grocery. pic.twitter.com/kXpoXkySQ2
There are several states with a Sunday ban on retail alcohol sales.
But even states with Sunday sales bans have caveats. Most of the states listed below ban liquor sales, but still allow beer and wine sales. Some take it a step further by banning Sunday sales at certain times during the day.
Those states are:
Arkansas
Alcohol and liquor sales are prohibited in most counties on Sunday and statewide on Christmas day.
Georgia
Alcohol sales vary by county. Counties that do allow Sunday sales cannot sell alcohol until 12:30 p.m.
Mississippi
Liquor stores are closed on Sunday, but beer is still sold at grocery stores.
North Carolina
State-run liquor stores are closed, which means no liquor sales. Beer is sold all day on Sunday at grocery stores.
South Carolina
No hard liquor sales are permitted on Sunday. Beer and wine can be purchased all day.
Tennessee
No wine or liquor sales are permitted on Sunday. Beer is sold all day.
Texas
No liquor sales are permitted. Beer and wine cannot be sold until noon.
West Virginia
No liquor sales are permitted. Beer and wine cannot be sold until 1:00 pm.
Setting up grocery pick-up. Any other states still have “blue laws” about purchasing alcohol on Sundays? In TX, no alcohol sales on Sundays before noon, & no liquor stores open on Sundays at all. pic.twitter.com/QNNgdonupp
— Carol Beth Anderson (goes by Beth) (@CBethAnderson) July 13, 2019
Why are they called blue laws?
Blue laws are designed to ban certain activities on Sunday for religious reasons, particularly to observe a day of worship or rest.
Some states ban horse racing and car sales on Sundays. Some states ban hunting on Sundays. A handful of states ban the sale of alcohol on Sunday.
I found two theories about why they are called blue laws. The first one is the one that I had always heard: that the laws were originally written on blue paper.
However, the more likely reason is based on the 18th-century usage of the word “blue.” In the 18th century, “blue” meant rigidly moral in a disparaging sense. (source)
They were originally enacted to encourage church attendance and restrict activity to that which was deemed worthy of observation on the Sabbath.
The first blue law was enacted in colonial Virginia in 1610. Though it wasn’t called a blue law, it mandated church attendance on Sundays. The law also prohibited unseemly behavior.
Drinking alcohol or public displays of affection were subject to penalties that included large fines or confinement.
Eventually, blue laws evolved to ban the sale of tobacco and alcohol as well as unnecessary labor. Some areas also prohibited some kinds of entertainment.
What states still have blue laws?
Many states still have blue laws in place, but most of them have been repealed in the United States.
Even so, the Supreme Court has held that blue laws are constitutional. Blue laws ensure that mail carriers get a day of rest, guarantee a day of rest for religious reasons, and protect workers and families.
Some states ban certain alcohol sales. Others ban car sales on Sundays and others ban horse racing.
The states below currently have blue laws in place:
Arkansas
Alcohol and liquor sales are prohibited in most counties on Sunday and statewide on Christmas day.
Georgia
Alcohol sales vary by county. Counties that do allow Sunday sales cannot sell alcohol until 12:30 p.m.
Illinois
Horse racing is prohibited on Sundays, with exceptions. Car dealerships are closed on Sunday
Iowa
Car sales and mobile home sales are prohibited on Sunday
Maine
Hunting is prohibited on Sunday. Almost all businesses are prohibited from opening on Thanksgiving Day.
Maryland
Car dealerships are prohibited from doing business on Sunday, with some exceptions. Professional sports teams are prohibited from playing games before 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Massachusetts
Alcohol sales are banned on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Memorial Day.
Minnesota
Car dealerships are not allowed to do business on Sunday.
Mississippi
Liquor stores are closed on Sunday, but beer is still sold at grocery stores.
North Carolina
State-run liquor stores are closed, which means no liquor sales. Beer is sold all day on Sunday at grocery stores. Gun hunting is prohibited on Sunday between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Oklahoma
Car dealerships are closed on Sunday.
Pennsylvania
Hunting is prohibited on Sunday, except for foxes, crows, and coyotes.
Tennessee
No wine or liquor sales are permitted on Sunday. Beer is sold all day.
Texas
car dealerships must be closed on either Saturday or Sunday. The dealer gets to choose which day. No liquor sales are permitted on Sunday. Beer and wine cannot be sold until noon.
West Virginia
No liquor sales are permitted on Sunday. Beer and wine cannot be sold until 1:00 pm. Hunting is prohibited in all but 14 counties.
Final Thoughts
Trying to purchase alcohol, especially liquor, while you’re traveling from state to state can be very frustrating.
Laws are regulated at the state level and many states pass that responsibility down to counties and cities. I’ve discussed a few of those regulations including blue laws and how they affect alcohol sales in certain states.
I also talked about what states allow the sale of liquor at grocery stores, as well as any limitations. And, I even listed the states that do not allow the sale of liquor at grocery stores.
While this is a pretty thorough guide, you should still check the local laws. That’s especially true if you are going to a state that has different laws for different counties.
I was a grocery store manager for many years, but in my early days of working in grocery stores, I still remember wondering what does a grocery store manager do.
Here’s what I learned from doing that job for over 15 years:
A grocery store manager is responsible for the store’s financial performance, handles hiring & firing, maintains merchandising and cleanliness standards, ensures employees are properly trained and giving excellent customer service and makes sure the store is legally compliant in all areas.
But there’s a great deal more to know about not only what a grocery store manager does, but how to do the job well.
So if you’re considering this job for your career, or doing the job but struggling or wanting to improve, we’ll get into all of that here!
Let’s dive in.
The manager of the grocery store let me (a preferred customer) decorate the chicken for football pic.twitter.com/vXCGJ9wSFQ
A store manager, also called a general manager (GM), is to be responsible for all aspects of running the store from hiring, firing, financial performance, store cleanliness and merchandising, and ensuring that all those under them are performing well in their areas.
Now when I did this job for Whole Foods Market (in several stores in multiple states), they call this role Store Team Leader.
But no matter what you call it or what company you work for, here are the basic principals of running a grocery store:
In charge of all hiring, firing, supervising, promotion, and reprimanding
Making sure every customer has the best experience possible
Responsible for growing the store sales as well as managing profit and loss
Helping ensure the company follows all legalities in both HR and financial practices
Fostering good morale in the store with your employees
Ensuring your store has plenty of products to sell and is well-merchandised
Now, of course, there is a lot of detail that goes into those things (and we’ll get into that below).
But those are the basic core principals. If you own your own store, that will obviously give you more freedom and flexibility in certain areas, but also has it’s own unique headaches too.
In the end, while there is always some politics and bureaucracy involved in working for ANY company, I enjoyed my time as Store Team Leader for Whole Foods Market. It was a great job, a sometimes demanding, frustrating, and tiring job.
But running a successful grocery store is a great job nonetheless.
I dive a little deeper into some of the specifics of how to run a successful grocery store in a recent article. After all, not everyone is cut out to do this job, and many aren’t great at it (but do it anyway).
One of the biggest misconceptions is about whether the boss has to be the best at everything to be successful. Just click that link to read more on my site.
A grocery store manager may need to perform any or all of the following tasks:
Operate a forklift
Take injured employees to the hospital
Cashier
Stock groceries
Go to unemployment hearings at state offices
Clean up spills
Mediate arguments between employees
Review financial reports and take action when necessary
Resolve issues with upset customers
Hire, discipline, and fire employees as needed
As a grocery store manager, you have to wear a lot of hats.
So this is not a job for someone unable or unwilling to just do whatever is necessary at the moment to keep the store going.
So you have to be prepared for anything. Each day brings new and different needs and challenges, and even the most prepared person can’t predict everything that might happen.
So be flexible, be open-minded, be easy-going as this can be a stressful job and you losing your cool will only make everything worse. You should also be prepared for some long hours, and evenings and weekends. Sure, once you really get a store dialed in with a great team behind you, you can work a somewhat more regular schedule.
But this is NOT a Mon-Fri 9 to 5 world.
Cory Booker looks like the cool manager at a grocery store who steps in to do some bagging when the lines are getting long pic.twitter.com/I8nE1U6vni
A grocery store manager minimally needs to have a high school diploma, although some grocery chains may require a college degree. You should also have at least 4 years of retail leadership experience, preferably in a grocery store.
I worked my way up at Whole Foods Market, starting at $4.25 an hour as a stocking clerk.
When I started, I had no degree or prior experience, I just learned as I went. I paid close attention to the people who were successful in their jobs and what they were doing. I emulated, adapted, and grew my knowledge and skills.
Now some companies may require a degree; Whole Foods does not.
But degree or not, there is some definite education and experience you’ll need to run a grocery store. And some companies DO require a degree.
Luckily, I break it all down in a recent article, including the requirements of all the top grocery chains.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Even if they don’t require a degree, some stores may only hire seasoned store managers from outside the company. But I believe working your way up provides you with the best skillset and understanding of the role. After all, you will eventually be managing people in those entry-level roles, so what better way to lead them than to have done that job yourself.
The people I most often saw fail in their leadership roles were people who came in from outside the company who tried to tell everyone what to do without a clear understanding of what those roles were like.
So with your company, find out what the requirements are to become a grocery store manager. Then work your way down the list figuring out what you need to learn. They’ll appreciate your initiative and you’ll have a roadmap of how to get where you want to get.
Most likely you’ll need to start as a department manager or even assistant department manager.
Then after a couple of years as a department manager, start applying for assistant store manager jobs. Eventually, you’ll get that coveted grocery store manager job. If you work for a company like Whole Foods that has hundreds of stores across the US and beyond, it also helps to be flexible.
By that I mean, I was willing to move where my bosses wanted me to go.
I worked in 9 stores (1 store at 2 different times) in 4 states in my 20+ year career with Whole Foods, and I know my flexibility and willingness to sacrifice helping in getting those promotions.
Robbery suspect strikes Union Springs grocery store! Manager remained calm with a gun at his side. pic.twitter.com/PW1WRMBDM9
What are the typical duties of a grocery store manager daily?
On a day-to-day basis, a grocery store manager will walk their store to ensure cleanliness & fullness. They will check in with employees, may prepare bank deposits, in addition to responding to emails, revieing financial performance, and setting goals with their assistant(s) and department managers.
But bear in mind every day in the life of a grocery store manager can be different. Also, know that each company may have different systems for doing things.
But I’ll describe what my days were like, on average, over my 15 years or so in store management positions for Whole Foods.
Then I’ll breakdown duties in categories below so we can get specific.
Also, know that at Whole Foods at least, store managers are asked to work at least some evening and weekend shifts. But often, while we do sometimes end up staying late, grocery store managers go in early; anywhere from 5-7 am in a lot of cases.
I would start my morning shift, before the store opened, by doing a quick walk through the store checking in and saying hi to the opening crews. Then, I would go to my office and start by checking emails and seeing if there any new priorities to the day I might not have been aware of.
Many companies and Whole Foods was no exception, LOVE emails, and my inbox would be flooded daily, often with ones, I could instantly delete (I know who you are, reply-all people!). But it still takes time each day to go through emails.
Shortly before the store opening, I would do an opening announcement.
That would include how much time we had before the store opened, but also any shout outs if any departments had broken sales records, or if anyone had a recent promotion.
Then I would do a quick walk and make sure we were ready to open:
Floors dry and clean
Carpets down
Case lights on
No pallets on the sales floor
All public doors unlocked and turned on (if electronic)
Then I would start my store walk, which I’ll detail below.
Ultimately, most larger stores will have department managers, and you, as the store manager, may have 1 or more assistant store managers.
However, the buck stops with you.
By that, I mean that you are ultimately responsible for your store, including how it looks. So walk your entire sales floor daily. And have your assistants do that every day you aren’t there.
As a store manager, I didn’t always build displays or stock shelves (but I did if we were shorthanded). But I would do a detailed store walk in the morning right around the opening of the store.
That way, I would see what our customers would see.
I took a shopping cart with me as you’d be amazed at how much trash, dented cans, pallet splinters and other debris you’ll find.
Depending on the size of the store, this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
But it’s essential! You’ll see:
Lots of employees you don’t always get to interact with
Endcaps and displays missing sale signs
Dust (bring a duster with you)
Things your overnight floor crew or stockers moved and didn’t put back in the right place
Poor quality fruits and vegetables in the produce department
And that’s just the beginning. Want to run an amazing grocery store? Do a detailed store walk every day.
If you are new to being a grocery store manager, or it’s your aspiration down the road, you may not know all the aspects of good merchandising to look for.
Luckily, I walk you through everything you need to know about great merchandising in a recent article. Whether you want to know how to build a display with a small amount of product or are confused about how many items should go ion a display, I’ve got you covered.
Large chains like Whole Foods where I worked have an in-store HR person and a regional HR team as well. So I never made big HR decisions by myself.
BUT, in a store with a couple of hundred employees, some things come up every day that need to be dealt with. While your department managers can document things like lateness or excessive absenteeism, you’ll want to step in on bigger issues.
The kinds of situations I’ve run into in HR include:
Employees physically fighting
Employee theft or sweethearting
One employee verbally abusing another
Sexual harassment
And those are just a few of the issues that crop up regularly.
It’s important to deal with things quickly, consistently (meaning everyone including yourself is held to the same standard), and fairly.
For theft, I always went by the motto that theft is theft and it’s something that’s immediately fireable for whether it’s a $5.00 item or a $50 item. I still recall a conversation with a woman I was firing who stole a bottle of water. She argued that it was inexpensive and I should give her a pass.
But in that store, with 250 employees, do I really want to be going around making judgment calls all day on how much is too much to steal and how much is not?
No is the answer you’re looking for.
Be firm, fair, and consistent. Have clear policies in procedures in place. Communicate clearly and without a lot of emotion. The employees who ARE following the rules will love you for it.
And those are the ones who are really getting it done for you each and every day.
I also mentioned sweethearting above.
Lots of people are confused about that, and whether it’s truly a crime or not. So I have a recent article where I break it down thoroughly.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Grocery Store Manager Sales and Profit duties
There are so many priorities to juggle.
If you don’t have happy employees, the customer service will suffer. If the customers aren’t happy, they’ll shop elsewhere. BUT, if your store isn’t profitable, it doesn’t matter how happy the employees and customers are.
Eventually, your company will fire you or demote you.
So you can’t forget about profit. It’s not priority #1, but it has to be high on the list. As the store manager, you will hold your department managers accountable for the profitability in their departments.
Depending on how you access your reports and how often they get updated, have a system for checking them regularly.
Here are some general recommendations of what to look for and how often:
Type of Info
How often to review
Store and Department Sales
Daily
Department labor costs
Weekly
Shrink (spoilage)
Weekly
Profit/Margin
Weekly snapshot / Monthly detailed review
Lots of people are confused about margins, markups, and how much profit a store, and the departments in it should make. Luckily, I break it all down simply and easily in a recent article.
I even show you the calculations to covert margin to markup and vice versa. Just click that link to read it on my site.
Grocery Store Manager Team Leadership role
You can’t be everywhere in your store.
And, you also can’t do every job. You aren’t the best at everything. So you need a solid team behind you. So your primary job, among all the other hats you wear, is to hire the best people for every job.
And hire for attitude, not skill.
Sure you don’t want to hire someone who’s never cut meat to be the head butcher. But you can’t take someone with a bad attitude and train them to be happy.
You can train anyone to be skilled at something.
Give them a clear job description and make sure they are clear on the goals for their job. Check-in often and give feedback. But once they know their job, know your goals for them, and are hitting them, get out of their way and don’t try and micromanage their job.
Rinse and repeat with all your key positions.
Then get your department managers to run their departments in the same way. If you try and micromanage everything, you will lower the morale in your store, and productivity will grind to a halt if everything has to go through you.
Going back to what I said above about a bad attitude, make sure you deal with those employees swiftly.
Even the best grocery store manager will find themselves with 1 or 2 of these people no matter how good their hiring and screening process is.
Luckily, I walk you through everything you need to know about how to fire an employee with a bad attitude in a recent article.
Left unchecked, these 1 or 2 people can bring down the morale and efficiency of the whole store and if you don’t deal with it, all the other employees will lose respect for you.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
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What skills do you need to be a grocery store manager?
Here are the top skills a good grocery store manager needs:
Time management and productivity
Good communication skills
The ability to stay calm under pressure
Knowing when to make quick decisions and when to get a group consensus
A keen eye for detail (especially in your store’s merchandising and cleanliness)
A head for numbers (so you can keep track of your store’s performance and step in before problems get bigger)
I mentioned above that you have to be good at wearing many different hats.
So a good grocery store manager is a generalist, not a specialist. You will hire specialists for positions like:
Wine Buyer
Butcher
Cheese Monger
But it’s not your job to be the expert at everything.
You do want to know a little bit about a lot of things. But you can’t be in all places at all times, so the most important skill you need is the ability to find, screen, hire, and mentor good people for the roles and positions under yours.
What makes a good store manager?
A good store manager knows how to treat people well; both employees & customers. They can balance the different priorities that come their way without getting overwhelmed, staying calm under pressure and not letting the tensions of the job get the best of them, or pass that tension on to the employees under them.
Now having said that, don’t mistake that for a lack of a sense of urgency.
There are times when you, as the store manager, need to act quickly and decisively. But that doesn’t mean rashly, emotionally, or in anger.
Next, make sure the rules apply to everyone, including yourself.
No one respects being reprimanded for something they saw someone else do and get away with. If you have double standards or think the rules don’t apply to you, your morale will plummet.
When morale problems happen, productivity suffers. Then customer service goes down. All of that WILL impact your sales, profitability, and could threaten your job.
Don’t do it.
The rules either apply to everyone, or they may as well apply to no one.
I once had a boss (not at Whole Foods) who thought it was OK to take products for himself without paying for it. He didn’t try to hide it, so guess what? Eventually, lots of the employees began to do it too.
After all, why is it OK for the boss to steal and not the employees?
We’ve been so consumed by everything going on that we almost forgot it was our wedding anniversary today. Our local grocery store manager gave us these. 😫😭❤️ pic.twitter.com/6J92rPO2Z1
Late afternoons and weekends are when your store is the busiest. So I never understood why some grocery store managers tried to get away with working Monday through Friday from 7 am to 3 pm.
If you, as the boss, are never there to see your store at it’s busiest, how can you gauge what’s working and what’s not working? If an employee brings a problem to your attention, you won’t have any firsthand knowledge of it.
You also won’t be interacting with the majority of your customers.
But most importantly, your employees won’t respect you. After all, you’re asking them to work evenings and weekends but aren’t willing to do it yourself.
No one likes double standards. And the morale, and then the productivity of your employees will go down. So don’t be afraid to get in the trenches with them.
You don’t have to work 24/7 and you don’t even have to be there both weekend days.
But work at least 1 or 2 shifts each week where you are there until at least 8 pm and work at least 1 weekend day most weeks. You’ll see ALL sides of your store that way. You will also get to interact with more of your employees and customers.
And when problems come up, you will have likely already seen it yourself.
Did I cover everything you wanted to know about what grocery store managers do?
In this article, I took a look at the world of grocery store managers.
We examined how to become one, what makes a good one, and answered all the questions related to that. Specifically, we answered the question of what does a grocery store manager do.
Are you wanting to become a grocery store manager?
Beyond that, have you ever thought about owning your own grocery store?
If you have, make sure and check out a recent article where I break down how much grocery store owners make. After all, you don’t want to move in that direction if the salary potential doesn’t line up with your budget.
One of the worst parts about being in a supervisory position is having to let an employee go. But sometimes newer managers wonder can you fire an employee over the phone?
As a general rule, legally, a manager can fire an employee over the phone or by email. But unless they are not showing up for work or answering calls, it is always considered more professional to let them go face to face.
But that’s just the beginning of how to handle letting go of an employee.
Believe me, no one likes firing someone; even the most hardened and cynical managers. But sometimes it’s just necessary. You’ve given them a fair amount of feedback, but they are still coming in late and their performance is lacking.
You’ve decided to fire them. But how do you go about it? Is it okay to do it by phone or email?
Keep reading to find out!
How do you fire an employee legally?
A manager can fire employees in-person, over the phone, via email, or via a letter that is mailed to an address, for anything that is not protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (think gender, race, pregnancy, and disability), particularly if they are an at-will employee.
An at-will employee can be fired at any time, for any reason, with a few exceptions that would violate federal employment law, like discrimination.
In turn, at-will employees can quit at any time, without notice.
I go into a lot more details about what an at-will state is, including a state-by-state guide, in a recent article geared towards how to fire an employee with a bad attitude.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Now, having said that, I firmly believe that employers have a moral obligation to be firm, fair, and consistent. And an obligation to make expectations and consequences crystal clear.
If you fire an employee and they are genuinely surprised, you failed as a leader.
First, you need to have a company policy guidebook in place which spells out all your company policies, including your attendance policy and expected workplace conduct.
The company policy guidebook should also include a disciplinary outline, so employees know what to expect if they violate any rules.
I discuss company policy guidebooks and go into more detail about how to handle disciplinary issues in this recent article about firing the office gossiper and this recent article about firing someone that calls in sick all the time.
Unless a company has an employment contract in place that stipulates policies and procedures for terminating an employee, or state law, there is no Federal restriction on emailing an employee to notify them of termination.
Almost all companies have some sort of termination policy in place.
So for most mid-level managers, you’ll be following your company’s HR directives. In most cases, that’s likely going to require you to at least attempt to meet with the employee face to face.
However, if you don’t have an HR department, or a policy when it comes to firing an employee, it can be tricky to know how to fire an employee.
Being on the receiving end of termination is painful. But finding out from something as impersonal as an email is even worse.
It’s also bad for morale.
Word will get around that you didn’t even have the decency to call John in before you fired him. This will have an impact on productivity and the ability to retain employees.
It shows that you don’t really care about your employees. And even if it’s just 1 person, all the other employees will be left thinking that if you didn’t care about John, then maybe you don’t care about them either.
Once that sinks into your team, productivity will drop as will their opinion of you. Not to mention the impact it’ll have on the reputation of the business.
When you fire someone over email, it’s there forever. Chances are, that employee will screenshot it and put it all over social media.
Are you ready to withstand that kind of backlash? As being the company that fires people over email?
When is it OK to fire someone over the phone or via email?
It is legally on a Federal level to fire an employee over the phone or via email. But morally, the only time this is acceptable is if the employee works remotely several hours away, or if they haven’t been showing up for work repeatedly.
Seriously, don’t do this.
Your employees are human beings that deserve respect. Even if they were a terrible employee, you should always treat them with respect. They deserve the courtesy of being fired face-to-face.
An exception to this is if your employee is making it impossible to have that face-to-face meeting, as I mentioned above.
But even in this case, make a phone call. Ideally, they will answer as leaving on a voicemail isn’t great either. But don’t do it by email.
Email is too cavalier. There is no dialogue, and you have no control over when the employee will actually see the email.
If they won’t return calls and haven’t shown up repeatedly for scheduled shifts, at that point in most states it would be considered job abandonment. When that happens, there’s no longer really a need to fire them as they have essentially quit without notice.
So just document the attempts to contact them, the missed shifts and copies of the printed schedules for their shifts. Attach that to the paperwork for their job abandonment, and nothing further is really necessary.
But what if you want to email so there is a record of what was said?
They still deserve a phone call.
But you can certainly have someone else present for the call who can sign a witness statement as to what was said. Immediately after the call, just write a memo to their file, including the witness statement.
You could email it to the now-former employee if you wish, but leave out any personal feelings in it. You don’t want to come off as being unkind or rubbing salt in the wound.
Of course, if you are unable to reach them by phone, then email may be your only option.
Make it clear in your email that you tried reaching them several times, but you were unsuccessful. Just remember to keep it as kind as possible, professional, and on point.
If firing an employee over the phone, have HR or another manager as a verbal witness to the call. Place the call on speakerphone so the witness can hear both sides of the conversation. Stick to the facts, making it clear why they are being fired, and avoid drama or allowing them to debate.
Ultimately by the time you decide to fire someone, assuming you’ve done your job correctly, the time for back-and-forth discussion has passed.
So the conversation needs to be short and sweet and just stick to the facts.
Here are the above steps in greater detail:
1. Keep HR in the loop
If you have an HR department, contact them and let them know what’s happening.
They can get with IT to make sure access to company systems is cut off, calculate severance pay and/or final pay, and get together any necessary paperwork.
2. Set a specific time with the employee for the call
Schedule a phone call or ideally, video conference, with the employee and make sure HR or at least 1 witness (someone in a leadership role) is present.
3. Let them know they are being fired at the start of the call
Lead with the bad news and be clear about your intentions.
The very first thing you say to the employee is that the company has decided to part ways. Chatting too much before the actual firing can be misleading and confusing.
You want it to be crystal clear that they are being fired.
4. Give a clear reason and site the violation as it pertains to your employee handbook or policies
Reference the reasoning behind the firing.
Whether they are being fired for excessive absences, violating company policy or any other reason, there should be documentation. While they will be disappointed and hurt, your employee should not be surprised that they are being let go.
There should be clear documentation both of the firing, but also for all the previous violations.
5. Don’t get bogged down in the details
Yes, you should give clear reasons for firing your employee, but the goal is not to make them feel worse. Be concise.
6. Be clear, but be quick
Don’t argue or give a long list of failures.
Answer questions, but don’t engage in any arguing. Repeat your reasoning and make it clear that their services are no longer needed.
After all, by the time you reach this stage the decision is made and the time for discussion has passed. Firing should be 10 minutes tops in most cases.
7. Do listen to feedback
Your employee is probably going to have some things to say. A certain amount of that is OK as long as it’s not just excuses or venting.
Listen to what they are saying and take heed, just not at great length. Maybe there is something you could’ve done differently throughout their employment. If there is, implement the appropriate changes.
8. Provide them with any necessary paperwork
There may be some COBRA paperwork or termination paperwork they need to sign. Email this to them as soon as the meeting concludes.
9. Be polite and gracious, even if they aren’t
Finally, thank them for their service. Don’t apologize, but provide some sort of indication that you would’ve liked for things to turn out differently. If they get ugly, avoid the urge to give it back to them.
Stay cool, professional, and polite and end the call quickly once everything has been said.
Final Thoughts
Firing people is one of the hardest parts of being a manager. It can be tricky to deliver the news. You may want to do it via email or phone.
If at all possible, it’s best to deliver this kind of news in person.
However, sometimes is simply not possible. I’ve provided you with some tips on how to fire someone over the phone, if absolutely necessary.
An email should be used only in extreme situations when your employee simply isn’t responsive to your requests for a meeting.
With these tips, the process of firing an employee should be a relatively quick and painless, but respectful, experience.
Are you looking to be a manager of a grocery store? Perhaps you’ve just been promoted to store manager and you’re not entirely sure what it takes to be successful at management? Don’t worry. Many have wondered how to run a successful grocery store.
Here’s what I know having done that for many years:
A great grocery store manager wears many hats and is not afraid to get their hands dirty and work alongside their team. They also focus on people first; both employees and customers. But being able to prioritize on the spot, be efficient with their time and stay calm under pressure are also essential.
But that only scratches the surface of what a great grocery store manager does.
As a manager, you’re going to carry a lot of weight on your shoulders. Grocery store managers oversee the day-to-day operations of grocery stores. They are in charge of every aspect of a store’s operations including supervising personnel, inventory and tracking financials.
What does it take to run a grocery store? How do you attract customers to your store? What, exactly, makes a good grocery store?
You have questions. I have the answers. Just keep reading.
Running a grocery store is not for the faint of heart. Grocery store managers oversee the day-to-day operations of grocery stores.
They hire and train new employees, maintain employee schedules, and track inventory.
They also need to have good relationships with customers and vendors. Grocery store managers may also need to cover other positions when short-handed during shifts.
To get to the management level, you’ll need to understand your store’s products, pricing, and people. You’ll be responsible for handling finances and marketing. You’ll also need to make sure that your associates are properly trained.
More importantly, you’ll have to be able to juggle multiple priorities quickly, efficiently, and calmly.
In my 20+ year career with Whole Foods Market, there were many times where, in the space of minutes, I was alerted to 3 or more of the following scenarios:
An employee had a serious cut that required medical attention
A customer slipped, fell, and was injured
Another customer was trying to return a large purchase without either a receipt or the product itself
My regional boss was calling about a serious financial issue
The local health inspector had come by due to a customer complaint
A local news station showed up wanting to film a segment in our store about a controversial subject
If that happened, what would you do? How would you prioritize those issues? Would you crumble from the stress or get angry and lash out at those around you?
A good grocery store manager has to be calm under pressure at all times.
Grocery stores will require at least a high school diploma.
Many grocery stores prefer a four-year degree in a business-related field. All grocery stores will require a certain amount of experience and on-the-job training.
To read more about the education requirements, head over to this articleI wrote that details the requirements for each of the major grocery chains.
How should the manager of a grocery store spend their time?
As a grocery manager, you’re responsible for all aspects of running the store. From supervising employees to maximizing profits. As a result, it’s important to make sure you are current on what it takes to run a store.
By putting in the time to keep current and become a better manager, you will advance your personal development and it will benefit your store, associates, and customers.
The number one thing a manager should do is keep learning, be humble, and never ask an employee to do a task they are unwilling to do themselves.
To get to the management position, you have shown that you are a good leader, understand grocery products, pricing, and people. Just understanding these things isn’t enough, though.
You have to understand how each department works, how the customers see the store, and what kinds of problems or roadblocks your employees may run into trying to do their job. The best way to do that is to spend time on the floor working alongside the employees in each department; even if it’s just for a short time.
That being said, a common misconception is that the boss has to be the best at everything.
You don’t. Hire people for each job who can do it better than you could. Ensure they get the training they need. Then you provide the motivation, encouragement, feedback and big-picture vision to keep them moving forward.
Be a leader. As a manager, your associates will look to you for guidance.
Set the example and keep the store clean. Greet customers and clean up spills. Support your associates by letting them learn from their mistakes and owning up to your own.
Finally, remember that communication is key. Talk to your associates for a few minutes per day to discuss any potential stocking issues, answer questions, and address any staffing needs.
Larger grocery chains can operate with few employees, don’t typically have an in-house butcher or hand out samples. Their goal is to sell products at the lowest possible price and still make a profit. They will generally have a profit margin of 1 to 2 percent.
Smaller stores, natural food stores, or gourmet stores, however, may have a profit margin of 10 to 12 percent.
Why such a large gap and how do grocery stores set their profit margins? Luckily, I cover it all in a recent article.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
The profit margins on food items are much smaller compared to other businesses. This is because grocery items are a commodity. If you don’t like the price of an item at one store, you just go to another. Grocery stores are everywhere, so it’s not hard to find an item priced reasonably.
But the best ways to increase the profits at your store include:
1. Cross-merchandising
Cross-merchandising is when you combine items that naturally go together, like a display of pasta sauce, boxed pasta, and a bottle of wine, or olive oil, or balsamic vinegar.
How this helps with profitability is when you have 1 item that is a lower margin item but combine it with 1-2 items that are much higher margin.
Assuming most shoppers buy all the items you have grouped together, you’ll end up with a blended margin of all the items combined. Done correctly, you can often get that much higher than if you just had wine alone on your display.
I go a lot deeper into merchandising and how it impacts sales and profits in a recent article. I even cover the WRONG way to merchandise that can cut your sales in half.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
2. Putting your lowest-priced items at the ends of displays and aisles
A produce aisle that leads with conventional (non-organic) onions or bananas is naturally going to give the impression that the prices throughout the department are low.
By contrast, if you have an aisle that leads off with the most expensive item in the department, that will subconsciously imply that ALL your prices are expensive.
So lead with value and then allow then to discover the full range of your products as they go deeper into the store.
3. Tighten up your purchases so you aren’t over-buying
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve taken over a store and gone into the backroom only to find enough products to stock a brand new store.
Let me be very clear. When we have too much stuff in back it WILL cost you money.
Every time you touch a product you lose money. When you have stuff in the backroom you’ve already paid an employee to take it off a truck, stock the shelves, and then take it to the back room. Then you have to pay them again, to stock the shelves again later.
It’s FAR more efficient just to go from truck to shelf.
If your delivery schedule is sporadic or infrequent, you may have to stock up, but you should only have to order just enough product to not run out before the next delivery.
Plus, having a ton of stuff in the back increases your shrink, also called spoilage. That refers not only to products that go out of date or get stolen, but also just stuff that gets damaged. The more you move products, the more likely they are to get damaged.
Which leads me to . . .
4. Keeping a close eye on your shrink
Shrink refers to anything you have purchased that you aren’t able to sell. That could be:
Items that are stolen
Packages that go out of date
Items that come in damaged (and can’t be credited to the vendor)
Damaged goods caused by your employees
Fresh produce, deli, meat, seafood items that go out of date or get spoiled
If you aren’t careful, your shrink can easily get out of control.
How much shrink is too much? That will vary by department, store, area of the country, and company. But a good rule of thumb for the store as a whole is about 3% of your total store sales.
Perishable departments like produce, dairy, meat, seafood, and deli will obviously have the highest shrink. So that’s where you should ensure you have good systems in place for tracking your shrink.
5. Have a way to repurpose bruised or damaged food items that are still edible
To be clear, I’m not talking about out of date items or anything with compromised quality.
But a bruised apple, while not visually appealing, can still work just fine in a juice bar. So train your teams to know the difference between shrink and items that aren’t quite up to snuff for display that are still just fine to eat.
Have a deli and some overripe avocados? Sounds like a great way to take something you might otherwise throw away and turn it into high-margin guacamole!
To learn more about whether it is profitable to own a grocery store, and what makes one store more profitable than another, head over to this recent article.
Think about the things that attract you to a grocery store.
Better yet, think about the things that keep you away from a grocery store. Customers are very loyal to stores and will drive right past certain stores to get to “their” store. Sometimes even a different location of the same chain.
1. Parking
Good grocery stores have decent parking, even when the store is busy.
The parking lots need to feel safe, have plenty of cart corrals, and (most importantly perhaps), wide parking spaces. We’ve all been in those parking lots designed for 1985 Honda Hatchbacks.
Today, more than ever, especially here in Texas where I live, people drive large cars. And tiny parking spaces that are hard to get into or get your doors dinged every time will send people to your competitors in droves if everything else is equal.
2. Aisle layout
They have nice, wide aisles that are full of options.
Shoppers don’t like to go to multiple stores to get what they need. As a result, good stores have healthy food options as well as junk food. They also have items for picky eaters and general household items like toilet paper and paper towels.
They also have things laid out in a way that makes sense and makes it easy to find what they want.
3. Competitive prices
Good grocery stores have competitive prices and run specials regularly.
But low prices aren’t the only thing that customers want. They also want super friendly staff and items that are easy to find. That’s why companies like Whole Foods Market have dominated despite not being the cheapest store in town.
If your prices are low, but your staff is unfriendly, or the store is confusing to navigate, customers won’t be thrilled with their shopping experience.
On the other hand, if your prices are a little higher, but you run really good deals and your staff is friendly, customers are likely to return regularly.
4. Properly staffed checkouts
Good grocery stores have plenty of staffed checkout lines and self-checkout lines.
Customers hate waiting in insanely long lines. Self-checkout lines can help reduce line length. They allow customers with just a few items to check themselves out and go about their day.
We all know that there are occasionally days when you get short-staffed and may have long lines. But that can’t be the norm. And the store manager needs to respond quickly when big lines form, even jumping in and cashiering if needed.
5. Store atmosphere
Think about stores you’ve been in.
Whole Foods is colorful. There’s usually lively music playing that’s NOT Muzak. Much of the time there are employees in the store offering free samples.
Sometimes there’s live music or events like when Maynard from Tool came to my store once to sample his brand of wine.
But beyond that, it’s not just linoleum floors and fluorescent lights in a stark white and bland environment.
No the store designers, architects, and marketers at Whole Foods understand that the more comfortable, relaxing, and homey that they make the stores, the slower people will shop and the longer they will want to linger.
Bad for the parking lot. Good for the store sales as the longer someone is in the store, the more they are likely to spend more.
Let’s be honest. No one meets friends at Target or Walmart just to hang out.
But they do that all the time at Whole Foods. So if you want loyal fans who flock to your store and hang out with their friends, put some thought into the design, decor, colors, and atmosphere of your store.
6. Knowledgeable & friendly employees
Ultimately, this is more important than any of the above items.
As a store manager, I had to be able to count on my employees to treat every customer the way I would. When I was the GM of the large downtown Austin store, I had well over 600 employees!
More than 80 of them worked the overnight shift.
In fact, that was ultimately why that job was my least favorite job I held in my career at Whole Foods Market. There was just no way to really get to know my team members and build camaraderie.
I tried. But ultimately was only marginally successful.
You can sacrifice on prices, parking, and even the size and layout of your store. But if you don’t hire the best people you can find, train them well, work alongside them and have their back, your store will never fully succeed.
There are several ways to boost sales and increase customer loyalty at your store.
Advertising and loyalty programs can attract new customers and keep old ones. It’s important to gather data and analyze it to understand your customer base.
If customers are not having positive experiences at your store, they may not return. By gathering and analyzing data, you can rest assured that your customers are having positive experiences.
It’s important to frequently check the labels and expiration dates on your products. Incorrect messaging and expired products on your shelves can quickly damage your reputation as a reliable grocer.
The use of technology and digital advertising can increase sales.
For example, a grocery store app where customers can get their coupons and specials directly on their phone is a great way for grocery stores to embrace technology. Apps where customers can make grocery lists and see what items are in each aisle allow customers to navigate stores quickly and efficiently.
By embracing technology, grocery stores can keep up with trends while increasing engagement, customer outreach, and customer service.
Loyal customers that purchase more during their trip are the lifeblood of consumer foods. Getting existing customers to purchase more during a given shopping trip, is all about the appearance price.
For example, studies show that a two for $5 deal is more effective than a product being sold at $2.49 each. If you have a two for deal, you’re almost guaranteed that every customer will buy multiples. source
To attract new customers, it’s all about location and convenience.
People while widely shopping online, prefer to purchase food and beverages in-store.
Studies show that foot traffic to grocery stores peak at about 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. With this kind of insight and helpful location targeting, you can attract new customers and solidify relationships with existing customers.
For example, if your store is near a school, you’re likely to get that 4 p.m. foot traffic after parents have picked up their kids. Your strategically-located store will be the most convenient one on the way home from school.
It’s also important to understand that people shop at multiple locations for things they need.
They’ll shop at pharmacies, dollar stores, and convenience stores to get items at a lower price. By using technology and targeting the location of your customers, you can send strategically timed coupons and ads to drive them to your store.
Do you need college credits to be a warehouse worker? Can’t get your order from Amazon without them. Your burger at a chain. Your vegetables picked. Your grocery store clerk to check you out. Your assembly line worker. Most work doesn’t need a college degree. pic.twitter.com/II3KAIviRd
— Little Mariposa 🇺🇸 (@LittleMariposa) May 22, 2020
What degree do you need to be a grocery store manager?
Education requirements vary widely by grocery store chains. Some companies only require a high school diploma or GED. Others require a high school diploma but would prefer a four-year degree in business or some other related field.
The paragraphs below discuss the requirements of some of the most popular nearby grocery chains.
1. Walmart
While Walmart doesn’t require any formal education, they do expect you to have experience supervising employees and have some general management experience under your belt.
Because they sell firearms, Walmart also requires you to complete a general firearms training and pass a criminal background check. If they only sell ammunition you have to obtain a specialized certificate to sell ammunition.
2. Safeway
Safeway’s educational requirements consist of a college degree with six months of retail experience.
Otherwise, they require a combination of four years of college and retail experience. This could mean a two-year college degree combined with two years of retail/retail management. It could also mean that you are a high school graduate and have four years of retail/retail management experience.
3. Kroger
Kroger only requires a high school diploma or its equivalent. They also want you to be proficient in computer usage and have a lift truck certification or license.
Kroger prefers that you have a four-year degree in business or some related field. They also prefer that you have knowledge of the Fred Meyer policies, procedures, and organizational structure. This means that most likely they’re going to hire in-house because their in-house employees are the ones who are going to have the most solid knowledge of their policies.
Although Kroger’s minimum requirements are high school diploma or GED, they’re going to give preferential treatment to people with experience or a bachelor’s degree.
4. Trader Joes
Trader Joe’s does not have an education requirement, but they require 3 years of recent retail, restaurant or hospitality experience.
They also require two years of recent experience at the supervisory level. While they don’t require a bachelor’s degree, they do prefer that you have one.
Target’s educational requirement is that you have a four-year degree or equivalent experience.
5. Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods doesn’t have any educational requirements, but they do want you to be proficient in math. They also want you to have an understanding of computer applications and programs including things like Microsoft Office.
For a more thorough idea of the education a grocery store manager needs head over to this post on my blog. I not only cover basic education and experience you need to be a store manager, but I go store by store, showing the requirements of all the top companies in the US.
How much do grocery store owners or managers make?
On average, grocery store owners make around $62,419/year according to Indeed.com. But there’s a lot that factors into that, such as:
Location
Size of store
If it’s a franchise
Some grocery store owners, like a small specialty shop on the streets of NYC, for instance, might clear multiple 6 figures. By comparison, a Grocery Outlet store in a neighborhood that’s heavily reliant on food stamps might only earn $60,000/year.
Bear in mind too, it’s hard to get exact numbers from independent grocery stores that aren’t publically traded. There are no financial reporting requirements, nor are grocery store owner salaries listed on sites like GlassDoor.
Outside of Whole Foods (which I get into below since that’s my area of expertise), here are how store manager salaries stack up in other grocery stores, according to GlassDoor.
According to payscale.com, the average salary of a General Store Manager in South Carolina is $48,901. In New York City, the average salary is $89,819 per year.
While this may seem like a huge difference, the cost of living in NY is much higher than the cost of living in SC. If you’re looking to live comfortably as a General Manager, you’d be better off in SC.
In Denver, CO the average salary is $58,000, which is interesting, as the cost of living in Denver is also very high.
Warren and Sanders spread venom, but wealthy entrepreneurs benefit all of us. Grocery store Aldi’s owners got rich slashing prices and greatly aiding lower-income Europeans and Americans. https://t.co/3LwZrvXWjrpic.twitter.com/ojodk2AXQe
I was a GM for Whole Foods Market for well over half of my 20+ year career. Whole Foods calls their GMs Store Team Leaders.
During that time, I ran 4 stores and was an Associate Store Team Leader (assistant GM) in 4 other stores.
On average, and bear in mind the last time I did this was in 2013, so it’s been a little while, I made in the low 6 figures. While I knew some store managers who made around $150,000 a year (salary plus bonuses), I never got that high.
Officially on their website today, Whole Foods lists the starting salary for their GMs as $99,000/year.
But while I’m sure things have changed since Amazon bought them, that’s most likely without bonuses. The bonus structure for Whole Foods Market store managers provided a quarterly bonus on top of their salary. The bonus was based on a somewhat complicated profitability calculation.
So while in a store that wasn’t doing well, that bonus could be nothing, I also knew store managers who bought brand new Jaguars with just 1 of them.
So for many, compared to the risk of being a grocery store owner, it makes sense to be a grocery store manager for a large company.
To learn more about the salaries of grocery store owners specifically, and the factors that play into various salaries, head on over to this article on my website. I get more into details on owner-operator salaries which can be different from working for large chains.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Did I cover all you wanted to know about what it takes to run a successful grocery store?
However, it is a lot of work. Grocery store managers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders. Not only are they responsible for day-to-day operations, but they’re also responsible for personnel issues and helping the company reach long-term goals.
They need to be able to communicate effectively with customers and staff. Successful grocery stores keep up with current shopping trends. They focus on prices as well as the entire shopping experience.
In the end, a great grocery store manager needs to be a jack of all trades, focus on people, be calm under pressure, and willing to move quickly from one task to another.
After the end of prohibition in 1933, states were allowed to regulate alcohol sales themselves. But it resulted in a wide variety of laws from state to state. So many have wondered what states allow grocery stores to sell liquor?
I decided to investigate and here’s what I learned:
The states listed below allow sales of liquor in grocery stores:
Arizona
California*
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana**
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
But there’s a lot more to know than that!
Many states allow you to buy beer in grocery stores. But some only allow you to buy wine. Some states will allow you to buy liquor on Sundays, but even some of those don’t let you buy it before noon.
For example, in Nebraska, you cannot purchase liquor until noon. But in Florida, there are no time restrictions on liquor sales, but you can only purchase liquor from liquor stores.
And other states limit the liquor licenses chain stores have so not all locations may actually sell liquor. It all gets very confusing and frustrating.
** Louisiana liquor sales are allowed in grocery stores. But, individual cities, towns, and villages may disallow it. Shreveport does not allow hard liquor sales in grocery and other non-liquor store outlets. Bossier city does allow hard liquor sales in grocery stores. Rural Caddo Parish allows it as well.
Hi my name is Rachel and I am addicted to buying bourbon.
Can you buy liquor on Sundays in the states that allow liquor in grocery stores?
The states listed below allow sales of liquor in grocery stores on Sunday:
Washington
California*
Nevada
Arizona
New Mexico
Wyoming
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska**
Missouri
Illinois
Wisconsin
Michigan
Massachusetts
*California does not allow alcohol to be displayed within five feet of the cash register if the establishment also sells motor fuel. (Because it encourages drinking and driving???)
**Nebraska allows liquor sales on Sunday beginning at noon.
Indiana does allow the sale of liquor in grocery stores. However, there are no alcohol sales at grocery stores on Sunday whatsoever. West Virginia grocery stores are prohibited from selling liquor all day on Sunday.
Trader Joe’s is known for its low prices. But what about liquor? Do they sell it and is it also cheap?
Prohibition ended in 1933 with the ratification of the 21st amendment.
Since that time, alcohol has been regulated by a combination of federal, state, and local laws. These laws regulate the manufacturing and the sale of alcohol, as well as the drinking age.
The 21st amendment is the primary federal law governing alcohol policies. It also gives individual states control over whether to allow the sale of alcohol in the state at all.
It also regulates importing, distribution and possession of alcohol within the state. Some states offer local governments control over alcohol policy development and enforcement. Other states control alcohol policy at the state government level.
Unfortunately, the confusing state of affairs as it relates to alcohol policy is the drawback of giving states and local governments control over alcohol policy.
However, even with the flexibility of some laws at the state level, Congress maintains the power over certain alcohol policies, such as the minimum legal drinking age.
Love tequila? I sure do. But in the states that allow it, does Trader Joe’s carry tequila?
In some states, the state has complete ownership and control over liquor stores.
This means that the stores generate income for the state. This money can be put towards education, infrastructure, or any other government needs. States also offer standardized training for liquor store owners and can restrict the number of liquor stores across the state.
Considering how many extra dollars are generated for the state, it’s interesting that there aren’t more states doing this. The states that currently have state-owned liquor stores are:
Alabama
Idaho
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Utah
Virginia
State-owned liquor stores are typically closed on Sunday and voting day.
Note: the states labeled “No Sales” allow the sale of beer with very low alcohol content. As Christopher Ingraham says, “Near beer isn’t real beer.”
Alcohol is prohibited from being sold in grocery stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Alaska.
Maryland laws vary widely from county to county. Consult this county by county list to get the complete breakdown of laws.
Many states still prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Those that do allow sales on Sunday often can’t sell it until later in the day.
Check the state laws if you are planning on traveling to another state. It can be very frustrating if you are trying to buy alcohol, only to find out when you get to the register that you can’t purchase alcohol on Sunday.
Beer Only Sales
Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota allow only beer to be purchased at grocery stores.
However, grocery store sales are limited to beer with 4% ABV or lower. In Utah, beer over 4% ABV must be sold in state-run stores. Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota require that beer over 4% ABV be sold at liquor stores.
Of interest, Oklahoma requires that beer sold at liquor stores be sold at room temperature. (less likely to crack one open on the way home???)
New Jersey is interesting. While they do not limit the ABV of beer, grocery chains are only allowed 2 liquor licenses for the entire state.
This means that only 2 locations for each chain can sell beer in their stores. As a result, most grocery stores do not sell alcohol. Additionally, many establishments have a BYOB policy.
Liquor licenses are so expensive in New Jersey that they actually allow patrons to bring their own beer and wine for consumption.
Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, New York, and Connecticut all allow beer to be sold in grocery stores. However, there are some things you need to be mindful of:
Kentucky is said to have some of the most confusing liquor laws in the country.
They have wet, dry, and “moist” counties. It might be a good idea to check out their official wet/dry map before trying to purchase alcohol in Kentucky.
Alabama and Mississippi have several dry counties as well. Their official wet/dry lists can be found here and here, respectively.
Southeastern states, along with Texas, Oregon, Indiana, Montana, Ohio, Vermont, and New Hampshire allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores.
Note: 40oz bottles of beer or malt liquor are not sold in Florida. The maximum available size is 32oz.
New Hampshire homebrewers take note: New Hampshire limits household beer or wine production to 100 gallons per year if you’re doing it by yourself (200 gallons if someone else helps).
Fun fact: As the flagship home of prohibition, Westerville, Ohio was once known as the “Dry Capital of the World.” During a period known as the Ohio Whiskey Wars, a businessman named Henry Corbin owned a saloon and sold alcohol despite local laws banning it.
The building was blown up in protest by residents multiple times.
Beer, Wine and Liquor Sales
Southwestern states and most midwestern states allow sales of beer, wine, and liquor in grocery stores.
The states listed below allow sales of liquor in grocery stores:
Arizona
California*
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana**
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Missouri
Michigan
Massachusetts
South Dakota
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
*Fun fact: California does not allow alcohol to be displayed within five feet of the cash register if the establishment also sells motor fuel.
** Louisiana liquor sales are allowed in grocery stores. But, individual cities, towns, and villages may disallow it. Shreveport does not allow hard liquor sales in grocery and other non-liquor store outlets. Bossier city does allow hard liquor sales in grocery stores. Rural Caddo Parish allows it as well.
Final thoughts
Trying to purchase alcohol while you’re traveling from state to state is very frustrating.
Laws are regulated at the state level and many states pass that responsibility down to counties and cities. We’ve gone over many of the laws, and have hopefully made it a little easier to navigate.
While this is a pretty thorough guide, you should still check the local laws. That’s especially true if you are going to a state that has several wet, dry or “moist” counties.
One thing more and more shoppers do these days is to order their groceries through companies like Instacart.
You can order beer, wine, and liquor through Instacart. But one thing you may not know is which stores Instacart raises the prices on.
Yes, it’s true. While they don’t do it with all stores, Instacart does bump prices up an average of 15% on many grocery stores. Check out which ones in a recent article.
Grocery store sales often seem like a great deal. But sometimes when we look a little closer, we might realize it’s not quite as good a deal as we thought. So why do grocery stores have sales?
Manufacturers give stores discounts which temporarily lower the price on well-known items as well & newly introduced items. But, grocery stores often discount items that are short-dated or out of season in order to sell through excess inventory. Any dollars are better than no dollars if it has to be thrown away.
So in this article, we’re diving deep into the sometimes complicated world of grocery store sales. We’ll look at why they have sales instead of just everyday low prices. But we’ll also explore how they pick items and how to get the most out of your discounts.
Let’s dive in!
Are grocery store sales designed to make shoppers buy more?
Yes. Grocery stores put items on sale that you might not otherwise plan to purchase. But they may also put things on sale that naturally go together with other items, such as a sale on red wine displayed next to bags of pasta and jars of sauce.
For most people, buying groceries is a well-planned activity.
We take inventory of what’s in our cupboard. Then we make a list. We might even use our store’s coupon app to see what coupons are available for us to use.
Most of us with families never go to the store without a list and fixed budget. For my wife and me, that day is Thursdays and we allocate exactly $200 for our family of 5 to get us through 1 week. But if that sounds like a lot, I still remember back when our budget was $80 for the week.
That works most of the time but sometimes, when there are awesome sales, it fails to work.
This is because the sales are enticing and are presented in a way that makes us think that we getting more value for their money.
Now if it’s something already on our list, that’s great.
But most of the time they aren’t things we need or thought of. They are “wants” and not “needs” if you get my distinction.
This is one of the reasons why stores use sales. It helps them drive customers to make extra purchases which mean more profit for them.
Even if the products have great discounts, if you end up throwing them away when they go out of date, you haven’t actually saved anything.
Mom sent me to Kroger by myself just to get a few groceries.. think she’ll notice if I pick up one of each? They’re on sale! pic.twitter.com/tF9tIno1B1
Most of the time the grocery stores don’t decide what to put on sale.
Such decisions are usually made by the manufacturers who supply the stores with products. That’s at least true of what goes into the store sales flyer. Those products are often presented to the store’s corporate buyers by the manufacturer’s sales reps 6 or more months in advance.
In other cases, however, the store or department managers can decide to put something on sale. That’s especially true of what’s called “short-dated products. These are things that are expiring soon. In this case, selling them at a discount is better than throwing them away and making nothing.
Grocery stores may also place items on sale based on the season.
For instance, you’re not likely to see whole turkeys being put on sale other than right after Thanksgiving. This is because after Thanksgiving is done, most people don’t want to buy turkeys. So if they over-bought for Thanksgiving and have a ton left over, a sale may be the only thing that can save their profit margins.
The same applies to other products such as hams that are put on sale after Easter.
The seasonal discounts are also driven by the competitiveness among grocery stores. Most people will be looking for a specific product during the specific season.
So, most stores will want to outdo each other and have the best prices. That enables them to make the most sales possible.
This can only be done by giving consumers the discounts they want. So often that means putting things on sale to bring the customers in. They also know that if a customer comes into their store for a specific item, they are more likely to do the rest of that shopping there too.
They also are more likely to convert that shopper to shop there for the rest of the year too.
In most cases, yes you can use a coupon on an item already on sale. But always read the coupon first. There are store coupons, manufacturer coupons, and some are online, while others are paper. Often times the coupon will be from a manufacturer whereas the sale price will be from the store.
You should understand the limits that every store has before you try to combine them.
My local HEB store where my wife and I shop has an online coupon app. But we still grab the store’s paper coupons for items we’re buying just in case. While not always the case, there have been plenty of times that an item is on sale plus has a coupon.
So yes, in those cases, we get both discounts, which is great!
By learning about the limitations, you’ll be able to find the best deals. Just watch the cash register as you are checking out to make sure you’re getting your discounts.
These days store POS (point of sale) systems are complicated.
Most chain stores have corporate tech teams who program the coupons and sale prices. Then the local stores often have IT people maintaining that. And that’s on top of the cashiers ringing everything up.
Every step along that process is a chance for human error to come into play. So it pays to pay attention when you’re getting rung up.
On top of combining a sale price and a coupon, there is also what’s known as coupon stacking.
In this case, you use both a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. Target is one of the big stores that allow this, but a place like Wal-Mart doesn’t. Check with your local store to see if they allow it.
It’s a great way to get even better savings!
Here is a handy cheat sheet for some of the biggest store’s coupon policies
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Why don’t grocery stores just have everyday low prices instead of sales?
Having prices on daily low prices is great in theory. And some chains do operate that way like Aldi, for instance.
The downside to that is it can give the impression the store is low-end or cheap. That is, indeed, how most people see Aldi.
Consumers will have the impression that the products sold by that store are cheap. Even worse if they think a store is selling returned or out of date items. Once a store gets that reputation, they often lose all but the most frugal bargain shoppers.
Aside from Aldi, other discounters like Grocery Outlet also fit that model. Although truth be told, most of those types of stores still have sales.
Having a sale also makes customers feel like they are getting a deal. This gives them loyal customers and major sales can put them above the competition.
But sales are also designed to get customers to buy products they don’t even need.
This makes it a great way for the stores to clear out some of the old products without incurring huge losses. Or gets new products in the hands of consumers who might not know of that product yet.
Plus in many cases, it’s the manufacturer giving at least some of the savings, so it’s not all coming from the grocery store’s profit.
Most stores only put up sales for a specific duration.
Some also have clearance sections all the time. By doing that, their customers actually seek out the clearance section. And even at a deep discount, every purchase off the clearance shelf is a purchase no one planned to make.
And again, even selling something at 50% off is better than throwing it away and making nothing.
Tuesdays are one of the best days to shop around for discounted meat. Most grocery stores get their meat during the weekend and then again later in the week. So after a busy weekend, they will often discount whatever’s left to make room for the next delivery.
Of course, different stores have different policies too, and busier stores may get multiple deliveries throughout the week.
So there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.
But for those that do, they will try to sell it as soon as possible by Monday. Any meat still on the shelf will be marked down.
It’s also a good idea to shop around any day after the store has had a big sale.
The big sales usually have some discounted prices. But if you go one day after the sale is over you’ll most likely find what was left after the sale.
And those will be even cheaper than the price used during the sale!
The right timing is also as important as going on the right days. For meat departments, in particular, those employees and the meat manager typically work early; like 4 am or so.
So between 8am and 10am shortly after they’ve checked the dates of what’s on their shelves is a great time to shop. They’ve culled their shelves and slapped sale stickers on anything close dated.
Shopping during these times is also ideal because there are a few people available in the stores.
As I said above, every chain might operate a little differently from one another. So befriending the employees or butcher is a great idea.
You’ll be able to find out their schedules regarding the markdowns. And you’ll be able to get the best deals.
Remember to keep the discounted meat frozen if you can’t use all of it immediately. A ziplock freezer bag helps keep freezer burn away, but unopened packages of meat or poultry should be fine at least for a few weeks to a month.
Yes. As long as the meat or poultry isn’t past its freshness date, you can save a lot of money buying discounted meat. Just place it in the freezer when you get home, and then use it within 3 months when it may start to develop freezer burn.
Like other discounted products, buying poultry and beef for a discount can help you save a lot of money.
So that makes it a good idea. Just don’t buy stuff solely because it’s on sale. Know what you already have in your fridge or freezer. Then plan out your meals and buy accordingly. That ensures you don’t end up wasting something.
Buying discounted meat helps you save a lot of money and is a great way to cut your grocery bill.
Because it was almost expired when you bought it do be cautious when thawing. Many people like to thaw frozen meat by setting it in the sink for hours on end. Since this product was close to bad, it should not be thawed that way.
Instead, you can either use your microwave defrost setting. Or, place the meat or poultry in a ziplock bag and place it in a sink filled with warm water. Then just place a heavy pot on top to keep it submerged.
20 minutes should be about right to thaw most things.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we took an in-depth look at the world of grocery stores and sales.
We examined why they have sales and how they pick the items that go on sale. But we also looked into things like when meat goes on sale. And if buying meat on sale is a good idea.
Ultimately, we answered the question of why do grocery stores have sales.
Sales are usually good for both the consumer and the store but as the customer, you have to ensure that you choose your products carefully and check their expiration dates.
Try to avoid impulse buying.
But if you can’t, make sure you can use the items you’re buying on sale; especially if the expiration date is close. You should also try to get value for your money by looking for things on sale that also have a coupon available for discount stacking.
Love it or hate it, we all go grocery shopping. But if you know grocery stores, you know they frequently move stuff around. For most shoppers, these changes are confusing and often leads to the question, why do grocery stores change the layout?
Driven by lower profit margins & high competition, grocery stores are desperate to make their stores better than their competitors. One of the best ways to do that is by changing the layout. But it’s also a way to force shoppers down every aisle, counting on them making additional purchases they hadn’t planned on making.
But there’s a lot more to know about why they change stuff, how they do it, and how often it happens.
So let’s keep going!
Why do grocery stores rearrange everything?
Like other businesses, grocery stores want to make as many sales as possible.
This is the best way to make additional profit and possibly expand. After all, the average grocery store only makes a net profit of around 2%. Think of it this way. For every dollar they take in, only about 2 cents is actually profit after every expense gets paid.
I go into much greater detail on grocery store profit margins in a recent article. In that, I also explain why a Whole Foods, for instance, might make 2-3 times as much profit percentage as a Safeway or Kroger.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
So to maximize those profits, they need their customers to purchase more items than they intended to in the first place. For that to happen, they need to make it harder for the customers to find the items they need.
By changing where the items are placed, the customers will have to walk around the store as they try to locate what they want. For instance, if you visit the store today then go back a few months later, you’ll find that some items are not where you found them.
As you walk around trying to locate them, you’ll see other items that catch your eye and you’ll end up buying them in impulse. If the products were left in the same place year after year, you’d probably pick up exactly what you came for.
Then, most likely you would leave without ever buying anything else.
Rearranging the store also allows the placement of best-selling products at the front and that ends up enticing the customers. But savvy retailers also know that profits are higher on some items more than others. So they’ll also rearrange things putting the higher-margin items more in your face.
Moving certain shelves or areas
The other time stores rearrange is when a new product comes out.
There are times when a product stops being made by the company. Or, maybe it just didn’t sell well and your store decided to stop selling it. Or a popular brand introduced some hot new products.
In all of those cases, the store has to rearrange stuff to fill the space of a product that went away, and/or make room for the new stuff.
Lastly, rearranging items allows the store to get rid of products that are about to expire.
They might build a whole display of potato chips that expire in 2 months. They hope to sell at least some of them before they go out of date. After all, any bag sold, even at a discount, is one they don’t have to throw away and lose 100% profit on.
Rearranging a whole store, or just certain departments or aisles is called a reset.
A reset involves taking everything off a given shelf or the whole aisle (or occasionally the whole store), deciding how to rearrange it, and then putting it back.
In the old days when I started with Whole Foods, we just did the planning part on paper or in our heads. And I still remember doing one at the original Whole Foods store (long gone) where we had a whole aisle collapse 10 minutes before the store opened!
It does require a lot of work on the front end as you have to enter the size of every product (boxes, cans, bottles, etc). You also have to enter in the cost and sales price. Then it gets fancy and gives you the best layout based on sales, profit, and the packaging size as well as what products make sense sitting next to each other.
For displays, however, which change more frequently, there is also what’s called cross-merchandising.
This is the process where you place products together even when they are not directly related, to try to boost their sales. For instance, by placing produce next to the flowers, customers’ sensory is tricked into thinking that the products are fresh thanks to the smell of the flowers.
But anytime you see a display of boxes of pasta and jars of pasta sauce with a stack of wine bottles, that’s cross-merchandising too.
Most consumers tend to buy only items they need from the store; many just going down a written shopping list. So grocery stores can get these customers to add-on by placing additional items nearby they might buy on impulse.
How is a grocery store organized?
1. The front of the store
Most stores start by placing flowers at the front.
That is often the first item customers see when they get into the store. Produce is placed next to the flowers because of the freshness of the flowers. The freshest and most seasonal produce (and also often the cheapest) is placed at the front while that is not so fresh and is put in the back.
That’s designed to give the impression that everything is fresh, seasonal and low-priced.
Other products kept near the entrance are those that are referred to as “grab and go”. These are items such as bottled water, snacks, and even milk.
Customers can easily grab some to consume as they shop which they might not have done otherwise.
Large stores also place banks closer to the entrance. This makes it easier for customers to withdraw money to be used in the store. Apart from discounted items, new products or products that are in high demand during a specific season are placed at the end of the isles.
Candy, magazines and other products that can be bought on impulse are usually placed near the registers so that customers can pick them as they wait and they won’t have enough time to change their minds.
2. The departments around the perimeter
Bakeries are usually placed beyond the entrance. The fresh baking smell usually triggers hunger pangs and will most likely lead to shoppers buying more food items. I even know of 1 chain that has a special air conditioning system to pipe the smells from the bakery to the front of the store so it hits you the moment you walk in.
Deli and coffee bars are usually located closer to the bakeries in one of the corners. Free cooking demonstrations and samples of free products are usually placed on one side of the walls on the outside.
3. The center of the store
Other household merchandise such as cooking ingredients and canned foods are usually placed in the center aisles.
The back walls usually have staples like eggs, meat, and dairy products. By the time the customers get to the middle and the back shelves, they will have seen other non-essential items along the way and probably bought them.
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What is the psychology behind retail store layouts?
Most grocery stores place products that bring in the most profit at the eye level. By placing the profitable products within easy reach, they increase the frequency they are bought and profits.
Since most customers go to the grocery store in a hurry, they’ll end up picking the products their eyes first come in contact with. They will not have time to look around as they try to compare brands and prices.
Placing the expensive items at the end of the aisle is another layout that grocery stores use.
This also attracts shoppers who are in a hurry and therefore don’t have time to compare prices. They just pick the closest products even if they are not the cheapest option available.
Here are some of the other psychological reasons to rearrange a store:
1. Color Breaks
Color breaks are another key component of good grocery store merchandising.
By that I mean if you have 2 items that come in a red box, and 1 that comes in a blue box, you WILL sell more of all of them if you put the blue box in between the 2 red ones.
That makes all of them stand out better. It also eliminates the possibility of the customer seeing 1 red one but accidentally grabbing the other one (and later returning it).
2. Products that appeal to the senses
The stores also put out visually appealing items like flowers at the front of the store where you can easily see them.
Since flowers also smell great, they give customers the idea that the store has fresh products. Most people associate the smell of flowers with freshness and they may even end up buying the flowers.
3. Proven ways to drive customers through the store to the back
Other items you buy like milk are usually placed at the back.
This is because milk is an essential product that most people need and will have to buy no matter where it is placed. As the customer tries to get to the milk, they’ll have to pass other products that they could end up buying on impulse.
4. Put the banks up near the front to make sure they have plenty to spend
By putting the banks at the entrance, it ensures customers can do their banking first and have plenty of cash to do their shopping.
5. Give people a reason to hang out
By having a deli, bakery, and/or coffee shop in the corner, customers will not be in a hurry to finish their shopping and go get soothing to eat.
Instead, they’ll spend more time in the store. The more time spent in a store, the more people are apt to buy things. And they might even decide to pick up premade meals for dinner while they are there.
6. How stores pick which items go where on a shelf
The top shelf usually has products that have products from brands that aren’t very popular.
The shelves that are at your eye level are given to the best selling and/or most profitable products. These are products that are from reputable brands and can therefore easily attract attention. They aren’t necessarily the cheapest products but they still sell well because of the reputation of the brands.
The bottom shelves are usually reserved for very heavy or bulky products. That way a customer isn’t having to reach way up to grab a 10lb jug of cat litter or a huge container of laundry liquid.
Although there isn’t a specified frequency that retailers follow when rearranging the store, most of them reshuffle a little bit every few months.
But what they call endcaps, the displays at the end of each aisle, often change every 2 weeks or so.
For huge store-wide changes, once a year is not uncommon, while some retailers might rearrange twice every year. There isn’t a set pattern for how often they change. But in a hotly competitive town, you might notice they do it more frequently since they are trying to win a larger share of the grocery sales in the town.
Sometimes rearranging is done at the request of the product vendors.
Believe it or not, many large vendors these days pay the stores what’s called a slotting fee. In other words, they pay the store (a lot of money in some cases) to get good placement in a store for their products.
Good old fashioned quid pro quo.
Some vendors may want the store to place their products at a location that they consider to be premium. In such a case, the store may be forced (by their slotting fee agreement) to make the changes immediately. And yes, that’s even if it’s just a few days after they made their last reset.
Lastly, stores, of course, want to rearrange the store depending on the season.
No one wants to see a huge pumpkin patch out front in June or tons of watermelon in January. Different products are seasonal which means that they’ll sell more in some seasons than others.
So you can bet as we prepare for a new season, big changes are coming to your grocery store’s aisles.
Final Thoughts
Reshuffling the products occasionally is a good way to keep a store fresh and interesting.
But it also helps stores maximize profits by having higher-margin items in better positions. It can also be used to help sell through items about to expire.
But mostly, it’s about getting customers to go down every aisle. That way, while searching for what they came for, they’ll probably buy additional items along the way.
There’s actually a lot more that goes into how a grocery store decides how to build displays and merchandize their store. I cover all of that strategy in a recent article where I break down grocery merchandising.
I even get into some of the secret strategies of how they can build huge displays without using a ton of product (which ties up their cash flow).
As a GM for 2+ decades, employees calling out sick was just a way of life. But many new managers wonder can you fire an employee for being sick.
No. You cannot fire an employee for being sick. But most employers have an attendance policy and instead would document unexcused absences over a period of time, and eventually fire them for excessive absenteeism, after a series of warnings.
But there’s a lot more to know about employees calling out sick and how you can legally discipline them for that.
So here, we’re getting into absenteeism and what constitutes excessive absenteeism. But we’ll also examine whether an employee can get fired for that and if so if there should be some sort of due process leading up to that.
And what if you are sick a lot and have to use PTO? Can they fire you even if you use PTO?
As a leader for Whole Foods Market for over 2 decades, I learned a lot, saw a lot, made a number of mistakes, and learned from them too. I also, unfortunately, had to fire a lot of employees, many for excessive absenteeism.
So this is familiar territory. Let’s dive in!
What is excessive absenteeism?
Excessive absenteeism would be 3 more absences in a 30-day period, 5 or more in 6-months, or 10 or more in a 12-month period. But excessive absenteeism may vary from company to company.
But first, we need to understand what exactly is “excessive”.
This isn’t middle or high school and a doctor’s note doesn’t necessarily excuse an absence. It’s also important to understand that while an employer may be subject to state or federal laws, in many cases, it’s up to the employer to decide.
This is especially true in an “at-will” state.
An at-will state is a state in the US that basically allows employers to fire anyone for any reason at any time.
I go into a lot more details about what an at-will state is, including a state-by-state guide, in a recent article geared towards how to fire an employee with a bad attitude.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Now, having said that, I firmly believe that employers have a moral obligation to be firm, fair, and consistent. And an obligation to make expectations and consequences crystal clear.
If you fire an employee and they are genuinely surprised, you failed as a leader.
First, you need to have a company policy guidebook in place which spells out all your company policies, including your attendance policy.
This should include what the correct procedure is for calling out sick as well as how many sick calls in a set period of time constitute excessive absenteeism.
Excessive absenteeism can be costly for any business in terms of both replacement costs and lost productivity.
When I was a leader for Whole Foods, we defined excessive absenteeism as the following:
10 days absent (leaving early or arriving late beyond 30 minutes counts), consecutive or not, in any 12-month period
3 or more absences in any 30-day period
5 or more absences in any 6-month period
The national average for sick days is currently 9 per employee per year, so just under what Whole Foods would have found unacceptable.
But whatever policy you set for your company, have it apply to everyone (including yourself) and enforce it evenly and consistently. Double standards and hypocrites rarely make for successful businesses long-term.
If a boss does go to fire you, can they do that by phone or email?
How do you handle an employee with excessive absences?
I’m a firm believer in following a 3-step process for virtually all offenses except violence, harassment, and theft. Here are the 3 steps in handling an employee who is excessively absent:
Verbal warning – Start with a conversation, done in private where you alert the employee to the issue, remind them of the company policy, and remind them of the consequences. Document this after the fact for their file
Written warning – Once they cross another excessive absence threshold, issue a written warning for excessive absenteeism. Get it signed and witnessed
Final Warning – Again, once they cross another threshold of excessive absenteeism, issue a final written warning, also signed and witnessed. This should make it clear that the next instance will lead to termination
Next, have a monitoring system in place for everyone from the top down.
Ideally, don’t put this place in response to an employee problem; just have this tracking system in place as soon as possible; ideally from the beginning.
You can use a calendar, an Excel spreadsheet, or some sort of online program or app. Then have a tab for each employee and every time they are not at work when they normally would be, note which of the following categories that absence falls into:
Multi-day Vacation (approved in advance)
Approved Other Absence (they requested the day off for an appointment, ideally getting their shift covered)
FMLA Leave (Family Medical Leave Act Federally mandated leave)
Unexcused Absence – Any unplanned absence where they call out
Every time someone is absent, you record that absence. Then perhaps monthly, you review the logs of everyone and see if anyone has exceeded the attendance policy for your company for unexcused absences.
Can I terminate an employee for excessive absenteeism?
Yes. Employees who are excessively absent can be terminated. But have a set system for monitoring, documenting, and communicating about excessive absences, and ensure all employees, including yourself, follow the same rules.
But as much as possible, as the employer, you have to balance being human and being compassionate, with what’s best for the company and, more importantly, what’s best for the other employees.
After all, if you have 1 employee who calls out all the time, and the rest are rock solid, it’s putting a huge burden on those other great employees. So you have an obligation to deal with the absent employee, even if their reasons for constantly calling out seem “reasonable”.
Now, if they are a single mom I don’t want you to be heartless.
But if you constantly make exceptions for them, then figuring out how to determine (legally and morally) when to make exceptions for the rest of your team will become a full-time job. Making constant judgment calls will wear you out, demoralize your team, and ultimately kill your productivity.
So stick with being firm, fair, consistent while also being compassionate.
Ultimately, if you have a fair attendance policy and it’s made clear to everyone when you hire them, then if they aren’t meeting that policy and you’re communicating clearly when there are infractions, it’s 100% on them if you later have to fire them.
Just make sure that everyone on the team (yourself included) is held to the same standard.
Can you get fired for being sick with a doctor’s note?
Most employers would not fire an employee for being sick but instead would fire them for being excessively absent. A doctor’s note would not be a factor unless the employer was legally obligated to offer the employee a medical-related leave of absence.
In an at-will state, you can be fired at any time for any reason, although reputable employers will go through some sort of due process with performance issues.
Even if you’re not in an at-will state, if your absences are excessive (beyond the scope of what’s allowed in the employer’s attendance policy) you can still be fired. Whether or not you have a doctor’s note won’t factor into whether or not you have been excessively absent.
Now if you have an ongoing medical issue, you may be able to request an FMLA leave (Family Medical Leave Act). However, in order to be eligible and request an FMLA leave, the employer has to be what’s called a “covered employer”, which basically means they have 50 or more employees.
Then, you as the employee have to meet certain criteria such as:
You must have worked at least 1250 hours in the 12 months prior to requesting leave
Work at a location with 50+ employees, or within 75 miles of another location with 50+ employees
You have to have worked for the employer for at least 12 months
So if you just started or work for a small company with a handful of employees, the employer is NOT obligated to grant you an FMLA leave. That doesn’t mean they won’t grant you leave, and doesn’t mean they may not have options spelled out in their attendance policy.
But they aren’t Federally mandated to offer you a leave.
Wrongful Termination is one of the worst employee-related issues an HR department or an entire company can get involved in primarily because it involves tedious processes and investigations, not to mention a lawsuit. ✔️ pic.twitter.com/5SmwbctIkN
Can I sue my employer if I’m fired for being sick?
If the employer is guilty of wrongful termination, they can be sued by the employee. So if the termination was for illness, that would constitute wrongful termination. Excessive absenteeism that had been documented and addressed previously would not constitute wrongful termination.
In the US at least, unfortunately, anyone can sue anyone for pretty much any reason.
That doesn’t mean you’ll win or that your case has merit. But people file lawsuits every day. Ultimately, you’re not likely to be fired just for being sick. If you work for a reputable employer they may fire you for excessive absenteeism.
But ultimately you’re being fired for being unreliable and being a burden to your fellow employees; not because you’re sick.
And if the employer has done a proper job of creating an attendance policy, is consistent with all employees in enforcing that, and there is a clear written paper trail documenting your infractions, you will most likely lose the case.
This is even truer if you live in an at-will state.
In short, filing a lawsuit will cost you time and money and you’d be far better off putting that time, energy and money into finding a new job and owning your role in losing the previous one and learning the lessons from that experience.
The US Department of Labor has noted the following average number of sick days for employees in the US: 7 sick days per year with 1 to 5 years of service, 8 sick days per year with 5 to 10 years of service, 9 sick days per year with 20 years of service.
So, as you can see, somewhere between 7 and 9 sick days a year probably going to be considered reasonable by most employers.
“Reasonable” will be very different depending on the type of work. But also how many employees there are and how easy it is to get someone to cover your shift.
At Whole Foods, all the stores I worked in and ran had hundreds of employees. That made it easier to cover people who called out sick. A store with 4 employees would have a much harder time dealing with that.
What if you sometimes miss work because you work a 2nd job?
In this article, we took a look at the world of employee absences.
All employers know what it’s like to deal with call outs. And all employees know what it’s like to have to take on additional work and responsibility when we’re shorthanded.
So today we explored the definition of excessive absenteeism and the right way for an employer to handle that. But we also explored how doctor’s notes might factor in and what’s reasonable on both sides.
Ultimately, we answered the question can you fire an employee for being sick?
Grocery stores are everywhere: from the small, family-owned market on the corner to the grocery store giants with locations all over the world. It’s clear that the grocery store business can be profitable and sustainable, but what is the profit margin for grocery stores?
Conventional grocery stores have a profit margin of about 2.2%, making them one of the least profitable industries in the US. But they make their money by selling in large volume & multiple locations. However, stores in natural, organic, and gourmet niches tend to see bottom-line profit margins of closer to 5-10%.
But there’s a lot more to know about grocery store pricing and profit margins.
So in this article, we’ll explore margins and markups. But also, how a company like Safeway or Kroger might have different profit margins than a Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Ultimately, we’re answering the question of what is the profit margin for grocery stores.
Time to get down to business!
What Are Profit Margins?
Let’s understand why grocery stores have the profit margins they do. That way, you’ll have a basic understanding of what profit margins actually are and why they’re important.
You’ll also want to know a little bit more about how grocery stores operate as a business. Let’s walk through both aspects before getting into the actual profit margin for grocery stores.
Profit margins are a commonly used term that has to do with describing profitability in business. A profit margin is the number that represents what percentage of sales a business has turned into profit.
In other words and to put it even more simply, a profit margin shows how many cents of profit a business makes for each dollar of sales. And that’s typically represented as a percentage.
There’s actually a lot more that goes into it than just that, though. So let’s dive in a little further.
Our #wednesdayword for the week is Profit Margin.
This essential business term measures how much profit you keep relative to total sales. There are three types of profit margins: gross, operating and net. Calculate these by dividing the profit (revenue minus costs) by the revenue pic.twitter.com/0fluRjS4vk
The Different Types of Profit Margins and How They Work
There are actually different types of profit and profit margins that all blend together. The types of profit margins are:
Gross profit margin
Operating profit margin
Pre-tax profit margin
Net profit margin
All of these types of profit tie in together. But the most commonly used and perhaps the most significant type of profit margin is net profit margin.
If you are confused about the difference between markup and margin, relax. MANY people are confused between the 2. I have a recent article that breaks down both AND shows you how to calculate either one. I also give you a handy chart that shows up number by number what margin a certain mark up is.
Just click the link to read it on my site.
Locally-owned grocery store, Fruits, Veggies, and More, is not making a profit, but still stays open for students
How do all these profit margin types tie together?
Think of it like this: a company has a product in its store that it makes a sale on. When the company takes in the revenue from that sale, it has to pay the direct costs of buying that product.
What’s left after paying the direct costs of the product is the gross profit margin.
For example, if you buy an apple for 50 cents and sell it for $1.00, your gross profit is 50 cents or a 50% gross profit margin.
Next, the company needs to pay its indirect costs, like advertising. Once indirect costs are paid, what’s left is the operating profit margin.
The company will also need to pay other expenses, like debts and charges. Once those are paid, what’s left is the pre-tax margin.
Media trackers so called “fat cat” special interest – mom & pop grocery store owners make an average profit margin of 1.3 %. @dumbwislaw pic.twitter.com/Ci6n11affw
Like all retailers, grocery stores pay both state sales tax and they pay payroll taxes for their employees.
45 states plus Washington DC have a state sales tax. Sales tax is sometimes paid monthly, quarterly or maybe even annually depending on state law and sales volume for the company.
Payroll taxes are mandated on the Federal level. But they too could be due daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly depending on the amount of money due.
Once a company has paid taxes, what they’re left with at the bottom line is called the net profit margin.
Net profit margins show the company’s profitability after every other expense has been paid, really showcasing the profitability of the company. This is why net profit margins are so commonly used and important.
Whole Foods Market, where I worked as a leader for 2+ decades was fond of doing things differently than many other companies.
So with them, we really only focused on gross profit and net profit. And for them, net profit was where ALL expenses, from marketing, labor, rent, utilities, etc were all deducted from the gross to give us a bottom-line profit.
Why are profit margins so important? If a company is making money, it shouldn’t really matter, right? Actually, no.
Profit margins are very important because they are indicators of important aspects of a company, like growth potential, management skill, and (of course) financial health.
Profit margins are used by not only businesses themselves, but they’re also used by investors and creditors, which are extremely important in business. Investors and creditors may use the profit margins of a business in order to decide whether to invest in it or lend to it.
Ultimately, though, if a store generates a lot of sales, but can’t manage to have a bottom-line profit that is a positive number, they will eventually go out of business unless that can turn that around.
If a store goes out of business, it doesn’t just affect the owner either as every business has multiple stakeholders or people who are impacted by the decisions being made by the owner. Here are all the people that could be affected if a store closed:
Employees – Who would have to find other employment. In this interim, they will be forced to slow or stop spending on their personal needs altogether, affecting other retailers in the process
Customers – Who will have to find another grocery store to shop at. If the new store is further away, that’s less convenient, can use more gas in their car, and could cut into their time spent shopping in other stores, again affecting other retailers
Product Vendors – The people who sold their products to the store will clearly feel the hit as their sales will go down unless they find other markets to sell to. Depending on how busy the store was that closed, or if we’re talking multiple locations, the vendor may have to lay off employees of their own
So as you can see, poor decisions by the owner of a grocery store can negatively trickle down and affect dozens, if not hundreds of other people.
When you look at successful big grocery store chains and companies like Kroger, Publix and Albertson’s, you probably can’t help but wonder how they’re so successful if they have low profit margins.
Let’s take a look at that.
Conventional grocery store chains have an average profit margin of about 2.2%. This means that for every dollar of sale a grocery store has, they make 2.2 cents of profit.
The main reason grocery profit margins are so low, especially for conventional grocery stores is competition.
There are 38,307 grocery stores in the US according to Statistica. That’s literally 1 store for every 5,459 adults over age 18. Now to be fair, 5,459 sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t when you consider a lot of us just shop once per week.
Now we’re talking only 779 people per day in a store. If that store opens at 8 am and closes at 10 pm, that’s only about 55 people per hour shopping; relatively small.
So with all those stores, and people being more price-conscious than ever and the ability to see many store’s prices and specials on their smartphones, grocery stores have to be way more competitive now than ever before.
Because of those low margins, grocery stores are still considered one of the least profitable industries in the United States due to their low profit margins.
It’s not uncommon at all for grocery stores to have a low profit margin and to make a profit of cents or less on the dollar.
However, grocery stores can be and are still successful despite lower profit margins. So if you’ve ever wondered whether owning your own grocery store is profitable, it can be! I have a recent articlewhich breaks that down. I even cover start-up costs and everything you need to understand to get going.
How Grocery Stores Can Still be Successful With Slim Profit Margins
Grocery stores have a slim profit margin.
So, how can they still be successful and make money? The key comes down to several factors, like volume, and being able to spread administrative and corporate expenses across multiple stores.
Sales Volume and Labor Costs
Larger grocery stores like Kroger or Albertson’s can have a smaller profit margin than small “mom and pop” grocery stores, a local market or a company like Whole Foods.
The reason for that is two-fold:
They have hundreds of stores to share corporate administrative costs across
Many of those stores do upwards or over a million dollars a week in sales, so even 2% can be a large amount of money at that volume
Whole Foods, by comparison, is not a small company really. That’s even truer since Amazon bought them. But they actually only have 500 stores currently (there were only 5 when I started with them). By comparison, Kroger has 2,800 stores.
The other key difference, and why Whole Foods profit margins tend to be a lot higher is service.
You can walk into a Whole Foods and maybe talk to a wine person who might actually be a real sommelier. Or you can talk to a butcher. You can also go to the nutrition area and get a detailed plan on how to get started on a master cleanse.
In Kroger or most conventional grocery stores, you’re lucky to find anyone to talk to aside from the cashiers. Conventional grocery chains can operate on lower margins because they typically use significantly less labor.
And it makes sense. How much customer service do you really need to buy Cheetos and Folgers coffee?
So smaller companies or natural and gourmet shops with a heavier focus on customer service have to operate on high profit margins to survive and to cover their increased labor costs.
What they typically sacrifice in doing that is sales volume.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we took an in-depth look into the world of grocery stores.
We examine how they price their products and how they make their money. But we also explored how a small mom and pop shop or a gourmet market or organic supermarket might have different margins than the mainstream convention grocery stores.
When you work in a place with a lot of other people, gossip is a natural by-product of that. While sometimes harmless, many wonder can you fire an employee for gossiping?
In at-will states, employers can fire anyone for any reason. But even in other states, gossip can be considered “creating a hostile work environment” and can lead to disciplinary action eventually leading to termination.
But there’s a lot more to know about gossip in the workplace and what, exactly, is an “at-will” state. So, in this article, we’ve got all the facts on gossip.
We’ll walk you through the reasons you can fire an employee for gossiping, why gossiping is so detrimental to the workplace, and how to solve a gossiping problem among employees.
Let’s talk about it (no gossiping involved)!
What exactly is gossiping?
Gossip can be anything from rumors to truth, to outright lies. Even if it’s true (like maybe your supervisor did have too much to drink at the company party), it’s still mean-spirited and not appropriate in the workplace.
In most cases, these things are spread behind the back of the person(s) the gossip is about.
It’s, unfortunately, an all too common occurrence in the workplace.
While sometimes it’s just intended to be funny (“did you see who so-and-so brought to the company party??”), it’s often mean-spirited. Sometimes it gets downright nasty and is intended to malign someone or even derail their career options.
I still recall a situation at one of the Whole Foods stores I used to work at in downtown Austin.
I had stopped working there in early September 2005. About 6 weeks later, at a friend’s birthday party, I met the woman who would later become my wife (and still is). While she had worked at the store when I was there, she was one of the 650-ish employees in that store.
So in truth, while I had seen her, I didn’t even know her name when we officially met.
But a few people, really 1 in particular, decided that my girlfriend (now wife) was somehow doing well at work because of her association with me. She gossipped from one side of the store to the other, despite the fact that I didn’t even work there anymore and had no direct conversation with any of the leadership in that store (about her or anything else).
It was mean, distracting, and ultimately put my wife in the position of having to work extra hard to prove herself instead of just working.
Gossip is damaging to morale, takes its toll on productivity, and can be incredibly demoralizing to otherwise great employees.
Gossip may seem like a small thing, but when it comes to the workplace, gossip can actually end careers.
Let’s take a look at if employers can fire employees for gossiping, why gossiping can be so detrimental to the workplace and reasons why employers may consider firing an employee for gossiping.
Because gossip has had so many detrimental effects both on people and the workplace as a whole, many employers have wondered if you can actually fire an employee for gossiping.
As it turns out, you can get fired for gossiping.
When we break it down, a lot of states and employers are what we call “at-will.” This means that employers can fire employees at will for any reason or for no reason, and with or even without notice.
So, when an employer is considering terminating an employee for gossiping if the employer is an “at-will” employer or is in an “at-will” state, they are within their rights to fire the gossiping employee.
Even if employers aren’t in an “at-will” state and even if they aren’t an “at-will” employer, they still may be within their rights to terminate an employee for gossiping. This is because of the detrimental and negative effects gossiping can have on the workplace and on employees in general.
Gossip is just one of several types of behaviors or actions that are the sign of a negative or bad attitude.
Reasons It’s Acceptable to Fire an Employee for Gossiping
It’s clearly acceptable to fire an employee for gossiping if an employer is an “at-will” employer or if an employer is in an “at-will” state.
However, there are more reasons why it may be acceptable to terminate an employee for gossiping.
First, gossiping can cause friction in the workplace. Friction in the workplace is, at its most basic, a disruption of everyone’s work.
It can be a verbal conflict, just a disruption, or even turn violent.
When these things arise, employers need to shut it down quickly. While that doesn’t usually mean firing someone without warning. It can lead to immediate dismissal if the gossip is severe, And it can lead to disciplinary action that eventually leads to being fired.
Gossiping in the workplace has a negative effect on morale and productivity.
And those are two things that are absolutely necessary for a business to run well. When gossip makes employee morale and productivity go down, an employer can decide to fire the employee causing it.
Lastly, gossiping can create a hostile work environment.
A hostile work environment is something that’s considered unacceptable for employers and supervisors. And if an employee is engaging in gossip that creates a hostile work environment, the employer can choose to fire them to dissolve the hostile work environment situation.
Are you experiencing hostility at work? It is illegal for employers to allow a hostile work environment. Hostile behavior includes various forms of harassment. If you feel you have a case and would like to talk to an expert, contact us at https://t.co/ykgi2kvGl2. #ScottPerezpic.twitter.com/oIeoq7EgmL
Gossip has many detrimental effects on the workplace, even if it seems like something small that can’t affect anyone.
Okay, so what are some of the effects of gossip in the workplace? Why is it so negative in the workplace?
Let’s look at some of the main reasons:
1. Gossiping Breaks Down Trust
When gossiping happens, especially when it’s about things that aren’t confirmed (which it most often is), it breaks down the trust level among employees and employers.
When employees know other employees are gossiping, which often happens, it breaks down their trust of the other employees. It may also break down the trust between that employee and all the other employees involved in the gossip.
2. Gossip Can Be the Death of Teamwork
Trust among employees goes hand in hand with teamwork – and when employees don’t trust their coworkers, it’s harder for teamwork to happen.
Teamwork is a huge component that plays into the success of every business. Employees are more often than not part of a team, or the business itself is a team.
When employees and employers can’t work together, teamwork dissolves – and other bad consequences can follow.
3. Gossip Causes Conflict
When it comes down to it, gossip overall causes conflict. Sure, conflict in business and among employees can happen for a number of reasons.
The difference is, the conflict caused by gossip can snowball and affect every employee involved. Employees who have gossiped or been the victim of gossip can engage in conflict, and that conflict can turn into a hostile work environment – especially if the problem isn’t resolved.
4. Gossip Results in More Spending on Supervisors’ and Employers’ Time
Supervisors and employers have enough to do and handle as it is, but when gossip is involved, more of their time can be spent trying to resolve it.
The time supervisors and employers have to spend resolving issues with gossip could be better spent in other areas, like productivity and company morale.
Gossip and the problems it causes can also affect supervisors themselves. If supervisors have someone in a position higher than them, the supervisors may have to take the fall for any performance or morale issues their teams are experiencing due to gossip.
As you can see, gossip really affects every part of a business and everyone involved.
A bad attitude in an employee, while sometimes fixable, is usually something ingrained in them and unrelated to the job. In many cases, it’s virtually impossible for an employer to “fix” a bad attitude.
I go into a great amount of detail in a recent article about how to fire an employee with a bad attitude. There’s a right way to do that and a wrong way. The wrong way can lead to unemployment hearings and even poor morale among the remaining employees.
So definitely check that out as it’s something every employer will face eventually. Just click the link to read it on my site.
Workplace gossip clearly comes with negative consequences. Sometimes those consequences are employees being fired.
However, it doesn’t always need to come to that.
There are some tips employers and employees can take to lessen and even get rid of workplace gossip so otherwise good employees don’t have to lose their jobs.
Let’s discuss those tips:
Enact a Zero Tolerance Policy
Employers can protect their businesses from the effects of gossip (including firing an employee) if they enact a zero-tolerance policy.
Zero tolerance policies show employees there are severe consequences if they participate in the activity with zero tolerance – and can prevent them from gossiping in the first place.
Encourage Positive Gossip
Wait, positive gossip? That’s right!
Gossip doesn’t always have to be negative. Employers and supervisors can encourage positive gossip among employees, which can lessen the effects of normal or negative gossip.
Positive gossip entails employees, employers and supervisors thinking of the great things they have done, like going out of their way to help a customer, getting a great sale, or anything that really positively affects the company.
Then, employees, employers, and supervisors can share those great things among others to start a chain of positive “gossip” with none of the bad consequences of normal or negative gossip.
Ignore the Gossiper
You may have heard the advice that when it comes to bullies if you ignore them and don’t give them a reaction, they’ll stop bullying.
The same can actually be true with gossipers. Gossipers often thrive on the attention and recognition they get from starting and participating in gossip.
Sometimes they spread negative things about others to make them feel better about themselves. Or they think it somehow makes others think more highly about them. (hint: it doesn’t)
If no reaction is given to the one who starts or engages in gossip, they’re very likely to stop.
Nothing is in it for them anymore! Ignoring the gossiper(s) is a great way to lessen and prevent gossip in the workplace as a whole.
Of course, employers shouldn’t ignore gossipers. As leaders, it’s our job to keep the peace and protect our employees. As employers get wind of gossip or otherwise negative behavior, we have an obligation to step in quickly, consistently, and firmly.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we took a look at the workplace environment and something everyone has unfortunately dealt with; gossip.
We looked at why it’s so bad for the environment in your store or company. But we also explored some solutions you can implement to possibly avoid having to fire anyone.
After all, it’s much easier to keep an otherwise good employee than it is to fire them and hire and train a new one. Specifically, though, we answered the question can you fire an employee for gossiping with the answer yes.
As a store manager for years, I someday dreamed of opening my own store. But I always wondered, is owning a grocery store profitable?
Conventional grocery stores make 1-2% bottom-line profit, but stores like Whole Foods Market may generate 5-12% profit. However, for small independent grocery stores, 1 to 4% is more typical. There are also a lot of factors that affect independent owners more, such as marketing, product costs, and shrink.
But, there’s a lot more to know about independent grocery stores, start-up costs, margins, markups, and profit.
After all, while I ran million-dollar stores for Whole Foods Market for well over a decade, having that corporate support behind me gave me a level of support that’s just not there for small independent grocery store owners.
Large chains benefit from having the buying power of hundreds of stores behind them. That gets them quantity discounts on purchases that the mom-and-pop owners just can’t get. Smaller operations also have increased marketing costs since they are promoting generally 1 store instead of dozens or hundreds.
So in this article, we’re exploring everything there is to know about grocery stores and whether or not starting your own is a good idea. Specifically, we’re exploring is owning a grocery store profitable.
Let’s get going!
What is the typical profit margin for a grocery store?
First, let’s define the terms so we’re both talking about the same thing.
Gross profit is simply what you sold an item for minus what you paid for it. If you sold a can of beans for $1.00 and bought it for 60 cents, you made 40 cents gross profit. Net profit deducts a number of other expenses.
For instance if, in that case of 12 cans of beans, one was dented and couldn’t be sold, unless you can get the vendor who sold you that to give you credit, that’s your loss. You report that as what’s called shrink or spoilage.
Deduct all the expenses associated with selling that can of beans and you’re left with the net profit or the bottom line.
Next, we have to recognize there’s a difference between Safeway, Albertsons, or Kroger (depending on which part of the country you live in) compared to a Whole Foods, Wegmans, Sprouts, or Dean and Deluca.
The reason for that is simple; they want to sell more items for a lower price. Those types of stores don’t have as many employees walking the aisles handing out free samples or giving cooking tips. And those grocers also don’t usually have a butcher in-house who can trim up that brisket for you either.
So they can get by on fewer employees and lower profit margins. Generally speaking, these types of mainstream grocery stores can get by on 1 to 2 percentage profit margins. In other words, 1 or 2% of the total store’s sales would be profit.
If the average Safeway does $1,000,000 per week, that means $20,000/week profit per week, max, or $80,000/month and a little over a million dollars profit per year.
Whole Foods, on the other hand, where I spent more than 20 years of my life, typically (and this is before Amazon bought them) might operate as low as about 5% for a larger more complex store like the company flagship I opened in downtown Austin.
But smaller, more straightforward stores might be closer to 10-12% bottom-line profit margins.
Bottom-line profit is after all expenses including wages, taxes & insurance, and all other costs associated with running the store are taken out.
Margin is what percentage of the sales price your profit is, whereas markup is what percentage of your cost the profit is. Basically 2 sides of the same coin. Different, but related.
Also, understand that different departments in a grocery store mark things up differently.
I go into much greater detail about the differences between margin & markup and how to calculate both in a recent article. Don’t worry, I explain exactly how a 15% markup is only a 13% margin. Just click the link to read it on my site.
It’s also important to think about how products get into your shopping cart and how much that might be marked up every step of the way. First, there’s a manufacturer who made the product. They make the product and allow a distributor, sometimes called a wholesaler, to sell their product for them for a cut.
The distributor, essentially the middle man between the company who made the item and the grocery store selling it, marks up the product about 15% before selling it to the grocery store.
The grocery store then marks up, on average, about 12% (10.5% profit).
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How different departments mark up differently
As I mentioned, different departments mark up differently in a store. There are 3 main factors which impact why a department might mark up higher or lower compared to another:
Labor costs
To be competitive on price
Shrink
In other words, a full-service food operation like you see in Whole Foods, with a sandwich station, pizza oven, hot and cold bars spends a lot of money on paying all the employees who work there. They also throw away a lot of food at the end of the night, so they have high labor and high shrink.
Generally, a department like that might use 100% markup (50% profit) to help cover all those costs.
Then in a category like general merchandise (toilet paper, charcoal, pet food, etc), especially if there’s a Wal-Mart or Dollar General down the street, they may use much lower markups. After all, those products get damaged less, expire less, and generally have much lower shrink and labor costs.
So they might only mark up 10-20% (again depending on whether you’re talking about a Whole Foods or a Safeway).
Some of those figures are courtest of Integra Systems, Inc. while others are from my own knowledge of the industry.
June 1940. “General store, Pie Town, New Mexico. The post office has been moved from this store to another small grocery store.” Photo by Russell Lee.https://t.co/KEsC5yViqppic.twitter.com/EQeExMkZA6
Some of these are obviously recurring monthly fees and others are larger one-time expenses.
Much of the above expenses will also have to be spent before you even open your doors. So you need to have enough working capital (money in the bank) to pay these expenses before you start making any money.
From a tax standpoint, the larger one-time expenses might get depreciated over the life of the product.
In other words, if you buy $6,000 of grocery carts (1 cart can easily cost $150), those will hopefully last you 7 years or more. So from a business expense tax write off standpoint, you’d deduct an equal portion of that on your taxes each year over 7 years.
Media trackers so called “fat cat” special interest – mom & pop grocery store owners make an average profit margin of 1.3 %. @dumbwislaw pic.twitter.com/Ci6n11affw
This part is easy. You start with your sales at the top and then subtract out all your expenses below that.
Some companies might call this a P&L (profit and loss statement). Whole Foods, fond of making up its own names for everything, called this a margin report.
What’s left at the bottom is your net profit (or loss); your bottom line.
Here’s an example of the types of expenses that might get subtracted from your gross sales:
OCCUPANCY EXPENSES
SALARIES & BENEFITS
OTHER EXPENSES
Rent
Salaries
Supplies
Repairs & Maintenance
Payroll Tax
Cost of Goods Sold
Security
Insurance
Marketing
Property Tax
Benefits
Bank Charges
Utilities
Employee Expenses
Utilities
Property Insurance
Depreciation, Amortization
Just subtract all those (and any other) expenses you have from your total sales and that’s your gross profit. Many companies go off of a “fiscal period” rather than a calendar month.
This is because a fiscal period is exactly 4 weeks, whereas a month is sometimes 28 days and other times 31 days, making it hard to compare apples to apples.
So decide if you want to track your P&L monthly or by fiscal period.
If you use a fiscal period method, you will end up with 13 periods per calendar year. But no matter what method you choose, be consistent, and follow that system each and every time you calculate your profit and loss.
I can tell you as a salaried Store Team Leader for Whole Foods Market, I typically made in the low 6 figures annually. I got paid an hourly wage (but was salaried and did not clock in) plus I got a quarterly bonus.
Whole Foods currently lists $99,000 as the average annual salary for it’s Store Team Leaders. But unless things have changed a lot with Amazon, that sounds low and probably isn’t including any bonus.
However, an independent grocery store owner’s pay can fluctuate quite a bit more than a corporate lackey such as myself.
After all, as the sole owner, there’s no corporation to back you up and if your store isn’t profitable for 1 or more fiscal periods, there aren’t hundreds of other stores making a profit to balance that out like there are with corporations.
Done right though, your earning potential could be multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars per year; maybe as high as $300,000/year.
But there’s a lot that goes into being able to make that kind of money. Things like the following can impact that dramatically:
Location
Competition
Your ability to build a loyal tribe
How well you treat your employees (who then serve your customers)
Interestingly, there’s 1 business model that’s a hybrid of being a solopreneur and just another faceless employee for a large corporation.
That’s with a franchise.
A franchise such as the one offered by Grocery Outlet Bargain Market gives owner-operators the freedom and flexibility to run their own stores and keep a decent chunk of the profits while also giving them a certain level of corporate security and systemization.
I have a recent article that breaks down their program and whether or not it’s worth it. I go into everything from earning potential to how they split profits, including the 1 thing that would probably prevent me from wanting to do it.
But they do have some owner-operators making $300k/year, so for some, it’s a great opportunity.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we took a look at the world of starting a grocery store and how profitable that might be.
We examined how grocery stores mark up products and what kind of bottom line profits are typical. We examined start-up expenses, typical costs, and even what expenses would typically show up on a P&L statement. And how unexpected things like a power outage might affect your perishable items if you don’t have a backup generator.
Ultimately, we answered the question of Is owning a grocery store profitable?
