Packaging and distribution

Abstract

A marked feature of the rapid, fundamental reorganization of the distribution of goods in industrialized countries is the switch to self‐service and all‐round food stores. The self‐service system is almost universal in the food trade and its importance is growing rapidly in most other sectors. Large stores with a wide range of goods based entirely on self‐service are rapidly increasing their share of turnover in the consumer goods trade. There are for example about 8,000 self‐service shops in Sweden at present, which is just under half the total number of food stores. Owing to their size the self‐service stores account for 85–90% of turnover in the food trade.