US Supermarkets Research Articles

War on Aisle 5: Casualties, National Identity, and Consumer Behavior

A growing body of research argues that external threats from the international system strengthen ethnocentrism and authoritarianism, personal values anchored in national identity. We evaluate a necessary implication of this argument, that these shifting values drive change in broader social behaviors. Our focus is revealed value change in a non-political setting: American consumers’ choice of supermarket brands that symbolize national identity. Our empirical analyses leverage US counties’ quasi-random exposure to US Iraq War casualties to identify the effects of local casualties on the weekly market share growth of “American” supermarket brands. We analyze weekly supermarket scanner data for a representative sample of over 1,100 US supermarkets and 8,000 brands. During 2003-2006, the weekly market share of American brands grew relative to non-American brands in casualty-exposed supermarkets. Variation in share growth across customer demographics is consistent with reactions to external threat. We rule out alternative mechanisms including partisan cues, other product characteristics, and animosity towards other countries. These findings strengthen IR’s theoretical microfoundations by showing that international politics can reshape values enough to change broader social behaviors.

Manufacturing practices as potential sources of cadmium and other relevant metals in processed meat products. Risk and nutritional assessment

Processed meat products could constitute a relevant source of cadmium (Cd) and other toxic elements in the diet as they could contain organ meats (e.g. kidneys, liver) known to accumulate metals. Additionally, these products could be contaminated due to metal transfer from the machinery during processing and, in the case of canned meats, metal migration from the container could also occur. We analyzed Cd together with arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), tin (Sn) and zinc (Zn) in heavily processed meat products from low, medium, and high-cost US supermarkets (n = 75). These elements were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and the results were expressed on a wet weight basis. The limits of detection (LOD) for the elements analyzed were: 2.8 μg/kg for As, 0.46 μg/kg for Cd, 2.3 μg/kg for Cr, 7.0 μg/kg for Cu, 41 μg/kg for Fe, 2.4 μg/kg for Ni, 0.83 μg/kg for Pb and 4.3 μg/kg for Sn and 5.6 μg/kg for Zn. Cd was detected in the vast majority of the samples presenting an overall median (IQR) concentration of 3.71 (2.10, 5.34) μg/kg. The products with the highest median Cd concentrations were beef franks and pork cheese sausages from the low-cost supermarket, while spam (from the low and medium-cost supermarkets) presented the lowest. The elements As, Sn and Pb were mainly undetectable. Cr and Ni were detected in most of the samples displaying overall median (IQR) concentrations of 18.39 (8.26, 36.18) μg/kg and 22.25 (12.66, 54.85) μg/kg, respectively. Cu, Fe and Zn were detectable in all the samples with overall median (IQR) concentrations of 312 (235, 493) μg/kg, 10.84 (7.36, 13.57) mg/kg and 13.73 (11.42, 18.12) mg/kg, respectively. Metal composition of these products does not evidence addition of organ meat nor Cd contamination during processing. Metal migration in canned meat (spam) is also unlikely. All processed meat samples presented metal concentrations below the maximum levels set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) and the European Union (EU). The estimated Cd intake due to the consumption of these products represented a minimal percentage of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI). Processed meat products from the low and medium-cost supermarkets generally had higher levels of Cd and, in similar products, lower levels of Fe and Zn than those from the high-cost supermarket.

Evaluation of Lipid Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Tilapia, Oreochromis spp., Fillets Available in US Supermarkets

Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) aquaculture is one of the fastest growing segments of the seafood industry. Tilapia is a lean, low-fat fish, with minimal fishy odor that is often associated with fatty f...

Where does the Fair Trade money go? How much consumers pay extra for Fair Trade coffee and how this value is split along the value chain

Abstract Fair Trade certification aims at transferring wealth from the consumer to the farmer; however, coffee passes through many hands before reaching final consumers. Bringing together retail, wholesale, and stock market data, this study estimates how much more consumers are paying for Fair Trade-certified coffee in US supermarkets and finds estimates around $1.50 per lb. The study then assesses how this price premium is split between the different stages of the value chain: most of the premium goes to the roaster’s profit margin, while the retailer surprisingly makes smaller absolute profits on Fair Trade-certified coffee, compared to conventional coffee. In the period studied in this study, the coffee farmer receives about a sixth of the price premium paid by the consumer.

A Sticky-Price View of Hoarding

We show that sticky prices exacerbate household hoarding of storable goods. When stores are slow to adjust prices following a cost shock, households have an incentive to stockpile just as in a typical retail sale. This incentive is present even in the absence of traditional panic or precautionary motives for hoarding. Using detailed US supermarket scanner data covering the 2008 global rice crisis—a shock triggered by an Indian rice export ban—we find that household hoarding anticipated retail price adjustments. We construct forecast tests relating the cross-section of product or store-level price adjustments to the expectations implied by consumer purchases. Bias and efficiency tests reject panic/precautionary motives in favor of a sticky-price view.

How store format choices and market structure affect agglomeration economies and competition among chain stores in the US supermarket industry

ABSTRACTThis article studies how store format choices and market concentration affect agglomeration economies and competition among chain stores. Using data on supermarket chains in Arizona, Georgia and Illinois, we decompose a store’s sales into parts stemming from local market conditions, such as demographics, and parts stemming from competition measures, which can be of its own chain’s stores or of other chains’ stores. Our results show that local market conditions are still a key factor in generating store sales. In more concentrated markets of Georgia and Illinois, a supermarket chain suffers from business-stealing among its own stores – agglomeration economies not sufficient to offset competition among its stores – but ironically tolerates the presence of other chains’ stores. Can a retail chain favourably tip the balance of agglomeration economies and competition? We find the answer by looking at the two big corporations in Arizona – Bashas Markets Inc. and Kroger Co. – which own two and three store formats, respectively, catering to distinct consumer segments, and thus promoting agglomeration economies while minimizing competition among their own stores.

Where Does the Fairtrade Money Go? How Much Consumers Pay Extra for Fairtrade Coffee and How This Value Is Split along the Value Chain

Fairtrade certification aims at transferring wealth from the consumer to the farmer; however, coffee passes through many hands before reaching final consumers. Bringing together retail, wholesale, and stock market data, this study estimates how much more consumers are paying for Fairtrade-certified coffee in US supermarkets and finds estimates around $1 per lb. I then assess how this price premium is split between the different stages of the value chain: most of the premium goes to the roaster's profit margin, while the retailer surprisingly makes smaller absolute profits on Fairtrade-certified coffee, compared to conventional coffee. The coffee farmer receives about a fifth of the price premium paid by the consumer, but it is unclear how much of this (quantity-dependent) benefit goes toward the payment of (quantity-independent) license fees.

A Comparison of Concentrations of Sodium and Related Nutrients (Potassium, Total Dietary Fiber, Total and Saturated Fat, and Total Sugar) in Private-Label and National Brands of Popular, Sodium-Contributing, Commercially Packaged Foods in the United States

BackgroundPrivate-label brands account for about one in four foods sold in US supermarkets. They provide value to consumers due to their low cost. We know of no US studies comparing the nutrition content of private-label products with corresponding national brand products. ObjectiveThe objective was to compare concentrations of sodium and related nutrients (potassium, total dietary fiber, total and saturated fat, and total sugar) in popular sodium-contributing, commercially packaged foods by brand type (national or private-label brand). DesignDuring 2010 to 2014, the Nutrient Data Laboratory of the US Department of Agriculture obtained 1,706 samples of private-label and national brand products from up to 12 locations nationwide and chemically analyzed 937 composites for sodium and related nutrients. The samples came from 61 sodium-contributing, commercially packaged food products for which both private-label and national brands were among the top 75% to 80% of brands for US unit sales. In this post hoc comparative analysis, the authors assigned a variable brand type (national or private label) to each composite and determined mean nutrient contents by brand type overall and by food product and type. Statistical analyses performedThe authors tested for significant differences (P<0.05) by brand type using independent sample t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests when appropriate. ResultsOverall for all foods sampled, differences between brand types were not statistically significant for any of the nutrients studied. However, differences in both directions exist for a few individual food products and food categories. ConclusionsConcentrations of sodium and related nutrients (potassium, total dietary fiber, total and saturated fat, and total sugar) do not differ systematically between private-label and national brands, suggesting that brand type is not a consideration for nutritional quality of foods in the United States. The study data provide public health officials with baseline nutrient content by brand type to help focus US sodium-reduction efforts.

The product life cycle and sample representativity bias in price indexes

ABSTRACTOfficial price indexes are usually calculated using matched samples of products. If products exhibit systematic price trends at different points in their life cycle then matched sample methods may introduce bias if the life cycle movement in the sample does not adequately reflect that in the population. This article explores the extent of these life cycle pricing effects and then examines the bias it can introduce in measured inflation. A large US supermarket scanner data set for six cities and six products over 12 years is used. Using hedonic methods we find that the life cycle component of price change is important across a range of products and cities. To explore the bias introduced by these movements, we use simulations that construct indexes with different sample update frequency. For indexes that are never completely resampled, we find an annual absolute bias of 0.88 and 0.59 percentage points depending upon whether we use the actual prices or prices imputed from our hedonic model. This compares with absolute biases of 0.34 and 0.10 percentage points for the corresponding cases for samples, which are re-selected annually. Thus our results provide strong support for more frequently updating index samples.

Price Discounts and the Measurement of Inflation: Further Results

Consumers are very responsive to sales, yet statistical agency practice typically under-weights sale prices in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Evidence is lacking on the impact on the representativeness of prices included in the CPI and on estimates of inflation. We use high-frequency scanner data from US supermarkets to explore if there is any systematic directional impact. The key finding is that the exclusion of sales prices introduces a systematic effect. We also find that even when sales prices are included they are systematically under-weighted, but the under-weighting remains fairly stable over time so that inflation measurement is not significantly affected. In addition, we find evidence that the typical practice of using data from an incomplete period in constructing unit values can lead to an upward bias in the resulting price index.

The Product Life Cycle and Sample Representativity Bias in Price Indexes

Official price indexes are usually calculated using matched samples of products. If products exhibit systematic price trends at different points in their life cycle then matched sample methods may introduce bias if the life cycle movement in the sample does not adequately reflect that in the population. This article explores the extent of these life cycle pricing effects and then examines the bias it can introduce in measured inflation. A large US supermarket scanner data set for 6 cities and 6 products over 12 years is used. Using hedonic methods we find that the life cycle component of price change is important across a range of products and cities. To explore the bias introduced by these movements we use simulations which construct indexes with different sample update frequency. For indexes which are never completely re-sampled we find an annual bias of 0.88 and 0.59 percentage points depending upon whether we use the actual prices or prices imputed from our hedonic model. This compares with absolute biases of 0.24 and 0.08 percentage points for the corresponding cases for samples which are re-selected annually. Thus our results provide strong support for more frequently updating index samples.

Price discounts and the measurement of inflation

Consumers are very responsive to sales, yet statistical agency practice typically under-weights sale prices in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Evidence is lacking on the impact on the representativeness of prices included in the CPI and on estimates of inflation. Using high-frequency scanner data from US supermarkets we find that the exclusion of sales prices introduces a systematic but stable effect over time so inflation measurement is not significantly affected. We also find evidence that the typical practice of using data from an incomplete period in constructing unit values can lead to an upward bias in the resulting price index.

Competitive Effects of Wal-Mart Supercenter Entry: Moderating Roles of Category and Brand Characteristics

In this paper, the authors investigate whether a Wal-Mart supercenter entry engenders differential effects on competitive draws across different product categories and across distinct groups of brands within a product category sold at incumbent supermarkets, and if so, how. They use data from a natural field experiment created by openings of Wal-Mart supercenters near six stores of a major US supermarket chain. Using two different analyses – a before-and-after-with-control-group analysis of weekly sales, and an individual household level analysis of change in weekly spending – they find that Wal-Mart entry does produce differential effects across categories and brand groups. Mid-tier national brands are more vulnerable to Wal-Mart entry than brands on the boundary of the price-quality continuum, such as premium and economy national brands. Food categories are more vulnerable to Wal-Mart entry, whereas promotion intensive categories and categories with low brand concentration are less vulnerable. Their findings suggest the potential for specific category and brand assortment differentiation strategies that can help conventional supermarkets to better compete with Wal-Mart.

Hoard Behavior During Commodity Bubbles

Hoarding by households is often associated with commodity market panics and bubbles. Using US supermarket scanner data on household purchases during the 2008 Global Rice Crisis, we provide an estimate of household hoarding when export bans led to a spike in prices worldwide in the first half of 2008. We distinguish unwarranted hoarding from rational precautionary demand by comparing the timing of purchases with the expectations implied by futures markets for US rice. Even as futures traders expected little risk of shortages in early May, households significantly increased their purchases from April to June. Some of this increase came from households with no previous purchases or demonstrable taste for rice. We then estimate the effect of hoarding on prices by documenting mean reversion in growth rates of prices in counties with large amounts of hoarding.

Sales Spotter: An Algorithm to Identify Sale Prices in Point-of-Sale Data

This paper develops an algorithm, called the sales spotter, which identifies the sale prices in the transaction price series provided in point-of-sale data. The goal of the sales spotter is to identify the maximum number of sale prices while minimizing the incorrect attribution of non-sale price reductions to sale prices. The spotter is developed and the values of its parameters are selected by analysing around 7.5 million agged sales in a US supermarket scanner data. At the optimal values of the parameters, the spotter identifies 84% of authentic agged sale weeks in the data.

A Google Glass Application to Support Shoppers With Dietary Management of Diabetes

We read with great interest the article titled “New Wearable Computers Move Ahead: Google Glass and Smart Wigs” by Dr David C. Klonoff published in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.1 Wearable computers have enormous potential to assist in diabetes management. Here, we further discuss a Google Glass application with the potential to advise and track dietary choices. Maintaining an appropriate diet is an important part of diabetes care.2 Because purchased food items are likely to be consumed regardless of nutritional value, dietary control begins at the supermarket. On-the-spot decision support tools may help shoppers make smarter food choices. Current approaches include educational materials and smartphone applications designed to inform shoppers of nutritional value. However, the abundance of food options in US supermarkets makes memorizing all of the necessary information cumbersome. It may be possible to employ an application that displays caloric density (calories/oz) and glycemic index as the user shops by scanning the barcodes of products loaded into the cart; it may even be possible to provide healthier alternatives if a poorly scoring food is scanned. The ability to provide real-time information in a hands-free and private manner makes Google Glass an ideal platform on which to build a tool to promote healthy choices in the supermarket. As an example, imagine a shopper with diabetes standing in the produce section trying to decide on a vegetable side dish (see the video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoUx1aFNES8). The shopper picks up the sweet corn, asks Google Glass to determine its glycemic index, and notes a score of 60. Next, the shopper performs the same actions for a bunch of broccoli, with Google Glass indicating a score of 10. The ease of using the Google Glass device to obtain real-time decision support in a simple, private, and hands-free way may increase the willingness or ability of patients with diabetes or members of their household to follow important dietary recommendations. At present, the Google Glass technology is cost prohibitive, but prices are expected to fall as Google opens this technology to the consumer market later this year. Recent announcements regarding establishment of a partnership between Google and the Luxottica Group eyeglass company suggest this will happen in the near future.3 Regardless, the technology must be affordable for the average patient to warrant further development. In addition, older patients need to be considered in designing the user interface. A large number of patients with diabetes are older and may not be comfortable with newer technology. The Google Glass “Diabetes Shopping” application4 built at Marshfield Clinical Research Foundation is in proof-of-concept stages, but has considerable room for growth in the areas of tracking and cataloguing, establishing connections to social media and peer support, providing alerts for calories or food choices, capturing cumulative calorie intake, and health coaching. The Google Glass diabetes application has the potential to improve diabetes management by improving dietary choices while shopping and the potential to do much more.

Price Discounts and the Measurement of Inflation

Consumers are very responsive to sales, yet statistical agency practice typically under-weights sale prices in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with some agencies excluding sale prices completely. Evidence is lacking on how this may impact on both the representativeness of prices included in the CPI and on estimates of inflation. We use high-frequency scanner data from US supermarkets to explore if there is any systematic directional impact. The key finding is that the exclusion of sales prices introduces a systematic eff ect. We also find that even when sales prices are included they are systematically under-weighted, but the under-weighting remains fairly stable over time so that inflation measurement is not signi ficantly a ffected.

Trends in Trans Fatty Acids Reformulations of US Supermarket and Brand-Name Foods From 2007 Through 2011

IntroductionAlthough some US food manufacturers have reduced trans fatty acids (TFA) in their products, it is unknown how much TFA is being reduced, whether pace of reformulation has changed over time, or whether reformulations vary by food type or manufacturer.MethodsIn 2007, we identified 360 brand-name products in major US supermarkets that contained 0.5 g TFA or more per serving. In 2008, 2010, and 2011, product labels were re-examined to determine TFA content; ingredients lists were also examined in 2011 for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO). We assessed changes in TFA content among the 270 products sold in all years between 2007 and 2011 and conducted sensitivity analyses on the 90 products discontinued after 2007.ResultsBy 2011, 178 (66%) of the 270 products had reduced TFA content. Most reformulated products (146 of 178, 82%) reduced TFA to less than 0.5 g per serving, although half of these 146 still contained PHVO. Among all 270 products, mean TFA content decreased 49% between 2007 and 2011, from 1.9 to 0.9 g per serving. Yet, mean TFA reduction slowed over time, from 30.3% (2007–2008) to 12.1% (2008–2010) to 3.4% (2010–2011) (P value for trend < .001). This slowing pace was due to both fewer reformulations among TFA-containing products at start of each period and smaller TFA reductions among reformulated products. Reformulations also varied substantially by both food category and manufacturer, with some eliminating or nearly eliminating TFA and others showing no significant changes. Sensitivity analyses were similar to main findings.ConclusionsSome US products and food manufacturers have made progress in reducing TFA, but substantial variation exists by food type and by parent company, and overall progress has significantly slowed over time. Because TFA consumption is harmful even at low levels, our results emphasize the need for continued efforts toward reformulating or discontinuing foods to eliminate PHVO.

A Non-Parametric Model of Residual Brand Equity in Hierarchical Branding Structures with Application to US Beer Data

SummaryProduct offerings in many grocery product categories in supermarkets display varied branding structures built around a discernible branding hierarchy typically comprising brands, subbrands and stock keeping units. Firms often want to know what contribution each layer in the brand hierarchy brings to overall product value, and precisely how much of this contribution comes from unique branding associations (we term this value contribution the ‘residual equity’ of that branding layer). We make the economic argument that, in mature product categories, profit maximizing firms would retain the upper levels of the branding structure only if they were value enhancing. Using only aggregate sales and product data, we develop a semiparametric Bayesian method for a market response model to estimate jointly the residual equity of each layer in the branding structure while accommodating certain a priori restrictions on the equity values. Our proposed model is simple yet flexible and avoids common drawbacks in extant approaches. We implement our model on AC Nielsen beer category data from US supermarkets. We find that residual equity exists, is sizable in magnitude and sales impact, is heterogeneous in occurrence across the branding structure, yields realistic brand valuations and bears managerially relevant insights and implications.

American Values Reflected in Names of US Supermarkets, the Top Five Values and American Dream

This study based its foundation on a qualitative study of organizations that are closely related to people’s daily life—supermarkets, more exactly supermarket names and analyzed values represented in these names. 211 supermarket names were collected and values were extracted from these subjects, then the frequency and frequency rates of each individual value were calculated by SPSS 17. At last, 20 values were obtained. Among them, the top five values were individualism, directness, nature, cultural identity, efficiency and practicality, which respectively took up 19.8%, 7.9%, 5.8%, 5.3% and 5.3%. Individualism, one of the dominant values in American society, ranked the first in terms of frequency rate, representing people’s desire in memorizing their achievement and success as well as demonstrating personal responsibilities; directness showed people’s straightforward way of expression; nature demonstrated the fervent love for nature and the original and simple ways of solving problems, and nature also symbolized the “return for nature”; cultural identity, also collective identity, meant people’s identification as a member of a group; efficiency and practicality were to seek the fast and cheapest way of achieving a goal. What was surprising was the reflection of nature and cultural identity, which were rarely mentioned as belonging to core American values. Besides, the American Dream values, covering individualism, competition, freedom, pioneering spirit, superiority and nationalism, constituted about 27% of the totality of frequency rate, which proved the unwavering charm of American dream in American society.