Retailers who offer “personality," private label and price may convince shoppers to choose their store over large supercenters down the road. Marketing Daily informed on a new report from Kantar Retail that found stores with distinct qualities, plenty of store brand options and low-priced items have the ability to compete with giants like Wal-mart.
The study compared Wal-mart to Market Basket, a regional grocer in New England, that uses a “no-frills" approach with a simple store layout and “More for Your Dollar" tagline. According to Marketing Daily, Kantar execs visited both a Market Basket and a Wal-mart Supercenter in Epping, N.H., on the same day to compare four dimensions: basket analysis, merchandise assortment, endcap promotions and store ambiance.
They found Wal-mart to have less clutter, but noted this may have gone too far creating too much “white space."
Wal-mart had the lower prices, with a basket of identical branded items coming in 9.5 percent less expensive than Market Basket's. The article said the price differences were most pronounced in health and beauty, with five of the six branded products at least 30-percent cheaper at Wal-mart. In most other departments, however Market Basket was competitive. Market Basket’s private label products were 5.3-percent cheaper compared to Wal-mart’s store brand.
Market Daily said the most surprising detail was that Market Basket offered more variety in national brands and in private label offerings in two of the three measured categories.
However, the biggest difference between the store stores was the mood and personality. Market Basket used several means to make its store more personal and authentic, according to the report. These tactics included handwritten signs, live announcements and employee assistance. The execs encountered none of these at Wal-mart. They described Wal-mart’s atmosphere as “cold and crisp" and “faceless."