An increasing number of people buy their food in large supermarket and these kind of stores are beginning to dominate sales in this area. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

The growth in the number of supermarkets has been enormous in the last 50 years. Almost every country of the world has large supermarket chains and more and more of these stores are opening every year. Although there are drawbacks to the growth of supermarkets, for the average consumer there are far more benefits than drawbacks. One of the advantages of the supermarket is the existence of the freedom of selections. As salesman are not appointed in every counters, the consumers are free to select goods according to their choice. For instance in case of buying fruits and vegetables, the consumers enjoys the flexibility of choosing fresh vegetables and fruits. This reduces their chances of getting deceived of obtaining damaged products unlike small shops and sellers who sometimes sells spoiled and diseased fruits and vegetables. Supermarkets deals with fixed prices. Prices of all the products are fixed and no bargaining is allowed. Generally they keep low prices in their products which sometimes also followed by a discount. This characteristics enable these markets to be attractive to all classes of consumers. Chains such as Wal-Mart and Target build their reputation and client bases by selling broad range of products at cheaper prices than their competitors. Second advantage of supermarkets is the availability of daily goods It provides almost all types of goods of regular uses under one roof. Moreover due to variety of goods it sells, shelf space is reserved for various classes of items. For example- shelf space is reserved for canned and packaged goods, non-food items such as kitchenware and household cleaners, entertainment equipment are stored in other sections such as board games and other sporting equipment. Sometimes a separate section is devoted for selling seasonal equipment (e. g- Christmas Items such as wrappers and toys for designing Christmas trees). The notable characteristics of such market is they deal with selling standardised goods. Customers believe that they are paying the right price for the right goods of the right quantity. Supermarket also brings a lot of employment opportunities to the local community. While the smaller shops close when a new supermarket opens, the resultant job losses are fewer than the number of new employees contracted fro jobs in these stores. Some disadvantages includes the fact that food and grocery items are perishable and can deteriorate very soon. Hence this items cannot be stored for a long time. On the other hand, the establishment of a supermarket requires large premises which is hard to find in over-crowded cities resulting their location in distant places. Moreover, due to being a large scale organisation, it requires huge investments and capital. For example-in many developing countries such places are hard to find due to over-population and mismanagement of public resources. As a result many small shops are required to close down to establish such large scale super shops which is a disruption in employment of poor or middle class peoples. In conclusion whether there are more advantages than disadvantages shopping in supermarkets depends largely on individual perspectives. It is essential to conduct these stores effectively in order to manage both resources of the country as well as manpower.