Store and business factors
Business priority is making sales
Not surprisingly, the top priority for managers and owners in all store types is to make sales. In the words of one drug store manager, “Sales is what drives it”. A local grocery store manager and the manager of a chain convenience store, respectively, offer typical explanations for how they decide what to sell:
Pretty much how fast it sells. Costs, definitely—cost plays a part of it. But…it’s pretty much how fast it sells, you know. We’re not gonna get it if it don’t sell. (SS14)a
You know, what they’ll [corporate purchasing] do, they’ll take a wide range of products. Say, for instance, food. We may get different types of food in here for six months. If that product turns a lot, then it’s gonna become a permanent product. If it doesn’t turn—we don’t get a whole lot of turns on it—then we’re not gonna continue to carry it. We’ll clearance it out. (QB02)
Another manager emphasized that the store sells “whatever the clientele wants. That’s from corporate down, ‘cause we’re sales-driven, obviously” (QB04).
Delocalization of decision making
The previous respondent’s reference to decision-making “from corporate down” highlights the delocalization of decision-making about which products to sell. Local managers generally perceive that they have little influence over the foods available in their stores, referring instead to “corporate”, “my corporate manager”, or “that’s a corporate thing”.
That’s really a corporate thing. That comes down from corporate, and district has some things—our regional and district office has, obviously, some say in it. But the majority of things come from our corporate office, ‘cause that’s where our purchasing department is at—our purchasing and marketing department. So, they kind of make a group decision, and they try to pass it along to all the stores, let’s say, in Florida. And so most of the stores in Florida are all gonna carry the same thing. It helps with distribution and pricing and things like that. (MR21)
The manager of a chain supermarket offered a similar explanation:
A lot of that comes from corporate. We can, if a customer requests something, we can go through corporate and request, “Hey, we’ve got a customer…” Late last week [I had a customer] wanting rice drink, the rice milk? And I’m trying to get that for her right now. It’s not approved at corporate, but I’m trying to get it for her. (QB04)
Corporate decision-making limits store managers’ perceptions of how they could influence access to healthy foods. The manager of a convenience store said: “As the store itself, we have no control over what we sell. So there’s nothing I can do on my part to make those changes” (QB06). A drug store manager elaborated:
Really, as an assistant manager, we don’t really have much say in what we carry. Yeah, we can put in our two cents, but even at the store manager’s level, unfortunately, it still goes back up to corporate. So, yeah, we can tell them, “We need this and we need that,” but, unfortunately, they’re gonna go off of what’s gonna be the best price, what they’re gonna be able to keep on the shelf the longest, because they can’t keep a lot of fresh foods. It would be nice to see some fresh fruits up at the front register and things like that, ‘cause I think they would sell…but I just don’t see us, at the store level, having enough influence to make those changes. (MR21)
The regional or national market of chain stores limits the ability to focus on specific communities. As one manager explained, “Companies like this that got 5,000 stores will—maybe only a few hundred might be in a neighborhood like this, so they try to offer a variety of stuff based on where you’re located, as a whole”. He continued:
Only 20 percent of the country is, is minority, or black, whereas the majority of the country is white, so you’re gonna carry more products that’s gonna cater to a certain population group than, you know… We don’t carry anything that would cater to a Hispanic, say… But in central Florida and south Florida they carry more products based on, you know, food products and hair care products based on that demographic…. So if we can get the companies to just concentrate more on the community itself, rather than as a whole, like a city or country—concentrate more on what the community needs…. (QB02)
The delocalization of decision making is clearest for stores that belong to regional or national chains; owners of independent grocery and convenience stores make their own decisions about what to sell in the store. Even independent stores, however, are constrained by non-local, corporate decisions made by the vendors they rely on:
So, [customers] ask me, “Well, you don’t have this one. Could we get that?” I say, “Yeah.” … So we’re open to suggestion. And that’s what I think, a business works best that way, too. But my vendors don’t believe it! They want to do what their corporation tells them. I say, well, I’m in between you and the customer. (QB01)
Consumer demand matters
One way store managers can try to influence corporate decision-making is by relaying customer feedback.
About the only thing I can really do is just continue to try to make, you know, give input back, feedback to the company, you know, through emails or what customers are interested in and may want to see in the store. And we try to do that on a weekly basis. (QB02)
This excerpt points to the importance of consumer demand as it relates to the priority of making sales. The perception of customer demand is most important in independent stores, where owners make their own decisions, but even managers of chain stores express this theme.
Most of the time, if some customer comes in and say that, uh, “You don’t have this product”, and they would like to have it, we go ahead and buy it. And if we see, if we sell more of it, we keep ordering it. If we don’t sell it, then, we buy the one time and next time, when the same customer wants it or somebody else wants it, that’s when we order it. (MR22)
Interviewer: What would it take for corporate to want to offer healthier foods in the store?
Demand. Public demand. Customer demands. And the popularity of how it’s selling in other areas and stuff. (QB06)
Actually, sometimes you have people that come in, and if they don’t see it in the store, they will say, like, “Why y’all don’t sell this?” or, “Why you don’t sell that?” or “Maybe you should try…. So, what I say to him [the owner]—because they’re foreigners—I would say, “OK, this is what our people like”, you know? And they get it! (SS15)
Some respondents identified lack of demand for fresh produce as a barrier to offering healthier food. This perspective was especially relevant for non-grocery stores, as the manager of a convenience store explained:
I guess we could probably carry a lot more perishable items as far as fruits and stuff like that, but, like I said, if they don’t pretty much come in and ask for it, we don’t carry it. And a lot of people are finicky about where they buy their products, you know what I mean? So, depending on the setup of your store and exactly where you’re at, you’re not just gonna come in and order, I mean, go grocery shopping in this store particularly. I don’t think anyone would come in and actually grocery shop. Given the area we’re in, I just don’t think they’re gonna go in and purchase fruits and stuff out of this place here. I just don’t think they would. (SS14)
What’s good for business is not necessarily good for health
The priority of making sales may clash with public health goals of increasing the availability and consumption of healthy foods. This conflict is evident in some respondents’ perception that what is good for business is not necessarily good for health.
The most item I sell, you know, contains a lot of sugar, like the Little Debbies, Honey Buns, which is not good these days because the kids don’t get enough exercise and don’t get involved in sports and stuff at all. So those are the food that’s not good for them. Sometimes they can eat donuts—but not every day. And I’ve seen some people buying it every day, sometimes two times a day, which is not good. And you know, the good thing is, you know, the good thing is the business. I do business because of that.
Interviewer: Right. It’s good for your business.
But, I mean, it’s not good for health. (SS18)
One respondent expressed dismay that processed snack foods—“the worst thing I ever, ever, ever”—were “the best sellers” in his convenience store (QB01). Another manager replied with embarrassed laughter when asked what he thought were some of the good things about the choices people who come into his store make: “Some of the good things? They’re high profit items for me” (QB06).
Stocking and selling perishable items is a challenge
One of the most commonly identified barriers to offering healthy foods is selling perishable items before they expire. This is a complex issue that involves low perceived customer demand, high risk of taking a loss on unsold items, and inadequate infrastructure for stocking perishable goods.
To begin, store managers and owners express an understanding that the healthiest food choices are perishable items. When asked about healthy foods in the store, a drug store manager replied:
We have some in the cooler. Most of our healthy—like I would consider real healthy stuff—is in the cooler. We have some, like, fruit cups. We’re just now carrying a grapefruit cup for in the morning, for breakfast alternatives. We don’t carry any fresh veggies or fruits. We used to, but the fruits—we mainly had fruits—but they were kind of going bad, so they had to take those out. (MR21)
Other respondents picked up on the challenge of selling items before they expire:
In another way, I’ve tried, you know, several other foods that are like, you know, lite. They call it ‘lite’. You know, snacks and stuff like that. So I tried to keep that in the store, but it went out of date, so I had to stop from keeping it. (SS18)
The short shelf life of perishable items is particularly challenging for owners of small, independent stores, who risk loss if items do not sell. One owner linked his perception of risk to low demand, expiration dates, and distributors’ policy of not accepting returns for expired items:
If I buy it, and it doesn’t sell, I have to throw it out. The milk guy doesn’t deliver anymore. I buy, myself, all the milk. If not, I have to throw it out or drink it myself. They [distributor] add to my minimums about a hundred, two hundred dollars worth of milk, and there’s no return on them either. … It’s demand. The supply is there, but then the supply is time-limited. It’s no return. That’s what the problem is. I cannot keep all the food they [customers] want because all the healthy food has dates on them.
Interviewer: OK, so the expiration dates are a problem?
Yeah, and the vendor doesn’t take it back. For me, you know, losses ought to be shared. Like a profit, we’re sharing. Why can’t we share the losses too? But they don’t. (QB01)
Many stores simply lack the infrastructure to stock perishable items. When asked what it would take to stock more healthy foods, the owner of a small convenience store said:
We’d probably have to get another refrigerator. Definitely a cooler or something to carry the meats in—I mean, given that we’re limited in space inside this place. We would definitely have to find some kind of way to fit a cooler into where we can actually carry, I guess, some fruits and maybe organic foods and whatnot. (SS14)
The emphasis on space and refrigeration was especially common in non-grocery stores. A gas station manager was clear about what it would take to stock more healthy foods: “I guess more space to put it. I got a smaller type of store here” (SS06).
Economic factors
Poverty constrains consumer food environment and healthy eating
Store managers and owners see that cost drives down demand for healthier foods. This problem was magnified during the recession of 2008–2010, but even in more prosperous times, respondents perceived that poverty shapes the types of foods people buy and how frequently they shop:
It’s a poor community, so a lot of people are basically eating what they can afford, which is like noodles, Ramen noodles and stuff like that—some canned goods. First of the month, you’ll have a customer maybe come in here and buy $83 worth of canned goods and noodles and juices because, basically, that’s what they can afford. You know, the lower, the cheaper end products (QB02).
Some stores extend credit to customers who do not have enough money to purchase food. This practice puts stores at risk, if customers default on credit payments:
Some people around here, when they come in to buy something, they don’t have enough, so we have to work around that and just tell them to bring it next time or something like that. We do have a credit account for some, a few people, so if they don’t have money right away, we can put it in the book for them, and when they have money, they come over here and pay it, so… Sometimes we forget, sometimes they forget, so that’s mostly the problem we have right now (MR22).
Healthy food is expensive
The economic challenges are compounded by the perception that healthier foods are expensive. The higher cost of healthy food has two consequences for food stores: (1) owners or purchasing managers make decisions about what to buy based in part on costs to the store; (2) the perceived higher cost of healthier foods lowers demand and makes it more difficult for stores to sell perishable items before their shelf life expires. A small grocery store owner summarized how these issues intersect, when asked about how he decides what to stock:
Can people afford it, first of all—affordability. And is it going to sell. That’s mainly the thing. If it does not sell, then I have to think twice. Mainly when I buy stuff for the store, I consider myself as a customer—if I’m going to buy it or not. Then I decide that, yeah, I can afford to buy it, then I know that my customers can afford to buy it. I put myself in their shoes. (QB01)
The manager of a small grocery store contrasted the costs of healthy and unhealthy foods in the store:
See, most everything right now is costlier. Beer is the only thing that’s the cheapest. We do have some juice that’s $1.99, and a lot of college students around FAMU, they buy them a lot. Well, if it were up to me, I would make sure that the price of food is cheaper than soda and everything. The cheapest thing we have is sweets and candy, and people, sometimes they have five or ten cents, they go ahead and buy a candy instead of saving that and collecting like a dollar or so, so they can buy some nice meat or some juice or something like that. (MR22)
Other store owners and managers emphasized that the costs of food can be reckoned both in terms of money and time:
It’s cheap. I mean, look at the stuff. You can go and buy a dollar hamburger, and you can’t go buy a dollar steak. Or a dollar piece of chicken and then take the time to cook it yourself. So, I think the convenience, and the culture behind that…. (MR21)
Recession changed consumer behavior
Store owners and managers reported that the cost of food became a more significant problem during the recession of 2008–2010. The recession was especially difficult for small, independent stores, where respondents lamented that “money is tighter” (QB01) and “it’s tough right now, very tough” (SS05).
It’s day-to-day getting so hard, and the economy doesn’t help at all. People used to buy $0.99 bag of chips. Now they’re looking for $0.25 bag of chips. They don’t buy that much. I had to look for alternates, as well. And so many of my vendors, they stopped coming here, because I don’t sell much. So, I had to look for alternates who can supply the same kind of stuff, so I had to go and shop around, too. And everybody’s got just the same price, you know, high price. (QB01)
Some respondents thought the recession reversed a positive trend of buying more healthy foods. A supermarket manager explained:
From my point of view, the past couple of years, since the economy has gotten to the point it’s at, it has actually regressed some—people aren’t spending as much money, trying to save money where they can. But prior to that, we were seeing an increase in more organics, more fat-frees, more whole wheats, etc. (QB04)
Individual and family factors
Store managers and owners also identified individual and family-level factors as determinants of unhealthy behaviors. Some respondents linked these factors to structural constraints (e.g., poverty, household composition), while others emphasized what they perceived as cultural patterns.
Convenience drives food choices
Many respondents perceived that convenience drives food choices. This perception relates to the earlier theme of cost: If people lack money or time to prepare food on their own, they may resort to processed or prepared foods:
Yeah, definitely convenience. I mean, versus you going into the kitchen and preparing a meal, that would save you, what? Taking about thirty minutes to prepare a meal versus you just going to McDonald’s and getting it within five minutes. I mean it’s definitely convenience. … It’s just a lot easier to go and pick it up versus you going in and preparing it yourself. (SS14)
While some respondents regard time poverty as a factor, others invoked cultural explanations, citing the decline of cooking, the pace of life, or a desire (promoted by advertising) for convenience.
Looks like they need frozen, ready food, you know? Yeah, put it in a microwave, finish it up. Lately, the young generation don’t like to cook, no. They want to go prepared. (SS05)
Probably the culture we’re in is too quick, fast. We’re gonna go after fast food before we’re gonna go home and cook us a meal, or warm us up some soup. (MR21)
It’s quick, convenient, and it’s advertised, and that’s what they have on their mind that they want. (QB06)
Parenting is a problem
Some store owners and managers see parenting as a source of unhealthy food choices. One respondent labeled the problem as “lazy parents”. A more common explanation was that parents are under time or economic pressure and do not have time to cook for themselves or to teach children about nutrition. Whatever the cause, respondents commonly linked children’s food preferences and purchasing decisions to values they learned at home:
Because they have—I can’t say ‘no home training’. Their parents don’t push them to eat healthy stuff in the house. I betcha no house has apples, bananas, and oranges, like mine. My baby, I push him to eat stuff like that, even though he say he don’t want it. If that’s all you got, what you gonna eat as a snack, you know? He say, “Ma, go buy Little Debbie”. No, I buy apples, oranges…” (PS25)
Children prefer unhealthy foods
Whereas some respondents attributed children’s preference for junk food to poor parenting, others saw it as an inevitable part of childhood. When asked why children buy junk food, for example, one convenience store manager replied, “It’s just kids being kids, you know?” (QB02). A supermarket manager agreed and related this observation to his own (presumably well parented) children. In reply to the question of why children buy junk food, he said:
As far as why they pick ‘em? Because they’re not healthy. [laughter] I’ve got two little girls. They wanna eat junk. [laughter] Like the Capri-Sun? That’s a big thing. And the Kool-Aid Jammers—among the kids, we sell a lot of these. (QB04)
Not all respondents explained why they thought children would prefer unhealthy food over healthier options, but one grocery store manager suggested that it could be an act of rebellion: “I guess they wanna be bad”. But then he noted: “Although, when they’re good, they get it as a reward. [laughter]. I don’t know” (SS16).
As a component of consumer demand, children’s food preferences relate to the core priority of making sales. Thus, as one grocery store manager acknowledged with uncomfortable laughter, children’s food preferences influence marketing decisions:
Definitely the snacks. I would say the hard candy, the chocolates, ice cream, the chips. Anything that’s not healthy, that’s what they come here for. [laughter]
Interviewer: So why do you think they buy those foods?
I think that’s just something that started early, at an early age, where they’re giving the kids sweets and whatever. They get used to it. It’s almost as a treat, you know what I mean? You almost rewardin’ ‘em with something, so they get used to it, so that’s what they’re gonna come in and ask for. And that’s pretty much all they come in and get. That’s mainly why we carry what we carry. (SS14)
Store owners and managers identified community-level factors as among the most important challenges facing their business. These factors include theft, loitering, drug trafficking, prostitution, and other criminal behavior near the store. Some respondents also identified a lack of community cohesion as a challenge to their business.
One supermarket store manager said the biggest challenge is “keeping everything at the front cleaned up” (QB06). Other respondents identified illicit activity such as theft, prostitution, and drug trafficking as key challenges:
Our biggest challenge is shoplifting and solicitation outside the store. It’s kind of an ongoing problem. You know, we’ve even had prostitution in the parking lot and just, you know, a lot of people out begging. So we get a lot of interaction with the customers, telling us that we got somebody out in the parking lot begging. So we deal with the police a lot, where we have to get them out here to kind of help us handle that, plus the shoplifting, so that’s our biggest issue. (QB02)
Dealing with these challenges increases the cost of running the business because it requires having more staff: “I have to make sure I have enough people on coverage to make sure that we can keep it clean, as well as customer service” (QB06). These costs are then passed on to consumers:
Interviewer: What are the biggest challenges you face in keeping your business going, and how to you deal with those challenges?
Theft. I mean, we put ‘no trespassing’ warnings, we send ‘em to jail, we try to raise prices to back up our inventory, when it falls short. That’s how we make up our inventory. (PS25)
Theft, prostitution, and drug trafficking pose a dual challenge to store owners and managers because such activities not only drive up costs but also may drive away customers. A manager of a small grocery store explained that the biggest challenges to her store are “outside activities”:
The young people hang around the store. No matter how much we call the police and ask them to pass out trespassing warnings, they still come back. Traffic is kind of congested, too, certain times of day, because of the activities outside.
Interviewer: So do you mean as far as—is it like juveniles hanging out or drug dealing?
It’s juveniles, grown people, drug dealers. Just, man, keeping it real, yes.
Interviewer: You think those prohibit certain people from shopping here?
Yes it does. It does. (SS15)
This store manager explained that she thinks the store has a role to play in organizing people in the neighborhood to reclaim ownership of the community. Here is her explanation of how to deal with the “outside activities”:
And with me asking other people to get involved in the community—let’s take our community back. I think that calling the police and other people getting involved is helping us out a little bit, too. … I’ve spoken to a lady named [name]. She says she’s a homeowner association president. And I’ve gotten her involved in this also, and we talk constantly about it. We’re supposed to be getting a meeting together because the homes in the community won’t sell. The property value is going down. And we just need to get—we, the people, need to get more involved. Even the church, the ministers over here need to get involved. (SS15)
As she continued, this store manager connected community redevelopment back to the consumer food environment:
You know, especially with my older customers. I have a lot of seniors, see, and that’s one of the main reasons, too, why I want the community to get involved. I want the senior citizens to be able to come back to their roots—you know what I’m saying?—without feeling threatened by the people that’s hanging out front and, you know, feeling uncomfortable with coming in and spending their money, thinking that they’re gonna get robbed. I’m not saying that those guys would do that…but, you know, some people just don’t have that feeling, that sense of feeling… (SS15)