In a survey reported as part of this study, consumers were asked to rate 45 reasons for choosing a supermarket. They were asked—“How important is each in choosing where you shop?” Again using a scale of 0-100 with 0 being unimportant and 100 being extremely important, consumers ranked the 45 items with the top 5 shown below:

Consumer Survey

Rank	Attribute	Index
1.	Cleanliness	93.0
2.	Low prices	89.9
3.	Accurate price scanning	89.6
4.	All prices clearly labeled	89.5
5.	Accurate, pleasant checkout clerks	87.7

Pricing issues are are the top of the consumers minds. Supermarkets need to manage this very closely. In terms of consumer desires.

While cleanliness of the store is the first reason given, the second reason they choose a store is because of low prices. Low prices can do not neccessarliy translate into low margins. By applying Price Optimization techniques and reducing labor costs, retailers can apply the savings to their bottom lines. They can selectively lower some prices while raising others. Thus they can maintain a Low price image while raising their margins..

Accuracy of price scanning is clearly high on the consumer’s minds. Solutions addressing this with clearly labeled prices will help win the trust of the shopping public with their local supermarkets.