grocery stores

Is the future of the supermarket looking bleak? Some seem to think so. According to consumer marketing firm RetailNet Group, grocery stores will soon be faced with an uphill battle. Food retailers could see the impact as soon as 2015, as population growth slows and the influential baby boomer segment becomes an elderly generation.

Additionally, younger, more affluent customers, especially those born after 1985, may be the first ones to turn primarily to online grocery shopping in lieu of physical visits to the supermarket. Some grocers are responding to this concern by launching initiatives for kids in an attempt to create a rapport with future generations of shoppers.

Call me antiquated, but I kind of like the physical act of strolling down the produce aisle, even squeezing avocados to make sure they're ripe. It's hard to imagine a future free of grocery stores. Could you see yourself shopping for food exclusively online?

Hot off the heels of Groupon's much-discussed IPO comes news that the company is piloting a grocery discount program. The online daily coupon company has negotiated deals with Massachusetts-based supermarket Big Y Foods to offer Groupon discounts for groceries, such as 50 percent off on shellfish.

The catch? Customers who buy the deal will get the discounts credited to their Big Y loyalty cards upon checkout. If successful, it's an arrangement that would better suit merchants such as supermarket chains that have many locations and points of purchase.

Given a positive outcome, other grocers are on board to do their own promotions, Groupon says (although the company remains tight-lipped when pressed for names). As a shopper who scourges market aisles for the best deals, I'd be excited to see this roll out nationwide. What do you think of the concept?

For more than three years, Trader Joe's has been YumSugar readers' favored grocery chain, and I'm just as big of a fan. In particular, I'm in love with the products unique to their stores, from lentil chips to fleur de sel caramel sauce. My preferred proprietary item, the Cilantro & Chive Yogurt Dip, even has a recipe for roast beef and arugula sandwiches to go along with it. That said, I'm sure I've missed more than a few good items in the aisles of my local Trader Joe's. What are your favorite food products to buy from TJ's? Do share with the rest of us.

We know every tasty meal starts with its ingredients, so we wanted to know: where did you get yours this year? With 34 percent of your votes, one grocer came out on top! Congrats Trader Joe's, our 2010 readers' choice for best grocery store.

We can't get enough of TJ's, and apparently great minds think alike — you also crowned the affordable grocer top pick in 2007 and 2008. This year the store adopted sustainable seafood standards, and it was our go-to spot for everything from cheese to chips to Sauvignon Blanc. Whether you're a fan of the store's self-branded goodies (like my personal faves the Thai Vegetable Gyoza and the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches) or you like to stock up on two-buck Chuck, TJ's carries a unique selection of foods that's easy on the wallet.

Let's also raise a glass of Chuck to Whole Foods, who came in second with 26 percent of the votes. And be sure to check out all our other Best of 2010 polls and winners as we close out another delicious year.

More and more restaurants have followed in the footsteps of Jamba Juice and Starbucks by counting on customers at the grocery store. The latest? Joe's Crab Shack.Yesterday, the casual seafood chain unveiled a new line of eat-at-home dinners that steam in the microwave.

The meals, which range from $7 to $9 and are designed for two, include dishes like Cajun cod and green beans, honey Dijon salmon with broccoli, and mahi mahi with tropical salsa and coconut rice.

Right now, the dinners are available in select Walmart stores, with plans to expand further in 2011 as well as roll out a line of frozen Joe's Crab Shack appetizers come Spring. While other famous restaurant names like California Pizza Kitchen and P.F. Chang's have seen success, I'm still skeptical of frozen, microwaveable seafood. Does it have potential?

Source: Flickr User Javier Vidal

Grocery chains are adapting to the times by adopting eat local practices and sustainable seafood standards, but the biggest change consumers worldwide will see in the coming year could be the size of their supermarkets.

Shrinking supermarkets aren't a brand-new concept: Two years ago, we reported that Safeway, Jewel-Osco, and Walmart were focusing on stores with smaller square footage in hopes to capitalize on the segment of time-strapped shoppers who don't want to spend hours searching for what they need. Now, the small-scale supermarket movement is making its rounds outside of the States. Asda, a British supermarket company that's a subsidiary of Walmart, is also changing its business model to hone in on smaller stores.

There are additional reasons — such as faster inventory turnover, greater appeal to single-person households, and more expensive offerings — to incentivize retailers to move to a smaller-scale format. With mom-and-pop shops and slow food principles gaining traction, it's possible that we're ushering out the era of Walmart Supercenters and SuperTargets. Do you agree?

Yesterday was a rough day for children's products at Walmart, but thankfully the corporation's food department is doing much better. In the afternoon, the world's biggest retailer announced its ambitious plans to double the sales of locally sourced produce in the US by the end of the year 2015. "Our size and scale have been big tools for change . . . There is an opportunity to lead in this area of sustainable agriculture," said CEO Mike Duke.

Walmart will focus more on working with small- and medium-sized farms and reducing farms' carbon footprint on the environment. Although meeting its lofty goals means local product makes up only nine percent of the chain's produce, nearly half of Walmart's $405 billion in annual revenue comes from food.

While I'm certain that other factors aside from altruism (like brand management and supply chain efficiency) come into play in these decisions, I'm still enthused that a corporate behemoth such as Walmart is setting an example and influencing the market for other grocers to follow. What do you think? Would you buy local produce from Walmart?

Source: Flickr User mjb84

Trader Joe's is following in the footsteps of stores like Target and Safeway, announcing plans to sell only sustainably sourced seafood by the end of 2012. The phase-out, which applies to all fresh, frozen, and canned seafood in the chain's stores, comes after pressure from environmental groups, and was first posted on the Trader Joe's website.

There, the grocer revealed that, in addition to the mandatory country of origin and wild/farm raised labeling, they also plan to include information on species' Latin names, origin, and catch or production method.

It's a big move for Trader Joe's, which has historically been ranked the lowest of any national grocery chain in the sustainable seafood department. Still, with a number of stores — like Costco, H.E.B., and Meijer — yet to take action, there's a lot of room for improvement. Where do you shop when seeking out eco-friendly seafood choices?

Source: Flickr User arnold | inuyaki

Florida's inclement weather this Winter is no pulp fiction. Due to a deep freeze in January that impacted tomatoes and citrus, Tropicana is saying it has no choice but to raise prices on its orange juice. In May, Tropicana plans to keep the price steady on its Pure Premium orange juice half-gallon cartons, but reduce their size from 64 to 59 ounces. Its gallon-sized jugs will stay the same in volume, but go up in price by five to eight percent.According to the company, the Florida citrus industry has produced the smallest crop in 20 years. Its yield is down 12 percent from last year, after a freeze damaged a large portion of the produce. Part of this devastating cost is being passed off to customers. I'm not that bothered by the price increase — it likely won't be more than 50 cents extra — but I think the practice of shrinking sizes is deceptive. How do you feel about the move?

Source: Flickr User justinlai