Abstract:

In a new book The grocers: the rise and rise of the super-market chains the authors Andrew Seth and Geoffrey Randall report an estimated 3% of an average adult life will be spent in a supermarket. "The store themselves partly reflect, and patently drive, significant shift in social patterns- the irresistible growth of self-service, new global foods availability and sourcing; new feature, storage and display techniques; car-borne shopping; out of town centres and the decline of urban as well as rural high streets". This dynamic sector accounts for 4% of total research spending.