Although Trader Joe’s Company, BB #:162286 Monrovia, CA, response to the COVID-19 pandemic was proactive and nimble to protect both employees and customers, even going so far as to publicly announce its infection rate, it has not experienced the same surge in business enjoyed by others.
“We’ve seen every grocery store substantially increase sales by double digits and sometimes even more, while Trader Joe’s has not,” says Phil Lempert, retail consultant for Supermarketguru.com in Santa Monica, CA.
Sales have risen, he says, but to a lesser degree, attributable to several factors.
First is SKUs—Trader Joe’s carries about 4,000 products per store, compared to 42,000 at the average supermarket.
“It’s not a full shop,” Lempert says. “You can’t go there and get everything you want the same way you can at Kroger or Albertsons; you have to go to another store, which is holding Trader Joe’s back.”
Another factor is also tied to size: with mandated limits on the number of people who can be in a store at the same time based on square footage, the chain is once again at a disadvantage, forcing customers to wait outside in socially distanced lines.
“The good news for Trader Joe’s is we haven’t seen anyone who wasn’t comfortable standing in line,” Bill Bishop, cofounder and retail consultant for Brick Meets Click in Barrington, IL. “I guess it must be worth the wait.”
On the other hand, Lempert sees this as a possible problem.
“Shoppers will pass by and see a line out front, which they don’t see at most supermarkets—it’s off-putting, so they’ll go to another store,” he predicts.
This is a feature from the cover story of the March/April issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the full issue.
