affluent Americans pay a membership fee and drive out of their way to shop at Costco, whose entire model is based on having less brand choices, but minimum quality standards. and they love this lack of choice, because decision fatigue is real.
it turns out having too many choices in consumer goods sucks, actually.
I 100% do not like the lack of choice at CostCo, but I do like the prices (usually) and consistent decent quality.
i apologize that you do not know how to CostCo correctly. you may return to the Kroger-Publix at anytime for a life spent in the aisle deciding between 86 permutations of jelly, foreclosed dreams and sandwiches of wistful regret. or, accept the invitation to meta-cognitive executive function.
Statistically speaking, these regular grocery stores – such as Kroger, for instance – have between 30,000 and 50,000 individual products, or stock keeping units (SKUs). A Walmart has about 100,000 SKUs. A typical Costco, on the other hand, has only about 3,800. And the increasingly popular Aldi cuts down on choice even more by carrying only about 1,400 SKUs.
join the Kirkland Signature Cult and come home to the freedom of commitment.
I shop at Aldi primarily and their prices are significantly lower than CostCo. I’d go to CostCo more if they were actually cheaper.
And just to be clear, many of the Kirkland food options are terrible. I have had enough poor tasting food items that I don’t buy much actual food there anymore. I find that my biggest reason to go to CostCo are the home goods since they are good quality and they have an excellent return policy.
It’s all made at the same factory any way, so who cares about the branding?
i get a lesser version of this from Aldi. for a while i was calling it grocery store socialism. just grab “the thing” and the thing is relatively inexpensive and decent. not institutional grade store brand but ok
in and out
then go home and cook whatever you want there are literally hundreds of variations of recipes for all one’s choice paralysis needs
yeah. i work for a different co same business. no union. they work us to the bone too mostly by keeping stores at permanent skeleton crew.
so i do look upon the little advantages the eurostores have with some envy. chairs. little powered pallet jacks with a cargo bed. the efficient stocking.
the grocery industry is kind of having a moment now not sure where it’s going but it’s being hollowed out bad.
the experienced people are leaving in droves, the young ones aren’t replacing them. and everyone else is aging out
