Groceries, Selection | Great Report: This Inexpensive Chain Has The Worst Selection

There are big differences in the quality of the selection of the different supermarket chains, according to a new survey carried out by the market analysis agency Nielsen on behalf of Coop.

It’s probably not surprising to anyone that there are significant differences if you compare chains like Mega and Meny to Extra and Kiwi, but there are also big differences between low-priced chains.

Nielsen figures show that a Coop Extra store has an average of 6,520 unique products. In an average Rema 1000 store, you will find 5,188 items, while you will find 4,981 different products in Kiwi.

– Good selection

The difference between Extra and Kiwi is 23.6 percent.

– In Norway, there is a fierce focus on price, and we in the grocery industry often get criticized because people think the stores are boring and have a poor selection. But these figures show that stores have a good selection and also show who has the largest selection. Extra has by far the largest selection compared to Kiwi and Rema, Coop communications manager Norge Harald Kristiansen tells Nettavisen.

He believes that many have opened their eyes to selection in Norwegian stores after Sweden turned red:

– All Swedish grocery stores are not like the ones on the border, and the closest you are to this country is Obs, which many people opened their eyes to when the border was closed, says Kristiansen, noting that Obs has had a growth of about 37 percent this summer.

Especially during the corona pandemic, it is good for the consumer to avoid too many stores to find what they are looking for, says Kristiansen:

– For those who today are very conscious of reducing the infection, there is a greater possibility of getting everything they need in a single shopping trip if they go to Obs, Coop Mega or Extra.

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Kiwi Strikes Back

Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, Kiwi Communications Manager, responds to Coop’s manager:

– The objective of KIWI is to have the most correct selection possible, not necessarily the most different elements. We have the highest comparable growth in the entire grocery industry this year, and we have the most loyal and satisfied low-price customers, according to the Norwegian Customer Barometer. This indicates that customers are satisfied with the selection we offer, he tells Nettavisen.

She elaborates on the “correct selection” this way:

– We haven’t seen this analysis, but we get similar figures from Nielsen. They show that Extra, for example, has a wider selection of confectionery than we do, but when it comes to fresh fish and bread, KIWI’s selection is greater than theirs.

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The size of the store also plays a role, says Kiwis Arvin:

– KIWI has quite a large variation in store size, and then it is a bit wrong to take average figures as a starting point. We have everything from very large stores with around 7,500 different items, to smaller stores in cities and tourist places. There would be significant food waste if the smallest stores had as large a selection as the largest, and space, of course, would also be a challenge.

Calle Hägg, Communications Manager for Rema 1000, explains that having a well-chosen selection is important.

– We will have the products that most people want most of the day, and we will have them at low prices. So it is important to have a well chosen selection. It requires us to choose products carefully so that we can meet customer needs and expectations for responsible production and high quality at the lowest possible price, he tells Nettavisen.

Price war vs. selection

Market research Coop has conducted shows that Norwegians love price wars, but are also concerned about finding everything they need in one place, says Kristiansen.

Nielsen figures also show that Obs has 11,200 unique items. Coop Mega has 8,426 unique products, compared to 8,309 for the Meny chain stores. Spar and Eurospar have 5,305 unique products in a typical store, according to Nielsen.

The online newspaper has received confirmation of the figures directly from Nielsen. The agency has arrived at the figures by looking at what each individual store in Norway has sold over a four-week period. Coop has learned when the figures have been measured. When asked about this, Coops Kristiansen answers the following:

– We have asked the Nielsen analytics company to do an independent count at a time slightly disturbed by seasons and to be comparable to previous years. Although this is how we know the time of measurement, it is practically impossible to influence the numbers to any great extent.