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The supermarkets are so big that everyone has a view on whether they are a good thing or a bad thing and shoppers' tend to make judgements through the prism of the world that the big shops have shaped. Tyrrells crisps founder William Chase has a vodka brand to sell and is on a media charm offensive, which may explain his talking up Tesco to Business XL magazine. Supermarkets did a lot for the food industry in the 1980s by cleaning up hygiene standards and offering families food that was consistently safe to eat, he says. "If we didn't have bar-coded, pre-packaged food, shopping as we know it physically wouldn't happen. People will say 'poor farmers' but the most important thing is that they want their food to be on the supermarket shelves and they want to know it's not going to hurt their children," Mr Chase told the business magazine. His view is shared by many shoppers. The supermarkets are very good at promoting healthy eating and providing

Period-on-period sales of convenience stores are up 21%, according to Tony Evans, who heads up business agent Christie + Co's retail sales operations. His press release, issued earlier this month, says that buyers were active in the first six months of this year, compared to the last six of 2009. Its team facilitated 2,253 viewings, up 13% on the 1,958 achived in the second half of last year. These figures exclude its disposal of more thna 1,200 former First Quench Retailing stores , which generated 3,000 offers. Values have stabilised, says Mr Evans, which means that buyers with cash are confident that they will not lose capital on buying freeholds. Christie + Co was not prepared to give any more details to qualify its optimistic snapshot. However, its viewpoint tallies with what retailers and suppliers are saying around the country - that well run independent local shops are able to deliver good profits. While the work is hard, the barriers to entry are relatively low. Pr

Food and drink sales during June were very strong, increasing optimism among retailers. But the longer term picture remains uncertain. On Tuesday this week the CBI said that more than half of retailers taking part in its high street survey said that sales were up during June, providing the most positive figures since June 2007. The CBI's sample includes 20,000 outlets owned by 131 companies and it works by adding up those retailers reporting an increase and taking away those who say sales have fallen.  In June the figure was plus 33 per cent (51 per cent take away 18 per cent), which was much better than the plus 11 per cent figure that retailers had been forecasting. Looking forward, the forecast for August is plus 45 per cent, which if achieved will be the best result since June 2004. "Retailers are optimistic that strong sales growth will continue next month, which is promising," said Lai Wah Co, the CBI's economist. "We still expect the recovery in

Don't eat anything your great-grandmother would not recognise as food, says Michael Pollan in his new, cheap book called Food Rules An Eater's Manual. If you sell treats, top-up food items or everything, this book will help you plan your future. "There are now thousands of foodish products in the supermarket that our ancestors simply wouldn't recognise as food. The reasons to avoid eating such complicated food products are many..." he writes in rule two on great-grandmothers. However, in his introduction, Pollan offers his basic philosophy for healthy eating: Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. Rule 64 is break the rules once in a while. Rule 60 is Treat treats as treats. Rule 44 is Pay more, eat less... Rule 36 is Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk. What makes this book so enjoyable is it is very short, well written and provides you with plenty of food for thought about what is going on in your shoppers' minds. Perhap

How do you know what people will want to buy next? Time magazine asked Kraft boss Irene Rosenfeld in the spring but only published the answer this week. "One of the best ways is by studying restaurant menus," she replied. "That's typically a leading indicator of what consumers are eating." As a local shop operator, you need to be aware of two things: what local restaurants are selling and what the next big things will be. This can help guide which parts of your store you promote and which promoted products you select. A second question was waht do you see America eating more of? Her answer split in two. Snacking is where the greatest growth is - both in quick-meal products and confectionery. "I think that is indicative of the fact that people continue to be on the go and are looking for quick treats". But she remains on-message by adding that lower-sugar, lower-fat versions of Kraft's products are "experiencing very attractive growth r

Further to my post of Paco Underhill's Why We Buy, he makes the point that everybody loves lists. His book is remarkably free of lists but contains two that may inspire some local retailers to read the book. What do shoppers love? Touching things Mirrors Discovering some things all by themselves Talking Being recognised Bargains. What do shoppers hate? Too many mirrors Queues Being asked dumb questions Having to bend over Out of stocks Obscure price tags Intimidating service. The last point explains my lack of Gucci loafers!

I was talking to Steve Denham about a presentation that I made earlier this year and he said that I should read Why We Buy by Paco Underhill, which is about the Science of Shopping. Steve was listening to me talking about how signs worked and how the outside of shops encouraged or discouraged a shopper. Mr Underhill has great credentials and is one of the pioneers of using anthropology to understand how people shop and why. The science was born in the late 1990s and has spread rapidly. While experienced retailers will feel much of what the book tells them is common sense, I agree with Mr Underhill that experienced retailers often miss what is under their nose. However, the following paragraph is a good example of what really works in the book and if you like this then it would be worthwhile to get a copy for yourself. "Here's a good example of the terrible magic that smart merchandising can perform. I once heard a talk given by a vice president of merchandising from a na

While the Grocer indulged in its usual agenda of knocking CTNs through the medium of Jerry Marwood, boss of Spar, two week's ago, his rather more insightful interview in the same issue provides two thoughts for local retailers. The first is that the "one-trick pony" is dead in the retail water, by which Mr Marwood means that retailers who buy an off-licence or a newsagent cannot expect to make a living on its core product range. This is not news. It was true that until the mid 1990s you could make a very good living on just selling confectionery news tobacco (CTN) or beers wines and spirits (BWS). It is also not news because both shop formats are in decline. Combined they account for fewer than 7.8 per cent of outlets. C-stores account for 44 per cent. It is also not news because the stores that remain are increasingly in locations where the business model makes sense - by travel points for example. However, the CTN owners and off-licence operators of the 1990s have