Power Point presentation created for FDN102

1. Supermarket Journal
Heather Giles
FDN102

2. Introduction
My supermarket journal will explore the when,
where and why we shop. Look at the
advantages and disadvantages of
supermarket shopping. We will also visit an
Asian supermarket with some surprises of
what you can purchase there.

3. Where do I shop and why?
This question got me thinking about why I
routinely shop fortnightly at my local Coles
supermarket. I asked a group of my female
friends aged 25-50yrs this same question. A
common response I received was
convenience. Many liked shopping at their
local supermarket as it was close to home.

4. Myself, my nearest Coles supermarket is in
South Lake which is a 6.8km drive from my
house. This local store is older and is in need
of some renovations. Sometimes I prefer to
travel 10.5km to a newer, larger, brighter
Coles supermarket in Southern River.

5. Supermarket Advantages
In April 2009 Coles introduced Coles online shopping in
Perth. The reasons that I prefer to shop at a Coles
supermarket over Coles online are:
-Being able to look out for specials and comparing
the product price and quality to what I would normally
purchase
-Checking expiry dates on products, especially dairy
and searching to the back of the shelf for an item for the
longest expiry date
-Using my green shopping bags at the checkout and
doing my part in lessening plastic bag use.

6. Supermarket Disadvantages
The main disadvantage that I feel about supermarket
shopping is the limited trading hours. In December last
year the Western Australian government introduced
trading until 9pm weeknights. Even in the weeks leading
up to Christmas a lot of consumers were unaware of the
late night trading. I feel to increase the number of
consumers smaller retailers need to stay trading on the
new late nights to encourage more shoppers to the
shopping centre. I myself prefer to late night shop (other
than Thursday night) kid free and without the hassle of
crowds, which is bliss. I would also love the option of
shopping on Sundays

7. Other disadvantages of supermarket shopping
include
-impulse buying
-crowds, noisy children, rude shoppers
-Not always guaranteed that the product you
require will be on the shelf
-the inconvenience of having to travel to the
supermarket and the battles of finding car
parking.

8. Customer Satisfaction
While speaking to my female friends aged
25-50yrs about their supermarket shopping
habits, these are the things that please them
about their local supermarket
-layout
-quality of fresh produce
-variety
-sale prices
-friendly, helpful staff
-location

9. What pleases me about my supermarket is as a mother
and trying to save money I prefer the Coles generic
brand products over any other supermarket. I feel that
although paying less the product is similar to the name
brand product. I find this especially when it comes to
products like milk, sugar, flour, butter. A lot of the generic
brand products are made by the same companies of the
name brands. For example Coles brand Weetbix are
made by Sanitarium, bread is made by Goodman Fielder
and Coles soft drink is produced by P&L.
(Pettapiece, Ian. 2011. Personal communication)

10. What can’t you buy there?
I am not 100% satisfied with the fresh produce
available at Coles. Each fortnight I will travel to
my local fruit and vegetable shop as the quality
is better. The fruit and vegetables will last longer
in my fridge which saves me having to go to the
shop less frequently which then saves me
money.

11. It was interesting when I asked my friends this same
question. “What can’t you buy there?”
One common answer was relating to the weekly
specials that each supermarket advertises. Many of my
friends would travel the extra few kilometres and go out
of their way to save a few dollars. Which surprised me
as I feel that the money saved is minimal when you
have used extra petrol and more time.
Other things mentioned were
-“I cant buy alcohol at my local supermarket and have
to travel to the local bottle shop”
-“my dog eats a specific type of food which I have to
purchase from my local vet”
-“I find the variety of Indian and Asian food not very
good”

12. Supermarket Observations
I went to South Lake Coles to observe some fellow
shoppers. It was 3.30-4.30pm on a Friday afternoon.
-There were many school aged children buying junk
food for an after school snack
-Not many elderly shoppers
-A few what appeared to be working mothers who
have just picked up their young children from school
doing their weekly shop
-The store seemed relatively busy with a steady
stream of shoppers going through the check out
-Many shoppers purchasing staple items such as
milk, bread, fruit, vegetables and meat.

13. Supermarket Comparison
In the Lakes Shopping Centre Complex there
are two supermarkets. Coles and Long’s
Oriental Supermarket.

14. I was interested to discover why there was a
need for an Oriental Supermarket in the area
of South Lake. The demographics show that
there is only a minimal amount of Asian
people living in the area of South Lake.
Despite of this there must be enough
customers for the Asian supermarket to be
profitable for the owners.

15. Demographics of South Lake Area
The postcode of 6164
includes the suburbs of
Atwell, Aubin Grove,
Banjup, Beeliar,
Hammond Park,
Jandakot, Southlake,
Success and
Yangebup.
All of these suburbs
surround South Lake
This Pie Chart shows the top Shopping Centre.
five countries
of origin for the postcode 6164.
(www.domain.com.au)

16. 6163 6149
6163 Pie Chart includes the
top five countries of origin
from the suburbs Bibra Lake,
Coolbellup, Hamilton Hill, 6149 Pie Chart includes the top five
Hilton, Kardinya, North Lake, countries of origin from the suburbs
O’Connor, Samson, Leeming and Bullcreek.
Spearwood and North
Coogee. (www.domain.com.au)
(www.domain.com.au)

17. Both supermarkets target different customers. While
walking through Long’s Oriental Supermarket I noticed
all of the staff that I saw working were of Asian decent. A
few Asian families were purchasing their products but the
store was nowhere as busy as the Coles supermarket
next door. There was a Caucasian lady walking through
the store with as much surprise as myself at some of the
products available for purchase.

18. These included:
Sliced Venison Crocodile Tail Meat Corn fed chicken,
head on, feet on
Pure palm sugar
Chilli Bamboo Shoots Black Glutenous Rice

19. Basil seed drink with My favourite find, Grass Jelly Drink,
honey vegetarian ham coconut flavour
And of course
lots of rice.

20. In conclusion, both Long’s Oriental
Supermarket and Coles target a different
consumer. I have often walked past Long’s
but never been inside the store. With this
knowledge now of what is sold I might expand
my menu at home to include some of these
Asian products.

21. References:
Coles Supermarket. 2011. Coles
http://www.coles.com.au/
Fairfax Digital. 2011. Domain.
http://www.domain.com.au/