Generally, a supermarket in classified by which of the following category ?
Product line sold
Product line sold — option 3.
The four bases for classifying retailers in Kotler’s treatment, and where each of the options belongs :
| Basis | Types |
|---|---|
| Product line sold | Specialty store, department store, supermarket, convenience store, superstore, category killer, hypermarket |
| Relative prices | Discount store, off-price retailer, factory outlet, warehouse club |
| Service provided | Self-service, limited service, full service |
| Ownership / organisational approach | Corporate chain, voluntary chain, retailer cooperative, franchise, merchandising conglomerate |
Why the supermarket belongs to the first. A supermarket is defined by what it carries: a relatively large, low-cost, low-margin, high-volume, self-service operation designed to meet the whole of a household’s needs for food, laundry and household products. The width and depth of that assortment is the defining feature; price level and service level follow from it rather than defining it.
Why option 4 is the near miss. Supermarkets are indeed self-service, and self-service is a genuine classification under “service provided”. But that description would equally cover a discount store or a warehouse club. What identifies a store specifically as a supermarket is its product line, so that is the classifying basis the question is asking for.
The neighbouring formats, for contrast.
| Format | Distinguishing feature |
|---|---|
| Convenience store | Small, long hours, limited line of high-turnover goods, higher prices |
| Superstore | Much larger than a supermarket; routinely purchased food and non-food items |
| Category killer | Enormous depth in one category — sports goods, electronics, furniture |
| Hypermarket | Supermarket, discount store and warehouse retailing combined under one very large roof |
The pressures on the format. Supermarkets work on thin net margins — commonly one or two per cent of sales — and have been squeezed from below by convenience stores, from the side by superstores and category killers, and lately by online grocery delivery.
Hence, the answer is product line sold.
Similar Questions
The whole channel concept for International Marketing is represented as :
'The manufacturer threatens to withdraw a resource or terminate a relationship if intermediaries fail to cooperate', refers to which one of the following channel power?
Which one of the following refers to “two or more unrelated companies put together their resources or programmes to exploit an emerging marketing opportunity” ?
Which of the following is not primarily a responsibility of producers for their channel members?
Producers of convenience goods typically prefer
Which of the following is a type of off-price retailer?
Which one of the following is a system of partnerships and alliances that a firm creates to source, augment, and deliver its offerings ?
Match the items of List - I with the items of List - II and select the correct code of matching :
List - I (Type of store Retailers) List - II (Formats) (a) Speciality store (i) Broad selection of high-mark up, fast moving, brand-name goods sold by a list (b) Drug store (ii) Narrow product line (c) Super store (iii) Prescription and pharmacies (d) Catalogue showroom (iv) Huge selling space Code :
Important Questions from Marketing channels
A manufacturer, to market its products, focuses on the following marketing channel alternatives :
(i) Telemarketing
(ii) Distributors
(iii) Sales force
(iv) Internet
(v) Retail stores
(vi) Value-added partners
Select the code of correct sequence of the channel alternatives in order of increasing cost per transaction.
Which of the following marketing channel function helps to fulfil the completed transactions?
- A price ending in an odd number or a price just under a round number.
The whole channel concept for International Marketing is represented as :
'The manufacturer threatens to withdraw a resource or terminate a relationship if intermediaries fail to cooperate', refers to which one of the following channel power?
