Low sugar? Low fat? Organic? Grocery shopping presents you with countless decisions in nearly every product category. Just when you thought you could just buy olive oil, the category has exploded to include bottles that will run you $35.
As someone with five different grocery brands all within a 15-20 minute drive, I usually go to Trader Joe’s, Giant, Acme, Shoprite and Whole Foods each at least once per month. Of all the stores, Trader Joe’s takes an interesting space in my mind as a more relaxing experience because of how it simplifies so much of your decision making.
I almost think of it as an “anti consumerist” shopping experience.
You’re not seeing brand competition in the store.
In the yogurt section, there’s no deliberation about Chobani vs. Siggis, Yoplait, Oikos, Dannon, etc… They just sell one brand.
It’s just yogurt. And in every category it’s just one option, made by them, at a good price.
With a smaller footprint and significantly smaller number of SKU’s Trader Joe’s rejects the confusion of inter-category competition allowing you to make one decision, “do I want mozzarella cheese?” rather than endless decisions “which brand of mozzarella cheese is best?”
For those with big-brand loyalty, it’s not the best place to shop. But for people who don’t want to spend 5 minutes reading labels to compare the nutritional value of one brand to another, it’s the place to go.