Charter:
The Supermarket Panel of over eight hundred retail food stores across the United States is designed and analyzed by affiliates of The Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota. The Panel provides annual information from which changes in store performance and customer loyalty are linked to store and department characteristics, product mix, customer service, and the adoption of new technology, management and labor practices. These changes can be measured against an initial benchmark, which will tell the panel participants, the researchers, and the industry what the impact of specific operating practices are for stores with similar formats and customer profiles. In addition to best business practices, it will identify employer and customer service practices that lead to satisfied and well-served workers and consumers.

 

Rational:
The merging and overlapping activities of retail grocery and food service businesses is leading to entirely new formats for retail food stores. Only a careful tracking of these changes and how individual stores adapt over time, will enable one to learn what practices succeed and why. This Panel will lead to a greater understanding of what comprises productivity, competitiveness, and service in the industry as a whole.
 

Goal of the Panel:
To become a useful and prestigious panel for supermarkets to participate in because it provides analysis and information that they will support with their data, cooperation and funds.