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This paper examines several hypotheses about access to different types and sizes of retail establishments by residents of poor and nonpoor urban neighborhoods, using Chicago as a case study. As expected, poor zip code areas in Chicago have fewer and smaller retail outlets overall than nonpoor areas, including fewer supermarkets, banks, and large drug stores. After controlling for purchasing power, poor areas still lack large drug stores but, surprisingly, not banks and supermarkets. Residents of poor neighborhoods must travel more than two miles to have access to the same numbers of supermarkets, large drug stores, banks, and other types of stores as residents of nonpoor areas.

The primary purpose of this article is to discuss the trade practices used by retail chains from the point of view of the possible solutions of conflicts between the members of the distribution channel, which have an influence on selling prices for the end users. It is based on the knowledge of the theory of the transaction cost analysis, which makes it possible for the members of the distribution channel to make decisions on the number of forms of the organization in order to realize their activities successfully. In this framework and using the example of milk, the article shows the trade practices of retail chains to improve the relationships manufacturer - retailer in the Slovak consumer market.

Introduction. In this study, the effect of continuous light treatment (24 μmol m-2 s-1) on the ripening of banana fruit [Musa spp. (AAA group, Cavendish subgroup) cv. Grand Nain] during postharvest handling was investigated. Materials and methods. The changes in physiological and physical parameters related to banana ripening such as the respiration rate, ethylene production rate, weight, colour, texture and sugar content were analysed during storage. Results and discussion. Light treatment accelerated the ripening of bananas, which was characterised by a shortened pre-climacteric period. Light-treated bananas reached a respiratory climacteric peak 8 days earlier than bananas stored in the dark. Similar delays were also observed in the onset of climacteric ethylene rise, colour change, texture loss and soluble sugar accumulation between bananas stored under continuous light and darkness. Light treatment led to excessive weight loss in bananas. At the climacteric peak, respiration and ethylene production rates were significantly higher in light-treated bananas than bananas stored in the dark. Also, significantly higher amounts of soluble sugars were accumulated in light-treated bananas than in bananas stored in the dark. Conclusion. Light treatment can be used as a method for accelerating ripening of green bananas, especially during retail display, in order to provide consumers with fruits at their best eating quality. Introduction. L’effet de la lumière en continu (24 μmol m-2 s-1) a été étudié sur le mûrissement de la banane [Musa spp. (Groupe AAA, sous-groupe Cavendish) cv. Grande Naine] au cours de la manutention post-récolte. Matériels et méthodes. Les modifications des valeurs des paramètres physiologiques et physiques liés au mûrissement des bananes ont été suivies pendant le stockage : le taux de respiration, le taux de production d’éthylène, le poids, la couleur, la texture et la teneur en sucres des fruits. Résultats et discussion. Le traitement lumineux a accéléré le mûrissement des bananes, ainsi caractérisé par une période de pré-climactérique plus courte. Les bananes traitées à la lumière ont atteint le pic climactérique respiratoire 8 jours plus tôt que les bananes stockées à l’obscurité. Des retards similaires ont également été observés dans l’apparition du pic climactérique d’éthylène, le changement de couleur, la perte de texture et l’accumulation des sucres solubles, entre les bananes stockées à la lumière et dans l’obscurité continue. Le traitement lumineux a conduit à une importante perte de poids des bananes. À l’apogée du pic climatérique les taux respiratoire et de production d’éthylène étaient significativement plus élevés pour les bananes éclairées que pour les bananes stockées à l’obscurité. En outre les teneurs en sucres solubles étaient significativement plus élevées dans les bananes traitées à la lumière que dans celles stockées à l’obscurité. Conclusion. La lumière peut être utilisée comme un traitement permettant d’accélérer le mûrissement des bananes vertes en particulier lors de la vente au détail afin de proposer aux consommateurs des fruits de meilleure qualité alimentaire.

A widespread practice in grocery store advertising is to compare the advertised store's prices to a competitor's prices on multiple items. An important, but largely unexplored, issue is how this information is processed and used in conjunction with prior beliefs to influence price perceptions. In our initial studies we manipulated prior beliefs and two data-based cues-frequency of price advantage and magnitude of price advantage-to determine their relative influence on consumer price perceptions. Results indicate that prior beliefs affected price perceptions but that the frequency cue exerted a dominating influence. Several follow-up studies demonstrate the robustness of this phenomenon across a variety of presentational and instructional conditions.

Temporary price reductions (sales) as a means of promotion have become an increasingly important tool in the marketing mix of food retailers around the world. This paper investigates the retailers' pricing strategy by explicitly accounting for the multi-product nature of retailing. We find that retailers systematically adjust the breadth and depth of sales over time and they respond aggressively to their rivals' promotional activities. Finally, the breadth and depth of sales are found to be substitutes in the set of the available strategies to increase the store traffic.

We introduce a model of the retail firm in which consumers and active firms benefit collectively from coordination of sales at fewer firms. Using this model, we show that ostensibly uninformative advertising plays a key role in bringing about coordination economies, by directing consumer search toward firms that offer the best deals. Optimal consumer search takes the form of a simple rule of thumb that uses observed advertising information to guide search. Both industry concentration and social surplus are higher in the presence of advertising, relative to a no-advertising benchmark.

Feeder steers (n = 84) were stratified into four weight groups to provide slaughter groups so that product that had been in vacuum packages at 0 to 2 degrees C for 40, 60, 80, or 100 d postmortem could be simultaneously evaluated. Each of the four groups was randomly divided into three subgroups so that vitamin E could be supplemented in the diet at rates of 0, 1,000, or 2,000 (E0, E1000, and E2000, respectively) IU.steer-1.d-1 for 100 d. After slaughtering, chilling, and fabricating, one ribeye-roll and one strip loin from each carcass was transported to the university laboratory for analyses, whereas the paired subprimals were transported to Japan. Based on metmyoglobin formation and lipid oxidation, strip loin steaks deteriorated at a faster rate during retail-display than did ribeye steaks. Steaks from subprimals that were stored for 100 d had inferior (P .05) retail-display characteristics and a shorter (P .05) caselife than steaks from the other storage periods. alpha-Tocopherol levels in longissimus muscle were lower (P .05) for E0 than for E1000 and E2000 (3.51, 5.54, and 6.10 micrograms/g of tissue, respectively). Supplementing cattle with vitamin E resulted in steaks that exhibited superior lean color, less surface discoloration, more desirable overall appearance, and less lipid oxidation during retail-display than control steaks; minimal differences were observed between E1000 and E2000 steaks. Steaks from cattle supplemented with vitamin E were preferred over control steaks by 91% of Japanese survey participants (n

Kinsey and Senauer analyze the consumer trends that lead to new store formats and new ways to deliver food and how food retailing companies have responded.