You can really see the differences in how goods are sold in retail stores and traditional shops, especially when it comes to pricing and how sellers interact with buyers. In supermarkets, prices are super clear and you can spot discounts right away. But in traditional stores, it’s all about haggling, which can lead to different prices for the same item depending on who’s buying. So, what do you all think is the best way to serve customers and build their trust?
Buy from traditional stores are the cheapest, you don't need to bargain as long as you can find a seller who sell cheap.
Even though in supermarkets have many discounts and sometime the price they offer might be lower than in traditional stores, but it doesn't happen everyday and going around in supermarkets encourage us to spend more.
However from people around my area, they take advantage over traditional stores by buy on credit (they actually don't want to pay at all) and they don't mind to buy in supermarkets even though it's more expensive, because they want to take picture and show to everyone if they're rich.
What is a traditional store? If it's something like a seller on the market (since it's acceptable to bargain), then such small shops are often very convenient for the local population. However, large retail chains have almost replaced small merchants. Over the years, I've seen small shops close down. Also, currently, retail has already gone online by almost 80%. So no matter how good small shops were for local residents (sometimes you could even buy there on a small loan), unfortunately their time has already passed. Now is the time for giant impersonal retail chains and huge online trading platforms.
Imo both models serve different needs. Supermarkets win on transparency and trust because prices are clear and consistent, no stress, no haggling. Traditional shops win on flexibility, especially in low-income areas where bargaining helps people survive. Best model? A mix: clear pricing + occasional human flexibility when it makes sense.
Bargaining in traditional stores is the headache most persons try to avoid, because the sellers may try to inflate the price because they know the customer would like to bargain and when such a customer does, the seller still makes profit because only a little amount which is still more than the buying price was removed.
While in retail or supermarkets, a buyer knows that's how the price is and can't bargain but can only it that such an item is cheaper that it is in the traditional shops.
The retail or supermarkets may also have more original products because they may buy from the producers or manufacturers directly as compared to traditional shops that could buy fake products or nearly and even expired products without noticing it.
Yes, they do it on purpose, like advertising that they're selling the bananas very cheap, just to make you go there and sell you things you didn't need. And that's when you are not required to scan your fidelity card to get the discount or download an App, so you're also "selling" your data for that discount. Data that are used to calculate the max price at most people would be willing to buy certain products, etc, etc, etc.
Whenever you have the possibility, always choose traditional stores, even if they're more expensive. I don't agree that supermarkets are more transparent, it's just that their tricks are harder to see.
One of the best models (or the better model) remains the flexible price model. The fixed price is more favorable to the rich than the poor or middle class.
The flexible price model works well because it allows sellers to sell according to the economic status (or current financial reality) of buyers, which we could call "Sell by Economic Status" (or Semics in short).. With this model, there should be a top price for products/services that can be used for customers who don't care much about price, but slightly adjusted if they bargain regardless of economic status, and the prices can be further adjusted for people who are really poor/needy or seriously in need of the products but can't afford the top or slightly adjusted prices. For example, a healthy loaf of bread that costs $2.5 to produce can have a top price of $4, and slightly adjusted to $3.7 for casual bargainers, then $3 to $2.6 for perceived poor or needy bargainers. In the end, you still make enough money from people buying at $4 and $3.7 to cover for the very low price used for the poor/needy. No one is cheated with this model, due to the fact that the top prices for the rich can be much lower or slightly lower in places like supermarkets where they (the rich) are supposed to buy from. It also a fair deal for the casual or unserious bargainers, because if they really need much lower prices, they will passionately or desperately bargain for that, or it would show on their faces or behaviors incase there are those who are desperate to buy at prices based on affordability but probably ashamed to bargain.
This flexible rate is also very suitable or better for a Bitcoin economy because as price of Bitcoin goes up (or down) products or services priced in Bitcoin but fixed in fiats will fluctuate allowing the poor to afford what they normally can't afford when dealing with fiats and supermarkets, or lack of flexible prices in their countries. But ofcourse this depend on overall increase in price of Bitcoin and using it as Store of Value and Medium of Exchange
I believe there is no better way to empathize than in person, although nowadays I see much more activity in online stores, which in some countries saves them from having to pay taxes. Perhaps with a little good publicity and perseverance, it could be as profitable as a physical business
Buying from retail stores might have a fixed price and depict a sense of trust, but buying in shops is most times cheaper as long as you have an idea what the price of the goods is. The main advantage with buying in a supermarket is that there are more of quality stuff in the supermarket than there is in smaller shops which makes it a good place to buy goods from but outside that, getting items from smaller shops is actually more convenient and reasonably cheaper than getting it in a big shop or mall.
In malls, if you don't have the complete money to pay for an item, rarely will they allow you to buy in credit. But In a smaller shop, a regular buyer can easily buy in credit and come back after a day or two to pay the money. These are the prose and cons that's associated with retail shops as well as supermarket.
I don't know what you want to achieve with this thread. However, I buy things from any seller who offers cheaper deals. I have observed that supermarkets in my area sell processed and imported goods very cheaply. They have access to local and International manufacturers and buy goods directly from them. Small retailers would have to buy from wholesalers which would increase the cost price.
Crops that are produced locally a cheaper when you buy from small businesses. They have access to local farmers and sell items like food Crops, vegetables, fruits, and animal protein are cheap in retail/traditional shops.
Not all countries have stores that you can call traditional, and the reason is because in some countries there is a proper price regulatory commission that ensures that there is a fixed price for goods in every store in the country. For traditional stores like the one we have in our country, sellers sell and fix prices depending on the way they bought the goods; this is why the prices are not always the same in every area.
Personally I prefer to get fresh food produce from local stores where you can bargain and be certain that the products are fresher than what we may find in bigger stores with fixed prices where things are showcased on shelves and are required to have a longer shelf life to ensure customers can get them before they go bad.
For packaged or processed products, I prefer getting these items from the bigger stores because I feel there is a higher assurance of the quality that they will sell compared to smaller stores that may sell substandard packaged goods at a bargainable cost for customers.
I like retail shops and supermarkets where prices are displayed for shoppers to see, you don't need to bargain, if you like a product and it's price you pay for it and move on. Unlike local shops where you need to bargain and if you are not good at bargaining they will cheat you, the more reason why I don't like bargain stores is that they already have their last price for every products. So why not just write the last price for everybody to see and if they are ok with it they pay.
There are some goods and transactions which don't have any market value like selling off your very old furniture it'll be understandable if there is bargaining on such things. But goods that are mass produced which people knews their market value should be displayed with price tag.
Personally, I still prefer retail stores/supermarkets because, besides the fact that customers no longer bargain over the stated price, the service in retail stores/supermarkets is also different from traditional stores, where sellers can sometimes be less friendly. And if you've ever witnessed a more critical situation, it's usually the traditional stores that tend to raise prices, not the retail stores/supermarkets. Traditional stores often cite the reason that prices have started to rise due to dwindling supplies or other seemingly logical reasons, when in reality, the prices have remained the same. So traditional shops more often cheat buyers in terms of prices because each item does not have the price directly displayed like in retail shops/supermarkets.
Yes, this system is exactly the same in every area. It is not very expensive in small shops here. When we go to big markets, the rates are sky high. Although all this is done for big profits in big shops or their investment is high, that is why they did it like this. Once I asked the big shops the reason for this, they said that we are employees, so we do whatever we are told and this is actually done deliberately so that the system of the world runs from all sides. That is why things are given at different prices everywhere, although the thing is all the same. Although some things have different quality, so there are chances of them being charged higher prices. Although for those who have to buy something at a higher price, the higher price will not be anything and for those who do not have a lower price, it will be very high.
Although some sellers in traditional markets are sometimes dishonest about their prices, if you're smart, you can shop around first and ask several sellers about the prices of the items you want to buy. This way, you can confirm the exact price and compare which sellers are selling at a lower price. This can also protect you from unfair pricing practices, as long as you're willing to make a little effort to ask, compare prices, and not just buy from the first stall you come across.
In my country, every traditional market has a price billboard displaying the minimum price for each item. This way, you can see the actual price of an item and avoid unscrupulous sellers. But trust me, buying at a traditional market is cheaper than at a supermarket. Although it takes effort to choose items and find out the exact price, it's worth it if you're looking to save money.
For me it is better to buy from places that I can bargain and negotiate, I dont like to go to a place that the price are fixed because it is fixed but the retail store so instinctively think the price is not as cheap as it should be.
In traditional markets you need to know how to negotiate because many of the traditional sellers deliberately inflate their asking price so for you not to get cheated you should bring down your bargaining price then you can agree at a good price for buyer and seller.
Also retail stores has more goods than traditional markets so you will have to go there, and even goods in traditional markets are gotten from a retail store like electronics so it will be more expensive. I know what to get from the traditional market and what I need at the retail store.
Your are right, the transparency policy of Retail stores. Retail stores serve consumers well because their products have fixed- price retail and also have value. As compared to other market retail stores can build trust on customers by clearly displaying prices and this step ensures the fairness because all customers pay the same price for the same product and no bargaining is involved in it. This policy may help those customers who have not strong bargaining skills and it also prevents time. On the other hand old stores have flexibility in prices of the same product for different customers because bargaining creates inequality when different buyers can pay different prices for the same product. So the learning point is that Stores should display prices combined with discounts for bulk buying.
The thing nobody likes to tell you is that both models are optimized in the favor of the seller and against the buyer. We just have different preferences as to whom we are going to get sold to.
Supermarkets do give you the price transparency, sure, but they've already done the math to ensure that you'll spend more overall. The discount sticker makes you feel smart and the layout forces you to do impulse buys. The "everyday low price" is often higher than you'd pay if traditional markets still existed at scale, but you don't know that because you have nothing to compare it to. Transparency is great till you're walking in having the game rigged.
Traditional bargaining puts at least the power dynamic on the table. Yeah, prices fluctuate between customer but that is because the transaction is actually a negotiation between two humans with different needs and information. The vendor is interested in getting some inventory moved before it goes bad. You want to cheaply feed your family. Sometimes the vendor wins, sometimes you do, but at least you're both involved in price discovery, rather than you just going along with whatever number corporate decided would maximize quarterly earnings.
I believe the upfront price model is the best for transparency since people can guarantee that they are buying the suggested retail price compared to traditional store that seller can rip off buyer if they knew that the buyer has lots of money specifically if your wealth is visible through your accessories.
The only advantage of bargaining feature of traditional market is when you knew the retail price of that specific item so that you can bargain below that range but I doubt someone will have time to check always the retail price.
Traditional stores gives room for a buyer to bargaining the price of goods which often lead to final agreement, but most time, it causes mistrust in the seller, even when the seller is giving the right price, buyers often feels cheaty, but retail shops creates no room for bargaining, the price tag is on the product, total amount is calculated by a machine not individual to showcase fair play.
Supermarket product which is often ran by official bodies often build trust between buyers and seller as well comfort and reliability.