The document discusses the author's observations and opinions about various grocery stores in Sonoma County, California. The author prefers stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's that have a warm, welcoming atmosphere through elements like natural materials, good lighting, and community focus. Less favorite stores like Safeway and Rite Aid feel cold and corporate with damaged floors, overwhelming advertisements and empty layouts. The author also appreciates locally focused stores like Community Market and Oliver's Market that highlight local products and history.

1. Shopping in
Sonoma County
BRITTANY TALBOTT
TEM 431 MODULE 5
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
APRIL 10, 2019

2. Safeway
The Safeway I visited is one of the newer locations, but I still
found it to be less aesthetically pleasing and more
overwhelming than most other grocery stores. It felt very
corporate and I was deterred by the sheer inundation of
packaged foods available .
When I really took the time to observe the displays, I didn’t
find any of it to be especially warm or welcoming. Most of
what I saw were signs advertising the “ShopPlayWin”
Monopoly game that customers can plan to win prizes,
along with various advertisements provided by brands
drawing attention to their products in the store.

3. Safeway
cont’d
Safeway also has the worst
flooring of any grocery store
I’ve visited. It’s always scuffed
and damaged, which makes
you wonder how well they’re
taking care of the food if the
floors are in bad shape?
Perhaps that is not a fair
assumption to make, but as a
consumer, I’d prefer they paid
attention to detail instead of
filling the entire store to the
brim with harsh colors and
advertisements.

4. Whole Foods
The Marketing team at Whole Foods knows
just how to make me forget that they’re a
huge corporation with expensive products.
Since Whole Foods was acquired by
Amazon, I’ve noticed their design includes
less handwriting and original artwork, and of
course more sales offered to Amazon Prime
members. It definitely takes away from the
“local market” experience when scanning a
barcode from an app on your phone to
receive a discount.

5. Whole Foods
cont’d
The high quality construction
of the Whole Foods stores
makes shopping there feel like
a luxurious experience. I find
the use of wood and warm
tones in their construction to
be rather soothing. They also
make sure to incorporate
plenty of natural light and to
give each section of the store
distinct character in order to
make it feel smaller.

6. Rite Aid
It perplexes me that Rite Aid is still in
business. They don’t offer anything that I
can’t purchase at a full-service grocery
store, have an outdated design and
inventory, and always appear to be empty.
Perhaps customers find the smaller layout
to be easily accessible?
The design of the store is a hodge-podge of
signage and products that really presents
itself as a quick place to get in and get out. I
noticed there were more employees than
customers and there were plenty
abandoned carts scattered throughout the
store, so I had no desire to browse.

7. Rite Aid
cont’d
Something that really caught
me off guard, aside from the
clothing items for sale next to
the beauty products, were the
signs under certain “health”
products, offering wellness-
BonusCash with purchase.
This surprised me both
because I didn’t realized Rite
Aid offered reward programs,
and I also don’t think of this
store as a resource for
wellness ventures.

8. Community Market
I will add a disclaimer that I view
Community Market through rose-
colored glasses. They exhibit that they
are “run by the people, for the people”
and that they sell “food for people, not
for profit”, which are messages and
initiatives I can get behind. This store
also recently reopened its doors after
recovering from several feet of flooding,
so it was nice to take note of their
comeback.

9. Community
Market cont’d
Community Market is a sort of
landmark that one must pass when
driving into town. Its success is rather
impressive, considering its limited
offerings and that many of its prices
are higher than those at Whole Foods,
but I believe most of the appeal is
attributed to the farmers market vibe
and community atmosphere. When
driving past and visiting the store, in
plain site is the outdoor area that
offers a taproom, picnic benches, a
lawn, and fire pit. I’ve seen other
markets attempt to cultivate a
hangout spot, but I’ve never
witnessed as one as popular as this.

10. Community Market cont’d
The interior is rather modest. It’s designed a
bit like a wannabe Whole Foods, but with less
resources. I noticed there is a major effort to
supply local products, but the store doesn’t do
much to highlight them to the consumer.
What strikes me is how the design matches
the product offerings: no frills, simple
ingredients and brands that can be trusted.
And even though the store is limited on space
and doesn’t house much, there are a few rows
dedicated to local bulk items and walls
dedicated to community postings.

11. Oliver’s
Market
Oliver’s is another local
market in the area. This one is
the size of a supermarket, but
also makes the effort to have
a personal feel and segment
itself into at least 6 separate
sections: prepared food/food
to order, beer/wine/liquor,
meat and seafood, health and
beauty, produce, and
packaged items, with experts
ready to help in each
specialty.

12. Oliver’s
cont’d
Oliver’s has done an excellent
job at creating a “feel good”
environment where the
possibilities are endless.
Instantly upon walking in,
classic hits are playing on the
stereo and the employees
appear to be having a great
time. Signs boast that the store
is “employee owned” and
“Sonoma grown”, so I feel that
my grocery needs are in the
right hands.

13. Oliver’s cont’d
The store is designed as a sort of museum of
Sonoma County history, with maps, old photos,
artwork, and large signs that boast “our roots
are in produce” and it makes me feel at home,
both because I want to buy my produce from
experienced distributors and because I
appreciate a good pun.
I’m no expert when it comes to construction,
but I find the flooring, lighting, paint, furnishing,
etc. to be gorgeous and conducive to having a
pleasurable shopping experience. I was also
surprise to discover that this store is over 12
years old, as I found it to be the newest looking
store I visited.

14. Oliver’s
cont’d
Even when it comes off a little
cheesy, it’s comforting to find
a store that takes pride in its
products. I tend to overlook
the informational signs that
are posted along with nearly
every single produce item, but
I appreciate feeling connected
to my food and some
reassurance that the products
were chosen with the
company objective of “Real
Food. Real People.”

15. Trader Joe’s
As someone who makes an
effort to avoid sensory
overload, I am always grateful
when I get to ease my way in
to a Trader Joe’s by browsing
the flower section that serves
as the entryway. This section
is open, bright, and much
quieter and sparse than the
rest of the store.

16. Trader Joe’s cont’d
Trader Joe’s is such a fun and unique place to shop. It’s clear how much the store is geared towards
customer service, with the super fun and friendly staff in their Hawaiian shirts, the “Fearless Flyer”
newspaper they distribute with tips, articles, and illustrations, and the special touch and artwork
that goes into every sign. The factoid and recommendation examples below can be found with
nearly every item for sale.

17. Trader Joe’s
cont’d
A small, but mighty, update I noticed recently is
their switch to compostable produce bags. Trader
Joe’s is such an extremely profitable business that
they have the means to take this step, which is so
important. The bags are also really soft!
Trader Joe’s understands its audience in other
ways. They recognize that they have a cult following
among millennials, especially when it comes to new
and specialty items, so they advertise their
presence on Instagram and their efforts to
constantly provide new novelty products.

18. Final Notes
I recognize that I display a bias when assessing
grocery stores, as my goal is to have a
pleasant experience and feel good about my
purchases, while others may be more focused
on pricing, product availability, accessibility,
etc.
In this assignment I’ve found that the small
details are what can encourage a following to
develop, and loyalty is one of the most
important goals a brand can strive for.