Why Supermarkets provides an alternative shopping mall

A supermarket is a large form of the traditional grocery store and a self service shop offering a wide variety of food and household products, organized into aisles. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than normal traditional shops selling consumer goods people used to buy. In Tanzania, since the adoption of trade liberalization policy in 1985, there has never been establishments of supermarkets until in early 2002 that the country witnessed mushrooming of supermarkets in various parts in the country mostly in cities and in big towns.  Unlike before, during the era of socialism policy, such investments were not allowed to take effect owing to political ideological barriers under which the socialist state regarded their establishments as in support of the capitalist market economy.  In other words, supermarkets have never been seen operating ever since the country attained its independence in 1961, and were first introduced in early 2002. Up to now, Dar es Salaam city is leading by having many supermarkets in the country. The mushrooming of supermarkets in the country which began to emerge a decade ago has been providing an alternative option to shoppers who in one way or another have been buying home products of various design quality and specifications needed for human consumption.  Shoppers have been getting as many goods as they can in regard to their sizes and types needed for the specific need when going shopping. With the introduction of supermarkets people are certain of buying quality products that could cater for their need irrespective of the price tags. However, thanks to the government and its decision for allowing direct foreign investments in the country. Many people think that, when going for shopping at a supermarket, they might get goods selling at a higher price rate just because of the fact that most of them are imported and well packed. But this is not the case and contrary to their imagination as all goods is sold at an affordable price just like others which are sold in normal shops. Supermarkets are highly respected by shoppers around because of the genuine goods sold there and the way products are packed that proves is less substandard. The proof of this is indicated with a specification note of an international standard organization on each imported product and this conforms to their good quality. Contrary to what is seen for the goods sold in other retail traditional selling shops in the country, a shopper might buy a commodity without knowing the country of their origin unless otherwise such commodities are marked, something that is rarely seen. You might ask yourself, is the supermarket a preferred place where you can buy quality goods and nowhere else? To a greater degree of certainty, this is true as most products sold at a supermarket are marked with the dates of their manufacturing and expiry dates. Goods ordered for supermarkets are directed to manufacturers to indicate their manufacturing dates as well as the expiry dates. The reasons behind is to make shoppers become more satisfied by their quality standards to some extent. Choosing a time and place for your food shopping can help you shop smarter as supermarkets are typically comprises of various household goods that range from consumable and non consumables. Because of the availability of such goods, shoppers find it to be a most shopping paradise that can provide all types of commodities they want. Consumable goods are such as canned meat and beans, fresh produce milk, and baked goods and many others like junk food. There are various samples along with shelf space reserved for canned and packaged goods as well as for various non-food items such as household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies.  Most supermarkets also sell a variety of other household products that are consumed regularly, such as alcohol (where permitted), medicine and clothes and some stores sell a much wider range of non-food products. The traditional supermarket occupies a large amount of floor space, usually on a single level. It is usually situated near a residential area in order to be convenient to consumers. The basic appeal is the availability of a broad selection of goods under a single roof, at relatively low prices.  Supermarkets usually allocate large budgets to advertising, typically through newspapers. They also present elaborate in-shop displays of products. The shops are usually part of corporate chains that own or control other supermarkets located nearby. Dar es Salaam city has now become a famous city not only because of the magnificent buildings which have skyscrapers, but the city has changed the life of many shoppers following the mushrooming of shopping supermarkets with the biggest and the leading Mlimani City supermarket which opened its doors in 2006. This is a large full-service supermarket in the country which is combined with a department store. Other services offered at this supermarket may include those of banking, mobile phone customer services, internet cafes and photo processing.  

Shoppers in a supermarket for shopping.

Banks operates even during weekends. Other advantages include ease of parking space that accommodates more than 500 cars at a time. There is also a petrol station which operates throughout 24 hours.  Others which provide an alternative shopping are Imalaseko supermarket which is located in downtown city centre, Shoprite supermarkets at Kariakoo and along Nyerere road are among the few well known in the city. These usually offer products at affordable prices to ordinary people.  The interior designs of most supermarkets have been built to allow free movements of shoppers who visit them and fanny enough is an extremely a very cool place, as you enter the main door you are tuned to a cool music coming from speakers placed strategically against the wall while dragging your feet through aisle which normally are arranged in single file along the corridor. Such an arrangement provides room for shoppers to walk freely while dragging along shopping carts, it also provide them with a chance to fill their carts with choices and maybe get handed a free sample while they shop. Despite the music, shopping in supermarkets is more interesting as shoppers have to choose and pick selected goods from their random positions.  Before you grab a shopping cart and head for the aisles, a shopper need not be in a hurry as they have ample time to make a wide choice of goods they want. You can go to a supermarket almost anytime you want, with the exception of other shopping malls, supermarkets operates for long hours. In Europe, some bigger ones operates throughout 24 hours. The layout of these supermarkets is designed to create a high degree of convenience to shoppers in order to make the shopping experience pleasant. This is done through the character of merchandising and product placement. There are many different ideas and theories in relation to layout and how product layout can influence the purchases made.  One theory suggests that certain products are placed together or near one another that are of a similar or complementary nature to increase the average customer spend. This strategy is used by retailers to create the so-called cross-category sales similarity. In other words, the tooth paste is placed next to or adjacent the tooth brushes and the tea and coffee are down the same isle as the sweet biscuits.  Other effective but simple store layout techniques include the milk and bread located at the rear of the store, forcing shoppers to walk through the isles and hopefully purchase another product. Additionally fruit and vegetables are placed at the front of the store to give the supermarket a fresh and healthy image. There is some debate as to the effectiveness of this tactic. To maintain a profit, supermarkets make up for the lower margins by a higher overall volume of sales, and with the sale of higher-margin items bought by the intended higher volume of shoppers.  Customers usually shop by placing their selected merchandise into shopping carts (trolleys) or baskets (self-service) and pay for the merchandise at the check-out point. At present, many supermarket chains are attempting to further reduce labour costs by shifting to self-service check-out machines, where a single employee can oversee a group of four or five machines at once, assisting multiple customers at a time. Traditional supermarkets in many countries Tanzania included face intense competition as all shoppers have to pay cash to settle their payments for the items selected and packed in trolleys. Details of the items are entered in a machine which later on gives a printout of the receipt to verify the contents purchased. At the counter, there are machines introduced by the Tanzania Revenue Authority ( TRA) the so-called the Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) System implementation first introduced in the country in early 2011 with the aim of targeting non VAT registered Traders. According to the TRA’s commissioner for Internal Revenue Mr. Patrick Kassera the first phase of EFDs covered 13,400 traders out of 16000 which is equivalent to 93 per cent of VAT registered traders. “The second use of EFDs is cascaded to Non VAT registered Traders from March 2013. The Government through the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) introduced Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) in the Finance Act, 2010 to replace electronic cash registers with the main aim of enhancing VAT compliance. Taxpayers are of the view that, the selected suppliers could have been well placed to ensure that all VAT registered persons are well served and EFDs installations would be in order. Major supermarket chains have string or calico bags available for sale. They are sold with announcement of environmental issues in many cases. The ones sold in supermarkets often have designs related to nature, such as prints of trees or that of the earth, in order to emphasize environmental issues. A reusable shopping bag, sometimes called bag for life, is a type of shopping bag which can be reused several times. It is often made from fabric such as canvas, woven synthetic fibers, or a thick plastic that is more durable than disposable plastic bags, allowing multiple uses. Reusable shopping bags are a kind of carrier bags which are available for sale in supermarkets and apparel shops. Reusable shopping bags require more energy to produce than common plastic shopping bags.