AMHERST, N.Y. -- Wegmans, Tops and Dash's — the big three when it comes to grocery shopping in Western New York. But now, some new players are trying to carve out their piece of the supermarket pie. In recent years, stores like Trader Joes and Feel Rite have opened in the region with hopes of building a loyal customer base.
"Although there's a lot going on right now and a lot of changes going on in the super market industry, I think it's important to keep in mind it's a very big industry; we're talking in 2016, $700 billion. So, there's a lot of room for many players," said UB Marketing Professor Charles Lindsey.
He says with the explosion of new food stores, the key to success is finding your customer.
"Different chains have different target markets, they have different segments, they have different customer bases that they're appealing to," said Lindsey.
Perhaps the biggest game changer of them all could be the Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods. That could mean more foods delivering groceries to your front door.
"That's the big one. I think when you not only thing about Whole Foods coming here but also Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods, with Amazon's history and its expertise in global logistics, supply chain management, online e-tailing, I think that it's going to really open up things in terms of delivery, and the so-called 'pick and click' model where you can order it online and you can pick it up in the stores," said Lindsey.
And as new stores find their niche customer, Lindsey says the store that could find themselves struggling to survive could be those that don't shift to meet the changing customer's needs.
"The data clearly points to the leaders of the future offering both channels, both modalities of purchasing. Both brick and mortar and online, and each of them feeding off one another, and creating synergies for the consumer," said Lindsey.