The one thing that Hy-Vee and others are probably struggling with is the pace of change. For their whole history, Hy-Vee's main competitors were other grocery stores. Your options 10 years ago in the metro were mostly Hy-Vee, Dahls, and Fareway.
Now you have
Costco
Wal-Mart is finally a grocery option and also delivery
Target is finally a grocery option and also delivery
Amazon=Will soon have grocery delivery
Trader Joes
Aldi's=People are now considering this an option
Whole Foods
KwikTrip=Not all your groceries but cheap options for things like butter, milk, bread ext.
My wife is a loyal Hy-Vee shopper and has used the delivery service since day one. She constantly has issues with them missing items, not crediting her fuel saver, etc. She has tried Target delivery (actually pick-up) and she said they kill Hy-Vee when it comes to customer service.
I don't know much about Fareway but I do know that I like that Hy-Vee is willing to try new things. When I walk into most Fareway's, it's like stepping back 50 years ago. I will sometimes go there for meat but the rest of the store is depressing. If I want to be depressed, I'd rather go to Aldi's and pay less. As a car guy, it's kind of like this:
Hy-Vee=Lexus
Fareway=Toyota
Aldi=2013 Toyota Corolla
Whole Foods=Mercedes S Class
Amazon=Tesla
Wal-Mart=Nissan Leaf
Costco=Mazda CX-5
Price Chopper=Nissan Altima
Aldi's doesn't have to worry about Amazon and Whole foods because very few people cross shop a new Mercedes and a used Corolla.
Hy-Vee is still reliable and people have always paid a little more for the luxury. Except now for the same price you can buy a Tesla. With the Tesla, you may lose some of the luxury but customers are realizing that the Tesla is better in a lot of other aspects.
Fareway has always gotten away with "The ES and the Camry are basically the same car". Not sure how well this will work in the future. Do they stick with the gas engine, move to a hybrid, or go full electric? Do they just keep producing the same thing until this demographic dies out?
Price Chopper=Altima trying to compete against better sedans in an already dying market.
Costco=Sedans are dying and everyone is buying mid size SUV's and ours is the best in the segment.
Amazon believes that grocery stores are a thing of the past and the future is delivery.
Now you have
Costco
Wal-Mart is finally a grocery option and also delivery
Target is finally a grocery option and also delivery
Amazon=Will soon have grocery delivery
Trader Joes
Aldi's=People are now considering this an option
Whole Foods
KwikTrip=Not all your groceries but cheap options for things like butter, milk, bread ext.
My wife is a loyal Hy-Vee shopper and has used the delivery service since day one. She constantly has issues with them missing items, not crediting her fuel saver, etc. She has tried Target delivery (actually pick-up) and she said they kill Hy-Vee when it comes to customer service.
I don't know much about Fareway but I do know that I like that Hy-Vee is willing to try new things. When I walk into most Fareway's, it's like stepping back 50 years ago. I will sometimes go there for meat but the rest of the store is depressing. If I want to be depressed, I'd rather go to Aldi's and pay less. As a car guy, it's kind of like this:
Hy-Vee=Lexus
Fareway=Toyota
Aldi=2013 Toyota Corolla
Whole Foods=Mercedes S Class
Amazon=Tesla
Wal-Mart=Nissan Leaf
Costco=Mazda CX-5
Price Chopper=Nissan Altima
Aldi's doesn't have to worry about Amazon and Whole foods because very few people cross shop a new Mercedes and a used Corolla.
Hy-Vee is still reliable and people have always paid a little more for the luxury. Except now for the same price you can buy a Tesla. With the Tesla, you may lose some of the luxury but customers are realizing that the Tesla is better in a lot of other aspects.
Fareway has always gotten away with "The ES and the Camry are basically the same car". Not sure how well this will work in the future. Do they stick with the gas engine, move to a hybrid, or go full electric? Do they just keep producing the same thing until this demographic dies out?
Price Chopper=Altima trying to compete against better sedans in an already dying market.
Costco=Sedans are dying and everyone is buying mid size SUV's and ours is the best in the segment.
Amazon believes that grocery stores are a thing of the past and the future is delivery.
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