A handful of multinational names may dominate high street fashion and fast food around the world, but when it comes to grocery shopping, every country has their own chains and their own quirks. While it is not uncommon for the supermarket landscape to be dominated by a few major players, Australia’s duopoly – and the lack of regulatory response – is unusual. Here, reporters in seven countries share the ins and outs of essential shopping in their parts of the world.
France: physical shopping remains on top in a land of hypermarkets
Forget the French cliche of walking through stalls at a tiny outdoor market, a baguette tucked under one arm. Even in the land of fine food and wine, most people are pushing a shopping trolley: two-thirds of French people do their food shopping in hypermarkets or supermarkets.
Hypermarkets are huge, with floor spaces of between 2,500 and 20,000m2. There are seven hypermarket chains, including Leclerc and Cora, alongside 10 supermarkets, six discount chains and 40 smaller convenience chains called supérettes – though all these brands are dominated by eight parent companies.
Although France invented the hypermarket, you wouldn’t know it from a visit to Paris, where hypermarkets are banned in order to protect small local businesses and the beauty of the City of Lights.
While the Covid crisis has led to a significant increase in the proportion of food purchases made online, the French remain very attached to their physical shops, with only 11% of people making weekly online grocery orders.
Consumer prices rose 5.9% year-on-year in April 2023, which led French shoppers to change their behaviour, cut back and focus on price. The need for affordable groceries is well understood by the French government, who recently imposed anti-“greedflation” policies on mass retailers.
French shoppers have high expectations of their grocery stores, expecting their shops to sell local produce, reduce food waste and buy from small producers. The concept of terroir and the importance of regionalism are taken quite seriously.
In 1996 Carrefour launched the Reflets de France brand, dedicated to heritage products from small and medium producers. Leclerc sells under the brand Nos Régions ont du Talent (“our region’s got talent”), which sells more than 500 regional specialities from 170 local producers at a good price; for instance, a camembert de normandie PDO sold under this brand costs €2.55, 30 centimes less than the same type of camembert sold under the Gillot brand.
Perhaps this is why the majority of French people consider everyday shopping “a pleasure”, although this clearly depends on one’s purchasing power.
Japan: a complex system with 300 supermarket chains
Japan’s 48tn yen (A$500bn) grocery market is the fourth-largest globally. A notoriously complex distribution system filled with multiple layers of intermediary companies and wholesalers supplies more than 20,000 supermarkets and grocers, most of which belong to one of more than 300 chains found across the country. In addition, there are approximately 55,000 convenience stores that sell food alongside other products around the clock.
While independent grocery stores do still exist, their numbers are in steady decline, squeezed by bigger outlets and online shopping.
Farmers’ markets can often be found in rural areas and less frequently in big cities. Many are organised by one of the hundreds of JA Agricultural Cooperative Associations that support farmers, regulate prices and form a pillar of the complicated domestic distribution network.
Approximately 40% of Japanese households report doing most of their grocery purchases via a big weekly shop, although online sales now account for around a third of the market.
At the budget end are chains such as OK, which uses the English tagline “Everyday low price”. Centred on the greater Tokyo area, OK has grown from 27 stores at the turn of the millennium to more than 140 today. Meanwhile, department stores – often with food halls known as depa-chika in their basements – along with supermarket chains carrying expensive imported brands occupy the high-end.
But food inflation hit 8.4% in June, compared with a headline rate of 3.3% – a particular shock to Japanese consumers who have barely experienced price rises for more than two decades. This has accelerated trends towards online shopping and discount grocery outlets and away from department stores and other pricier options.
Nevertheless, extremely expensive fruit remains a fixture, with eye-watering prices for the most prized items hitting headlines on a regular basis. Indeed, a pair of yubari melons from Hokkaido sold for a record 3.5m yen (A$36,560) in May, while a bunch of ruby roman grapes went for 1.5 million yen last year, valuing each grape at around 55,000 yen (A$575).
– Gavin Blair
The UK: where you shop is a class signifier, but consumers are switching to save
Meal deals are a cornerstone of UK supermarket chains’ daily trade and a good measure of how they are differentiated. If you were looking for a cheap, no-frills egg-and-cress sandwich, you might head to your nearest Tesco; for a greater range and more flavours, you would go to Marks & Spencer – and pay a couple of quid more.
For nearly 20 years, Tesco has been the biggest of the “big four” UK supermarkets. There’s not necessarily a huge difference in price between them; where you choose to shop is most likely determined by proximity or convenience and product range.
But, as with everything in the UK (specifically England), where you get your groceries is a key signifier of class. Tesco and Sainsbury’s are middle-class, a whisker above Iceland, Asda and Morrisons, while Waitrose, M&S and the online supermarket Ocado are slightly upper-middle – with elevated prices to match. Most households tend to have one chain they favour for the weekly “big shop” (often done by online delivery), supplemented by trips to independent grocers, market stalls and the like for items that are harder to find, higher in quality or simply preferred.
In the past year, however, people in every income bracket have had to review their habits; in two years, food prices have increased 25%, with notable jumps in essentials such as milk, cheese and eggs and even supermarket home brands.
In response, many shoppers have switched to lower-cost alternatives such as Aldi and Lidl, which first lured shoppers during the 2008 financial crisis. Now, as then, people are looking to make savings wherever they can. In November, one in six Britons said that they had switched their “main supermarket” specifically because of the cost-of-living crisis.
Again, the meal deal is a good indicator of current economic pressures. According to the BBC, the average cost at five of the biggest retailers has gone up by more than a fifth (21%) since 2021 – making it less of a deal than ever.
– Elle Hunt
South Korea: prices are rising, but convenience is key
South Korea’s grocery shopping culture is a blend of traditional and modern, online and offline, and more frequent, smaller shops. E-Mart, Lotte Mart, and Homeplus are major supermarkets, but local marts and independent stores generate nearly twice the revenue of the larger players combined.
Traditional markets are popular destinations for budget-friendly fresh produce, meat and seafood. On the other end of the spectrum, premium produce and imported gourmet items can often be found in the basement food halls of major department stores.
Convenience stores dot almost every street corner and outrank supermarkets in market share. True to their name, they are convenient stops for quick and last-minute essentials and – increasingly – for premium products.
Online platforms have revolutionised grocery shopping, growing by 30% in the past five years. Coupang offers almost every retail product within 24 hours nationwide, but also allows customers in major cities to place fresh grocery orders by midnight, delivered to their doorstep by 7am. Market Kurly offers a similar service for more premium goods.
Supermarket chains also provide home delivery, while major e-commerce platforms, including Naver and Gmarket, allow smaller stores to easily sell products and deliver quickly, often overnight. The country’s small size and efficient logistics networks are key to this.
Despite overall inflation dropping, food prices remain high (including on essentials like instant noodles) leading to more frequent price comparisons, cuts on unnecessary spending and bulk purchasing. The government has asked different manufacturers like millers and instant noodle manufacturers to lower their prices. Although this has been criticised for over-meddling with the market, milk is expected to be next.
– Raphael Rashid
Canada: consumers growing wise to a ‘cosy oligopoly’
Canadians have developed a sceptical attitude towards grocery shopping in recent years after accusations that the largest chains are profiteering amid a cost-of-living crisis, leaving a growing number of people struggling to afford food.
On average, Canadians visit grocery stores roughly five times a month, with most travelling to supermarkets close to home. In cities and towns where they exist, co-operatives remain a popular option, promising perks and lower costs for members. But despite the presence of independent brands scattered across the country, the industry is largely controlled by three companies. Between them they own nearly 60 brands – including the few low-cost shopping options.
A federal government report earlier this year found that Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro reported more than C$100bn in sales and earned more than C$3.6bn in profits and that it was “more difficult than ever for [new] businesses to enter, expand, and compete effectively”.
The result for Canadians, it found, was rising costs for basic items.
Canada’s grocery business is a “cozy oligopoly” says Jim Stanford, an economist and director of the Centre for Future Work. “Explicitly or implicitly, the three big chains that dominate the industry in Canada cooperate all the time – not just on setting consumer prices, but in setting prices for suppliers and access for suppliers, and of course, setting wages for workers.”
In 2018, the country’s competition bureau found grocers and bread companies colluded to fix prices, resulting in millions in fines. Last month, Canada Bread pleaded guilty to four counts of price fixing and was fined C$50m – the largest-ever penalty of its kind in Canada.
The country’s three major grocery chains (two of which are controlled by billionaire families) also provoked anger in 2020 when they pledged to offer frontline workers a “hero’s pay” raise during the coronavirus pandemic – only to end the program just a few months later.
– Leyland Cecco
Taiwan: morning wet markets still offer the best bargains
Taiwanese homes, particularly in apartment-dominated cities where people can eat out cheaply, have small kitchens. It means the 70% of people in urban areas tend to shop frequently for smaller amounts. A 2020 report by the European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan said the average Taiwanese consumer shopped in more than 10 different channels a year, but are increasingly choosing more convenient one-stop shops.
About half a dozen supermarket chains have about 2,400 storefronts across Taiwan. There are also 14 Costcos and about 12,000 convenience stores which have limited groceries but are great for life admin, like paying bills and picking up mail.
The supermarkets are dominated by Taiwanese chain PX Mart, but French giant Carrefour has a growing presence with recent buyouts of smaller competitors. If people want international goods like French cheese or Japanese fruit, they will go to a couple of more expensive foreign retailers. Grocery shopping through delivery apps is rising, boosted by the pandemic.
But traditional morning wet markets remain a major part of Taiwan’s grocery habits. Every morning, crowds of mostly elderly people and housewives navigate laneway stalls for fresh produce, meat, fish, premade side dishes, tofu, handmade noodles and local snacks.
The markets are crowded and chaotic, and there is strong loyalty between customers and sellers.
“My mum’s fishmonger is in a [social media] Line group and he’ll be sharing his morning catch when he’s setting up,” says Kathy Cheng, a Taiwanese-Australian writer living in Taipei. “My mum is like, ‘I had to race down there today because I saw he had a specific type of fish that I wanted’.”
Taiwan’s markets are vulnerable to outside factors like pandemic shipping delays or droughts and typhoons destroying local crops. Inflation has seen increases above 20% for some items in recent years, affecting basics like rice and noodles. And rising costs of feed, coinciding with avian flu outbreaks were also blamed for recent nationwide egg shortages.
Local consumers care about where their food has come from, too. Taiwan does not have the land for major livestock industries, and restaurants will prominently advertise if they are using Australian beef or New Zealand lamb.
It can get political. Fights have broken out in parliament over the prospect of importing US pork, and when the antagonistic government of their neighbour, China, suddenly bans imports from Taiwan, residents will stock up on the local produce – for instance, “freedom pineapples”.
– Helen Davidson
Sweden: regulators put oligopoly on watch
On the surface, one might suspect that the Swedes are spoilt for choice when it comes to supermarkets. There are five major “names” – ICA, Coop, Hemköp, Willy’s and Lidl – but the grocery landscape is far from a healthy-competition utopia. Just three players – ICA, Coop and Axfood – control over 70% of the market.
Other avenues for grocery buying include specialty food stores, convenience stores and online grocers, but they are more expensive than mainstream supermarkets. There are only a handful of independent grocers, occupying no more than 5% of the market.
Cost and convenience have fuelled the popularity of mainstream supermarkets. Own-brand (“generic”) products are especially popular, evidencing the no-frills mentality shared by many Swedes. The term Jantelagen – the Law of Jante – is comparable to “tall poppy syndrome”, and the reason many Swedish people are generally reluctant to flaunt their wealth.
Sweden’s grocery sector has come under heavy scrutiny in the wake of high economic inflation. Between February 2022 and February 2023, food prices rose 21%. The Swedish Competition Authority has launched an investigation into the soaring prices, describing the grocery sector as an oligopolistic market.
Some consumers have turned away from the three major chains, opting instead to do their shopping at Lidl (an Aldi-like retailer with around 3% market share). And the number of people turning to “social supermarkets” – which provide low-cost food to means-tested customers – is rising.
Generally speaking, Swedes are a practical cohort. Shopping is mostly seen as a chore, but not a dreaded one. More often than not, the nearest supermarket is the one that wins.
City dwellers tend to shop frequently, if not daily, while those living further from supermarkets will more likely do a weekly shop. The ritual, popular among families, even has a name: veckohandla.
Another ubiquitous ritual is lördagsgodis, which foreigners in Sweden eventually decipher as: “an assortment of lollies collected from the supermarket pick-n-mix stand specifically on a Saturday”.
