1The Quick Trip: Eighty Percent of Shopper Time Is Wasted

“I am the world’s worst salesman; therefore I must make it easy for people to buy.”

—Frank W. Woolworth

In the fall of 2008, Wal-Mart launched a set of small stores in Phoenix, Arizona.1 With the arrival of these “Marketside” stores, it was clear that even the king of the mega-store was beginning to think small. The move was apparently in response to the arrival of UK retailer Tesco, which had come to the United States with its “Fresh & Easy” small-format stores. Tesco opened dozens of the stores in Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California. Safeway, Jewel-Osco, and many others are downsizing stores in an attempt to upsize profits. Retailers such as Trader Joe’s and other specialty stores ...

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