The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket

by Benjamin Lorr

The produce is hit-or-miss: This is probably the number one question I got while writing this book: Why is the produce at Trader Joe’s so shoddy when everything else there is so great? Without commenting on the latter portion of the question, my guess on the former is that it’s entirely intentional. In grocery, perishables are sold in tiers that reflect freshness. The shorter the shelf life, the cheaper it is. Traditional retailers won’t touch “short code” perishables; they will literally rot on their shelves. But by maximizing in-store turnover, i.e., the speed they flip their inventory, TJ’s can load up on it and offer unmatchable prices in the process. If it all goes well, the customer experience is flawless. Of course, even minor hiccups, and the short code stuff gets uneven quick. This emphasis on turnover also completes a largely hidden design feature of the chain: the crowded stores, the massive lines, the shelves that look ransacked in a pre-snowstorm, postapocalyptic manner at the end of an ordinary day, the extreme attention to demographics, even the stinginess of not opening a new store in an area that is begging for one, all begin to make sense. To function properly, a Trader Joe’s depends on extreme turnover: a base of shoppers intent on flooding its stores and devouring its entire inventory daily.