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Milk, Bread, Eggs And Gifts

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 5, 2007

By DAVE SIMANOFF The Tampa Tribune

You need toys. You need hostess gifts. You need electronic gadgets and a wad of gift cards.

Why not pick them up at the grocery store?

With Christmas approaching, and Hanukkah just a few days away, supermarkets are eager to cater to harried holiday shoppers' needs - and to claim an increased share of holiday shoppers' dollars.

What's on the shelves? Head to two of the Tampa area's biggest grocery chains - Publix and Tampa-based Sweetbay Supermarkets - where a small selection of toys, decorations, holiday-themed serving dishes and other gift items are offered.

Of course, this isn't the first time that grocery stores have trotted out special merchandise for the holidays. For years, grocery stores have been working to change their image from food stores to places that can meet a variety of shoppers' needs, according to Mindy McBain, associate editor of the Shelby Report, a trade publication that follows the supermarket industry.

"It's a shopper's environment now - that's good for the shopper, but challenging for the retailer," she said. The supermarket's goal is to give shoppers "more of an opportunity to keep them shopping there."

Another major grocery player in the Tampa Bay area is Wal-Mart Stores, which doesn't need to tuck toys or gifts into its grocery aisles: Its Wal-Mart Supercenter locations combine a supermarket and department store under one roof.

The supermarkets also offer customers a variety of gift cards for a variety of different retailers, restaurants and services. Reid said Publix has increased the number of gift cards it is offering for the holidays and moving the cards to a more prominent location.
Publix collects a fee for each gift card it sells.

Brenda Reid, a media and community relations manager for Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets, said the fees are very small, but she could not disclose the exact amounts because they are proprietary information. Publix carries the gift cards because they are popular and convenient for customers, she said.

"It's all about making shopping a little easier for our customers," said Reid. "We know that time is very valuable to our customers, and we are always looking for ways to improve the shopping experience."

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