Company Blog

Pay A Little More

by Adam Zack — June 29, 2022

“People pay exactly what they feel a product is worth.”

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett

I know a grocery manager/buyer who, when he looks at new items, has a great sense of pricing. Sensing the uniqueness of the product, the special attributes it might have (organic, gluten free, hard to find, etc) he would often say to me when he was deciding what to price the items at “It’s organic, so people are willing to pay a little more.” The way he said it always made me laugh, and I realized that he was (and still is) absolutely right. People pay exactly what they feel a product is worth. Its worth can be influenced by quality, convenience, consistency, eye appeal and much more. Yesterday I was at an appointment away from the grocery store I own and a woman came up to me and told me how much she absolutely loves my store, and how great the employees and selection and quality are. She told me how she will drive past other stores to get to ours, and how when we first opened in 2016 she wondered if the local, tight knit community would support a store that is service and quality focused (as opposed to low price)? We stuck to our vision and mission, bringing unique products, consistently friendly service and high quality products at what we consider a value for what we deliver. Many stores promote themselves through marketing that just does not reflect what they strive to provide to their customers. They take the least expensive option to theoretically save money. “Free” ad design, amateur eblasts, inconsistent signage and messaging all detract from the value you strive to deliver. Great retailers reflect their vision consistently in everything they do.