8/7/26
grocery store gripes
Grocery stores are doing me dirty, and they're about to be put on blast.
i. carrots
One of my most frequent purchases is baby carrots. For me, their star quality is the crunch, and their subtle flavor complements almost any meal. An additional bonus for me is that they slow my almond consumption. If it weren't for carrots, I would be going through a bag of almonds in just a few days. But throwing some carrots into the mix allows me to ration my almond supply for about a month.
The main issue with grocery store carrots is the bag is sopping wet on the inside. Especially after a couple days in the fridge, it's hard to miss the pool of tinted juice that's collected at the bottom. I have no doubt that some of this water is naturally bleeding from the carrots themselves. But I also think the carrots are being over-wet during packaging to extend how long they appear fresh. Stores are paranoid over carrot blush because they believe it lowers sales and contributes to wasted produce. While I don't disagree with this, I would much rather have the occasional dry carrot than deal with a bag full of slimy ones!
ii. checkout
Self checkout is a beautiful thing. The lines move faster, and I don't have to feel weird about someone else bagging my groceries. The issue is the surface area of the scale is too small, so I have to play Tetris to fit all items in my tote bag. And sometimes my Tetris tower shifts, which raises an alarm and halts my progress with the message "Help is on the way." Then, I have to stand there uncomfortably as someone comes over to watch the instant replay, and for some reason I feel guilty even though I did nothing wrong!
iii. carts
Finally, there is the issue with shopping carts. Grocery stores have too many full-size carts meant for a family of 4. If a store does have mini carts, they are often unavailable because so many people are using them! I'm sure the imbalance is intended to force people to use bigger baskets and encourage more purchase volume, but then why have the smaller carts at all?
iv. addendum
What does the future of grocery shopping look like? I can't imagine it being anything other than a fully automated curbside pickup. Existing stores will be repurposed into warehouses stocked with pallets and managed by transfer robots. Customers will have to order everything online ahead of time because they won't be allowed inside the store. Some niche stores will still offer in-store shopping as a novelty experience, but they will come at a higher cost. The experience itself will become a commodity - similar to visiting a museum.