Rating: 
Summary: A good introduction and survey of the world's largest market
Review: As someone who has spent 30+ years living in the world that the authors describe, I found it a good outline of how the grocery business works - from a marketing point of view. The primary value of the book is in the breadth of its coverage, its readability and shortness. I have personally purchased at least a dozen copies to pass on as orientation material for my senior staff who may benefit from more of a big picture of the world they are working in, as well as specialized consultants for our firm that need to understand our milieu. None of these people would read the longer, more comprehensive tomes. So this book fills an urgent need for some of us practitioners.
Rating:
Summary: A good introduction and survey of the world's largest market
Review: As someone who has spent 30+ years living in the world that the authors describe, I found it a good outline of how the grocery business works - from a marketing point of view. The primary value of the book is in the breadth of its coverage, its readability and shortness. I have personally purchased at least a dozen copies to pass on as orientation material for my senior staff who may benefit from more of a big picture of the world they are working in, as well as specialized consultants for our firm that need to understand our milieu. None of these people would read the longer, more comprehensive tomes. So this book fills an urgent need for some of us practitioners.
Rating: 
Summary: Light weight
Review: Barbara Kahn is a marketing professor at Wharton but I hear only because her husband Robert J. Meyer is also a chaired marketing professor in the same department. She wrote a "quantitative" dissertation for her PhD but Kahn actually is a touchy-feely behaviorist who works on variety-seeking behavior, a very trivial topic in marketing ignored by all serious researchers. She knows nothing about quantification by her own admission. She also says her dissertation was written entirely by her supervisor and not by her, my Wharton friends tell me. This background, or rather, the lack of any background, is reflected in her book. The book falls seriously short of its promise and reads like an alphabetical soup. Don't waste your money on this book when there are much better books available on amazon.com. Better still don't waste your time on this book. It's an IQ-reducer and will leave you dumber and more confused.
Rating:
Summary: I Wish There Were More Books Like This!
Review: Excellent book! A must read for anyone in the consumer packaged goods industry! I wish the authors would write something about trade marketing! If you are in packaged goods, read this book!
Rating:
Summary: I Wish There Were More Books Like This!
Review: Excellent book! A must read for anyone in the consumer packaged goods industry! I wish the authors would write something about trade marketing! If you are in packaged goods, read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: comprehensive view of marketing in the grocery business
Review: First off, let me state that this is by no means a book meant for light reading. It was assigned to me as part of Professor Kahn's (the author) Introduction to Marketing lecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Although not the primary text used in class, the Grocery Revolution provides a comprehensive view of the grocery business. It thoroughly discussed the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion). Although the book covers everything very well, it tends to become very repetitive, with the same examples cited over and over. Also, there is a huge presence of numbers and percentages from various studies that become overwhelming after a while. The book, however, does provide a very good view of the whole marketing mix in one industry. It is a good book to use as an example for a concrete view of the basic marketing concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Light weight
Review: Hi. I read some of the book when I took Professor Kahn's Mktg 101 class. (for those of you in the class, not much was on the test about this book). Anyway, although it was recommended for "Anyone who shops" I shop practically everyday and grew up shopping often at grocery stores, but did not find the book to be a good read. I consider myself relatively well educated in business related literature as I took the class during my senior year at Penn's Wharton school. There seemed to be too much academic information which distracted me from enjoying the book and getting a lot our of it. For people on Prof. Kahn's level of marketing expertise this book is likely to be very useful, but it is not as useful to undergrads in Marketing 101 or to the general population.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent overview of the grocery industry
Review: This book covers the current grocery industry from beginning to end. It's ideal for those just entering the business i.e. brand managers, promotion managers, etc. Major retailers, wholesalers are examined in detail. Descriptions concerning popular formats, distribution channels, promotion techniques....you name it....it's here. An excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent overview of trends in the grocery industry.
Review: This book is an outstanding resource for anyone involved in sales or marketing of grocery products. It begins with an overview of recent events that have shaped the grocery industry, and includes implications for future competition. The extensive section on consumer trends and behaviour is well-researched and easy-to-read. The list of reference resources (including research papers and news articles) is impressive.
Rating:
Summary: Insights into consumer behavior and industry responses
Review: This book is divided into two parts, one on the state of the industry, and one on consumer behavior. In the first part, the authors do an in-depth analysis of the changes in the retail industry (the move towards discounting, the responses of small grocery retailers to Wal-Mart-style companies, the changes undergoing the supply chain of suppliers to the grocery industry, etc). In the second part, they delve into the available research on consumer behavior, dealing with issues such as store layout and comfort (smells, colors, space, etc). A very solid book, very dense with information.
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