Account-Specific Spotlight: Detroit

Motor City markets are big on coupons, but short on some of the services that are standard in other cities. Detroit is the No. 1 market for stores offering double coupons, 95.3 percent. Nearly 90 percent of supermarkets sell lottery tickets, the fifth-highest count in the nation.

But Detroit ranks last in the number of stores with service meat departments, and wall of values sections are very small – next to last in average size for any market. Detroit stores themselves are 13 percent smaller than the national average, and dollar sales are 14 percent lower than the national average. And forget about your P-O-P: Detroit grocers are the least likely to accept manufacturer-supplied materials.

Top players in the market are A&P, whose share rose to 26 percent even as it closed 10 stores, and Kroger, with 70 stores. Foodland Distributors has lost share, now at 25 percent, even though its 109 stores is the biggest network the marketplace.