etoleb123 t1_ja82y2o wrote on February 27, 2023 at 3:26 PM

Reply to comment by the_original_Retro in ELI5: why do grocery stores in the US keep such a large inventory? Aside from being prepared for episodic panic buying like toilet paper or bottled water, is there an economic reason to do this? How much of the food ends up going bad? by DrEverythingBAlright

And that’s just one of the “loss leaders”, where you lose $ on some products to get customers who will make you money elsewhere. Years ago (may not still be true) a buddy who was a VP at Walmart said they lose their shirts on bananas. They want theirs to be the greenest bananas out there so that people associate their food with freshness.