One-Day Sales Boost Traffic at Thriftway

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

SEATTLE — When customers at West Seattle Thriftway here began seeking out more bargains, owner Paul Kapioski decided it was time to begin running monthly 12-hour sales.

Kapioski's store is a 32,000-square-foot market with an upscale product mix that serves customers across the income spectrum, he told SN.

“We're located between waterfront homes worth millions of dollars on one side and subsidized housing on the other,” he pointed out, “but what we've found is, regardless of their income level, people like great products, and if you educate them about food and nutrition, they'll be willing to spend a little more.

“Although customers are being a little more careful about how they shop because of the economy, they're still looking for value for their food dollar, and that's what we offer. If they buy a product for $2 that's not any good and they have to throw it out, they're better off paying $2.50 for something they will enjoy.”

That approach has worked for Kapioski for more than 10 years, since he began adding more organic, natural and specialty items, and stressing value over price, he said.

But when he noticed customers hunting for more bargains late last year — “the only sign that maybe the economy was having some impact on us,” Kapioski said — he began running 12-hour sales once a month, with each sale focusing on a single category, “though we also merchandise around that category with additional vendor buys, so we make it a very attractive time to shop,” he explained.

Sales usually increase 10% to 15% the day of each sale, Kapioski said.

Though the sales are advertised as lasting for just 12 hours, “which sounds good for an ad, we offer the sale prices from the time we open at 5 a.m. until we close at midnight,” he explained.

The 12-hour sales usually run on a Friday. Asked whether they might be more effective on a slower day of the week, Kapioski said, “There are no slow days.”

All fresh meat at the store is organic or natural, 35% of produce is organic, “and there's a mix of natural and specialty items integrated throughout the aisles,” Kapioski said.

Customers are not complaining about higher prices, he noted, “because the media has done so much coverage that they understand why prices are up and they are simply resigned to paying more.”

Although the store carries some Western Family private-label items, “it's less than the average supermarket carries,” Kapioski said. “We don't focus on it, and we don't sell a lot of it.”

He said he believes consumers are eating out less, “because that's what they tell us, and we believe it's helping our business because our volume is up.”