Increasingly stores offer services beyond groceries: for example, banking, post offices, alcohol sales, clothing.
Supermarket brands have become multinational brands operating in many countries. This has led to criticism of supermarkets as a business model. Their interactions with suppliers, the necessity to have additional packaging as well as their food waste from their product distribution models can be questioned from environmental and ethical standpoints.
In supermarkets, we find lots of regional variety and differences. Many of us know the feeling of 'exploring' a supermarket in a foreign country - finding new products and brands we’ve never seen before. And also discovering familiar similarities - brands sold across several European countries.