UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 1044 i 



Contribution from the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates "^^uTa f»i 

 ^■\J^^I?t. H. C. TAYLOR, Chief ^^''^^U 



Washington, D. C. V April 19, 1922 



SELF-SERVICE IN THE RETAILING OF FOOD 



PRODUCTS, 



By F. E. Chaffee,- formerly Investigator in City Marketing, and McFall 

 Kerbey, Assistant, Bureau of Markets. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Introduction 1 



Self-service 2 



Advantages and disadvantages of 



self-service 4 



Page. 



Problems in self-sei'vice 14 



Handling- perishable farm products. 35 



Accounting 49 



Summary of investigations 39 



INTRODUCTION. 



The cost of distribution plays an important part in the final cost 

 of food to the consumer. Under the methods that have been in com- 

 mon use for generations in the United States this cost is now very 

 high. It has been estimated ^ that of the price paid by the consumer 

 for perishable farm products used for food, from 25 to 75 per cent 

 commonly goes to pay the cost of distribution — that is, the cost and 

 profits of handling after the products leave the hands of the producer. 

 In the case of certain products and certain distributing agencies the 

 proportion of the final price which goes to pay distribution costs is 

 even greater than 75 per cent. 



Of the cost of distributing food products, the cost of the final step, 

 retailing, is of major importance, since that single step, on the aver- 

 age, approximates the cost of all the preceding distribution steps 

 together. There are many good reasons for this, but we are led to the 

 conclusion that one of the most urgent points at which to attack the 

 high cost of living is through the group of agencies concerned with 

 the retailing of foods. 



Several recent developments in the distribution field have had a 

 tendency to reduce the cost of retailing. Such developments are par- 



1 Weld, L. H. D., Studies in Marketing of Farm Products, p. 7. 



78619°— 22 1 1 



