EXPENSE FACTORS IN CITY DISTRIBUTION OF PERISHABLES 29 
tion his expense among the individual sales as to yield him a living 
above the cost of the goods he sells and the distribution expense which 
he undergoes. The great number of conveniences given to the con- 
sumer under present methods of city distribution must be paid for 
by the spread between cost of the retailer's goods and their selling 
price. Maintenance of a continuous, well-selected stock, readily 
accessible in wide variety at all times, and the splitting up of this 
stock into small portions to meet the day-to-day needs of consumers 
in the immediate neighborhood require a large outlay by the retailer 
for the services involved. The expense occasioned in rendering these 
services is influenced by the number of separate transactions required 
to dispose of a given quantity of goods rather than by the gross 
volume of goods sold. Prices to consumers are therefore established 
at a point that will assure a fairly uniform money surplus on each 
individual transaction. The retailer has to adjust his price policy 
to the prevailing buying habits of his customers. Retail prices are 
thus scaled to accord with consumers' predominating practice of 
making many oft-repeated small purchases. 
This analysis shows further that the special services involved in 
delivery of goods and in extension of credit require a material addition 
to the consumer's food outlay. Stores which operate on a cash-and- 
carry basis are able to sell goods at considerably lower prices than 
those which operate with a ere dit-and-deli very policy. Although 
many consumers doubtless find the convenience of the credit-and- 
delivery store well worth the added expense, those to whom economy 
is the first consideration may enjoy a material saving by buying from 
stores whose prices are based upon a cash-and-carry policy. 
' A third significant factor in the expense of distributing fruits and 
vegetables is the form of organization or management of the retail 
store. The standardized operation of chain stores, centralized pur- 
chase of supplies in large quantities, and sale of goods on a cash-and- 
carry basis give this form of management distinct advantage in 
economy of distribution. Demonstration of the saving in distribution 
expense by the chain-store method points to this form of organization 
as a practical means for reducing prices of goods to city consumers. 
Offsetting the economy of the chain form of operation, distinct 
advantages are offered by the independently operated neighborhood 
unit store. The personal atmosphere of the independent store, its 
readiness to serve the preferences of individual customers, and the gen- 
erally greater variety and wider choice of qualities give the neighbor- 
hood unit store a strong hold upon its local clientele. As with the 
option regarding special credit-and-delivery service, the preference 
between chain store and unit store is a matter of relative emphasis 
upon economy or convenience. One portion of the consuming public 
prefers the fuller advantages of the neighborhood unit store with its 
higher prices, whereas another portion prefers to dispense with these 
advantages for the economy of lower prices prevailing in chain stores. 
Of the consumer's outlay for fruits and vegetables, these studies 
show that from one-third to more than three-fifths is absorbed by 
distribution expense after arrival of goods in the city wholesale market. 
Such a portion is required to cover the expense of various services that 
inhere in the prevailing methods of city distribution. With all refine- 
ments that are possible for reducing service requirements, the task of 
meeting the daily food demands of large city populations remains 
