Case Study Food Lion Vs Farm Fresh

In my grocery store observation I chose to examine Food Lion, located 11712 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA and Farm Fresh, located at 11712 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA. In my analysis of both stores I observed them on the same day with in the same hour. In this audit I will compare and contrast and give my personal recommendation to which store deserves your business.
In comparing both stores I found very few similarities other then both sale groceries at reasonable prices. Both stores had adequate staff working at the registers and staff to stock produce. Each store had numerous registers open for quick checkout. That is where the similarities end.
In my audit I had two methods of evaluating both stores, the first was comparing prices of the same generic items and the next method was
Farm fresh was cheaper in all categories except the lettuce, food lion offered it at 1.19 (only with an MVP card, original priced at 1.39). Farm fresh prices are as follows: one gallon whole milk was 3.25, white bread 1.09, dozen eggs 1.32, one pound of hamburger 4.08 compared to food lions: milk 3.75, bread 1.99, eggs 1.58, and hamburger 4.78. The next evaluation system was the grading on a scale of one to five, five being the highest. The categories that I felt that are the most important to customers are Cleanliness, Customer Service, Layout and Displays, and Diversity of Selection. The first category was Cleanliness; food lion received a 3 where farm fresh got a five. My experience started from the parking lot and then the store. I found numerous trash on the inside and fast food wrappings outside; also there were a lot of carts throughout Food Lions the parking lot. Farm Fresh was very clean and no carts where outside. The next category was Customer Service; Food Lion received a 3 where Farm Fresh received a 5. Immediately as I walked in to Farm Fresh I was greeted and