Local Grocery Stores find Edge against National Chains

🧪 Method Snapshot – Sentiment Extraction

Phase	What We Did
Collect	Pulled posts from neighborhood Facebook groups, Google reviews, and the city subreddit (r/OurTown) using phrases like “Market A produce”, “Market B parking”, “Market C prices”.
Classify	Tagged each comment Positive / Negative / Neutral.
Label	Issue tags: Produce Freshness, Checkout Speed, Parking, Prices, Staff Helpfulness, Store Cleanliness.
Compile	Saved: Source URL · Comment · Sentiment · Tag · Store.
Aggregate	Counted issue frequency, highlighted top complaints per store.

📋 Sample Dataset (10 illustrative rows)

Source URL	Store	Comment	Sentiment	Tag(s)
fb.com/group/ourhood/aaa111	A	“Great baguettes but the lettuce was wilted.”	Negative	Produce Freshness
google.com/review/bbb222	B	“Cashiers are quick—never wait more than 5 min.”	Positive	Checkout Speed
reddit.com/r/OurTown/ccc333	C	“Parking lot stripes faded; tight spots.”	Negative	Parking
google.com/review/ddd444	A	“Prices fair for a small store.”	Positive	Prices
fb.com/group/ourhood/eee555	B	“Store smelled like spoiled fish yesterday.”	Negative	Store Cleanliness
reddit.com/r/OurTown/fff666	C	“Staff helped me find gluten-free items—super nice.”	Positive	Staff Helpfulness
google.com/review/ggg777	A	“Fresh berries moldy next day.”	Negative	Produce Freshness
fb.com/group/ourhood/hhh888	B	“Self-checkout froze twice—manager had to reset.”	Negative	Checkout Speed
reddit.com/r/OurTown/iii999	C	“Surprised how cheap their local honey is.”	Positive	Prices
google.com/review/jjj000	A	“Aisles cramped but clean.”	Neutral	Store Layout / Cleanliness

🔍 Insight (focus on Market A)

• Produce freshness drives 54 % of Market A’s negative mentions.

• Complaints spike on Mondays—likely fallout from lighter Sunday deliveries.

  
  

🛠 Actions Market A Took

1. Adjusted ordering – added Sunday-night produce delivery.

2. “Picked-Today” bins – end-caps labeled with harvest date.

3. In-store signage – simple produce-storage tips near leafy greens.

   
   
   
   

📊 45-Day Outcomes (modest)

KPI	Before	After	Change
Avg. weekly freshness complaints (all channels)	18	13	−28 %
Produce shrink (internal)	5.6 %	4.8 %	−0.8 pp
Google rating	4.0★	4.1★	+0.1★
Basket size (produce SKUs per ticket)	3.1	3.3	+0.2

Market A didn’t overhaul its image overnight, but a single schedule tweak and clearer freshness cues cut visible complaints by roughly a quarter and nudged both ratings and produce sales upward—demonstrating the practical payoff of sentiment-led adjustments.