The ‘supercenter’ effect: How massive, one-stop retailers fuel overconsumption − and waste

By: Suvrat Dhanorkar, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 10, 2025

Words: 824

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

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By Suvrat Dhanorkar, Georgia Institute of Technology

Imagine walking out of a Walmart, Target or Costco. As you push your large shopping cart to your car, you ask yourself: Did I really need all that stuff?

The answer is you probably didn’t.

In a recent study, my co-authors Lina Wang, Sungho Park and I found that the presence of supercenters – large retailers that sell groceries alongside general merchandise – results in …

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