Some dominant economic characteristics of this industry include the number of rivals, the number of buyers, vertical integration, and supply/demand conditions. The number of rivals in this industry varies depending on the scale of the company. Larger rivals include Whole Foods and Walmart while smaller rivals include Lucky's Food Market and Pathmark. For example, Walmart offers a highly diverse selection of products. offers various forms of "identical" products for greater convenience of its consumers. Walmart also has extensive distribution channels where its “shippers are always looking for ways to expedite the product from the source through the supply chains to the consumer” (Walmart, 2014 Pg.1). The number of buyers in this industry are consumers who purchase large volumes of products, where these buyers do not necessarily have any purchasing power. Most grocery stores operate in the retail sector, where the increased involvement comes from the integration of operations and adapts to the sector as competitive