Having shaken off the constraints of family and community, individualism is rampant. Good old-time values are disappearing, and this is in itself an issue that needs addressing. On the bright side, more and more customers care about their "very special needs" and their "just me" preferences and products.
  
Consumer behavior is changing. Today's consumers pay more attention to their own individual needs and interests. Some customers are willing to pay a premium for products that satisfy their particular needs. But other customers would like to buy good-enough standard products at lower prices. The polarization has been accelerated by the growing income gap between the rich and the rest.
  
To survive, food retailers are now having to establish systems to satisfy both imperatives: lower prices that do not erode profitability and higher prices that do not erode consumer loyalty.
  
Otsuka Akira, Yaoko
(translation by Kobayashi Mika)