Walk up to any Kroger, Publix, or Whole Foods today. What do you see before you even touch the sliding glass doors? Usually, it's a gauntlet. You've got the seasonal displays of firewood or pumpkins, the Redbox kiosk humping along in the corner, maybe a Coinstar machine tucked near the entryway, and almost certainly a row of "last chance" soda machines. This space—the area outside of a grocery store—is technically called the "frontage" or the "apron." For decades, it was just a place to stash shopping carts. Now? It's a high-stakes psychological battlefield where retailers are clawing back the margins they lose to Amazon and Walmart.
It’s weirdly fascinating. Retailers are realizing that the sidewalk is actually the first stage of the "conversion funnel." If they can get you to interact with something before you even enter the climate-controlled produce section, your brain is already in "buying mode."
The Psychology of the Apron
Why does it matter? Because of the "Transition Zone." Retail anthropologists like Paco Underhill, who wrote the seminal book Why We Buy, have talked at length about how shoppers need a "decompression zone." When you hop out of your car, your brain is still thinking about traffic or that podcast you were listening to. The sidewalk outside of a grocery store serves as a sensory bridge.
The smell hits you first. Sometimes it's the propane tanks, sure, but often it’s the floral department venting outward or a rotisserie chicken fan directed specifically at the parking lot. This isn't an accident. It's a physical handshake.
Honestly, the messier the storefront looks, the more "value" we perceive. Think about those massive bins of watermelons or the stacks of potting soil. If it looks a little chaotic, our brains interpret that as "fresh" or "bulk discount." If the outside of a grocery store is too pristine, we subconsciously brace for higher prices. It’s a delicate balance between looking organized and looking like a roadside farm stand.
The Tech Takeover: Lockers and Kiosks
Go back ten years. The only thing you'd find outside was maybe a gumball machine and a newspaper rack. Today, the real estate outside of a grocery store is a tech hub.
Amazon Hub Lockers are the big players here. By putting lockers outside, Whole Foods (and their partners) solve the "last mile" delivery problem. You aren't just there for milk; you're there to pick up a replacement charger. Once you're at the locker, the odds of you walking inside to grab a snack or a drink skyrocket. It’s a genius play for foot traffic.
Then you have the automated kiosks.
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- EcoATM: Where you trade your old iPhone for instant cash.
- Coinstar: Taking a 12% cut of your jar of dimes because you don't want to go to a bank.
- Blue Rhino: The ubiquitous propane exchange that keeps the American backyard barbecue industry alive.
Each of these machines pays rent. For the grocery store owner, this is "passive income" on square footage that used to be dead space. They don't have to staff it. They don't have to clean it (mostly). They just collect a check from the kiosk operators. It turns the sidewalk into a high-margin revenue stream.
Security and the "Loitering" Problem
Retailers are in a tough spot. They want you to linger, but they don't want you to loiter. This has led to some pretty controversial design choices in the area outside of a grocery store.
Have you noticed those blue lights popping up in parking lots? Or the high-pitched "mosquito" alarms designed to discourage teenagers from hanging out? Some stores, like 7-Eleven or certain urban Safeway locations, have experimented with playing classical music at high volumes. The idea is to create an environment that feels safe for shoppers but uncomfortable for anyone without a transactional purpose.
It’s a gritty reality of modern urban planning. The "third space"—somewhere that isn't work or home—is disappearing, and the grocery store frontage is one of the last places where the public and private spheres collide so aggressively.
The Logistics of the Curb
Let's talk about the "BOPIS" explosion. That’s "Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store." During the 2020 pandemic, the space outside of a grocery store had to be completely re-engineered in weeks.
We saw the rise of the designated parking spot. These aren't just spots; they are high-tech nodes. Retailers like Target and Walmart have invested billions into their "Drive Up" services. The technology involved is actually insane. When you leave your house, the store's app uses geofencing to track your progress. By the time you pull into that spot outside the store, an employee is already walking out the door with your bags.
This has changed the literal asphalt. We’re seeing more "curbside" lanes and fewer traditional parking spots. In some newer builds, the storefront is being designed with a dedicated "staging room" that opens directly to the sidewalk, bypassing the main entrance entirely.
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Why the "Frontage" is the New Billboard
Advertising used to be about the flyers in the Sunday paper. Now, it's about the physical presence outside of a grocery store.
Think about the Girl Scouts. Or the bell ringers during the holidays. Or the local high school car wash flyers. This space is a community hub. Even in a digital age, that physical proximity matters. If a brand can get a "pop-up" display right in front of the doors, their conversion rate is exponentially higher than a banner ad on a website.
I’ve seen stores lately using "smart" digital signage on the exterior walls. These screens change based on the weather.
- Is it 95 degrees? The screen shows ice cream and Gatorade.
- Is a storm coming? It switches to batteries, bread, and milk.
This isn't just "convenience." It’s a highly calculated play for your "share of wallet." They want to answer a question you haven't even asked yet.
The Evolution of the Cart Corral
It sounds boring, right? Carts. But the logistics of the cart corral outside of a grocery store is a billion-dollar headache.
If the carts aren't managed, the whole system breaks. We've seen the "Aldi Model" take over—the quarter-locking mechanism. It’s a brilliant bit of behavioral economics. By forcing the customer to do the labor of returning the cart to get their 25 cents back, Aldi saves millions in labor costs.
Meanwhile, other stores are using GPS and electronic wheel locks. If a cart crosses a certain "perimeter" in the parking lot, the front wheel literally locks up. This prevents "cart loss," which costs the industry an estimated $450 million annually. So, that invisible line on the sidewalk is actually a sophisticated electronic fence.
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Sustainability and the Storefront
The area outside of a grocery store is also where the "green" transition is happening.
Take the plastic bag recycling bins. Most people don't realize those bins are a logistical nightmare. Often, the bags are so contaminated they can't be recycled easily, but having the bin there is a "green halo" for the store. It tells the customer, "We care."
More importantly, look at the EV charging stations. Companies like Volta and Tesla are bidding for space in grocery parking lots. The logic is simple: charging a car takes 30-45 minutes. That is the exact amount of time the average person spends inside a grocery store. By putting chargers outside of a grocery store, the retailer guarantees a "captive" customer. You aren't just shopping for groceries; you're "fueling up" your life.
The Maintenance Nightmare
It’s not all profit and psychology. The exterior is a disaster to maintain.
- Gum: It takes specialized steam cleaners to get it off the concrete.
- Pest Control: The trash cans near the entrance are magnets for rodents.
- Weather: Salt in the winter eats the concrete; heat in the summer wilts the "outdoor" plants.
Store managers usually hate the frontage. It’s the part of the store they have the least control over, yet it’s the first thing a corporate inspector sees. If the sidewalk is dirty, the customer assumes the meat department is dirty. It’s an unfair but universal human bias.
Actionable Insights for the Savvy Shopper
The area outside of a grocery store is designed to manipulate your flow and your spending. Here is how you can navigate it better:
- Ignore the "Lobby" Deals: The stacks of soda or water right outside the door are rarely the best price. They are "convenience priced." Walk 50 feet further inside to the actual aisle; you’ll often find a better per-unit deal.
- Check the Propane Scale: If you're using a propane exchange, remember those tanks are rarely "full." They usually contain 15 lbs of gas in a 20 lb tank. A local hardware store that refills your actual tank is almost always cheaper.
- Use the Geofence: If you use curbside pickup, turn on your location services 10 minutes before you arrive. It sounds creepy, but it ensures your frozen goods spend the least amount of time sitting on a cart on the sidewalk.
- Look for the "Clearance" Rack: Many stores keep a small, battered rack of "outdoor" items (plants, mulch with holes in the bag, charcoal) near the side of the building. These are often marked down 70% or more just to get them off the inventory list.
The sidewalk isn't just a path to the door. It’s a marketplace, a tech lab, and a psychological experiment. Next time you’re fumbling for your keys, take a look around. Everything you see—from the placement of the trash can to the color of the lighting—was put there for a very specific, very profitable reason.