Sure, but if they are the actual customers of their suppliers, it doesn't seem like what Amazon does. I don't walk into Kroger and buy Doritos from Frito-Lay with Kroger just doing the fulfillment and payment processing, do I? I'm actually buying product that Kroger owns.

At least this is how I understand it. I am 100% open to being schooled in how it actually plays out. I'm just a software guy, but I like to learn.

If you're curious, The Secret Life of Groceries is a good (and interesting) read.

One tl; dr thing is that the supermarkets are a _supplier_ to both end customers and those with products to sell. They supply shelf space and customer reach, in the very literal sense that companies bid for things like endcap placement (the end of the aisle being better than being in the aisle, since everyone making an orbit through, say, the deli section will pass your goods).

Thanks! That is an interesting aspect. I had not considered that it could be a two-way relationship, rather than the store just buying what they want to sell and putting it on the shelf.

I guess it seems a little obvious in retrospect that there must be a bit of that going on, I've long noticed that some suppliers have a lot of responsibility in the store beyond delivering product. Like the beer guy pretty much runs the entire beer aisle. And it's one of the big names supplying all the beer, not just their own.

I've seen similar action in some stores by the soft drink vendors and even the bread vendor. Non-store employees on the floor putting stock directly on the shelf.