igher profit margins, for themselves.
The threat of the supermarkets has not gone unnoticed by the oil companies, however, and many now are building or adding convenience stores which supplement the sales at their gas stations. The end result is to compete with the supermarkets for the "impulse" buy (milk, for example) at the same time that consumers purchase gasoline. It is likely that prices will increase once the remaining independents are gone from the scene (or there are only a few independents remaining) because the supermarkets and the oil companies combined will still represent only a small number of companies which may well find it in their interests to behave in a manner in keeping with oligopoly theory.
2. Once consumers become convinced that a particular item is a commodity which can be obtained with satisfactory results from any supplier, price becomes the most important criterion on which purchase decisions are made. At this point, branding becomes unimport
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