does supermarket in the us operate in a oligopolistically competitive market why?

Answer 1

An oligopoly is when there are a few competitors that control that largely control the market, similar to a cartel. I do not believe that the supermarket industry in the us acts in such a manner. While it is true that there are generally not a large number of supermarkets, if one looks across the whole US, there are a significant number of competitors, such as Weis, Giant, Food Lion, Wal-Mart (in certain areas), as well as a variety of others. These firms compete against each other, often trying to undercut their competitors. This is not an industry that is trying to keep prices artificially high, so I don't believe that it is an oligopoly.