Final answer:
Chains often use a decentralized purchasing strategy to allow individual stores to adjust their merchandise mix to fit regional consumer tastes, while maintaining overall brand consistency.
Step-by-step explanation:
Large chains which recognize that consumer tastes vary by region often use a decentralized purchasing strategy to give each store the flexibility to adjust its merchandise mix. This approach allows stores to cater to local preferences while maintaining the benefits of being part of a larger organization, such as consistent quality and branding. The concept of McDonaldization, as described in the context of grocery chains, focuses on efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control, leading to a uniform customer experience.
However, to adapt to local variations, chains may relax strict conformity, allowing a degree of customization in products offered.
Understandably, chain restaurants and hotels have historically utilized place-product-packaging to signal the predictable quality of their services to customers, but in modern times the need for differentiation has led to a loosening of corporate uniformity in favor of adaptability and localized offerings.