Double Coupons Just Don’t Cut It Anymore : Retail: Supermarkets are adding video outlets, bank branches and even dry cleaners in an effort to stay competitive.

Milk, money and movies are coming together under the same roof as supermarkets increasingly use the concept of one-stop shopping to lure customers and stay ahead of the growing competition.

Consumers can now find banks, video rental outlets and even dry cleaners in food stores.

“Everybody’s talking about one-stop shopping,” said Robert Kahn, publisher of Retailing Today and president of a California-based industry research group.

“The theory is: People only have so much time, and if you’re going to go to the supermarket anyway, you might as well be able to get as much done as possible there,” Kahn said Monday at the Food Marketing Institute show, the supermarket industry’s annual convention.

Merchandisers of specialty departments and services are pitching their products to supermarket operators at the four-day show, which began Sunday.

“Full-service delicatessens, bakeries, pharmacies and bank branches help traditional food retailers establish a beachhead position against non-traditional retailers that can offer rock-bottom prices,” said Todd Mann, president of International Banking Technologies, which helps banks develop supermarket business.

Discount retailers such as Kmart and Wal-Mart have been moving into the food business in recent years, eroding grocers’ market share. Warehouse clubs are also biting into supermarkets’ business.

Supermarkets have responded by expanding: Floor sizes of many new food stores have grown from 15,000 square feet to about 60,000 as the retailers move to accommodate new video departments, pharmacies, flower shops and even dry cleaners, Kahn said.

Bank branches can be particularly beneficial for supermarkets. Shoppers have money literally at hand--they can cash a check right in the store and spend it immediately.

A survey of 1,000 consumers commissioned by National Commerce Bank found that supermarkets with in-store banks get customers to return more often and spend more money than stores without banks.

Banks, meanwhile, welcome the idea of opening full-service branches in supermarkets because of low overhead, fewer staff needs and a good rate of return. It might cost $200,000 to open a branch in a supermarket, compared to more than $1 million in a stand-alone setting.

There are about 1,700 in-store bank branches throughout, but that number is expected to nearly triple in five years, says National Commerce Bank Services Inc., a division of National Commerce Bank that provides consulting to banks about opening supermarket branches.

There are about 138,000 grocery stores in the nation, including 30,400 supermarkets.

Supermarket operators at this week’s show were clearly looking for new services to increase their business.

“Part of our special services is because of competitive pressures, but most of the things we offer are based upon the principle of one-stop shopping and providing as many things as possible to attract more customers,” said Rich Simpson, spokesman for the Dominick’s Finer Foods chain, which operates mostly in the Chicago area.

The company is negotiating with a bank to open a full-service branch, Simpson said.

But while the industry believes that add-ons such as banks and video rentals will help, supermarkets are mindful of the fact that consumers are more price-conscious than ever. Kahn said the ultimate winners in the battle for market share will be consumers, because they shop wherever they believe that they get the best deal.