I can't speak to food, but 50% markup is a good rule of thumb for manufactured goods in department stores. It's a big markup, but that markup pays for distribution to individual stores, storage costs, payment processing, and all the labor to stock and provide retail assistance. In addition, the stores also need to make a profit with whatever is left over.
The question with Apple is how much of that markup actually goes to labor and distribution and how much is just for profit.
The grocery chain has to spend money to buy the products.
A better comparison might be a flea market or fair where the organizers take 27% of gross receipts from each vendor, even if the customer went to the vendors store outside of the fair to buy. Which sounds egregious to me, moreso if it was the only fair that existed for a large demographic.
Why would a brand pay extra to be on a shelf in a supermarket? Isn't the store already making a markup? Does the store have a monopoly on food sales?
Everyone carries on about "monopoly" and thinks Apple pricing will plummet.
OK, explain Valve and Steam. With many stores, shouldn't the price be a fraction?
Here's a comment from July '23:
It's outrageous that Valve takes a 30% cut from every game sale on Steam without providing much in return.
We don't get marketing, PR, or advertising unless our game is already popular.If you're an unknown developer, you'll never get discovered.
Support? Hardly. Their mandatory return policy, while beneficial for customers, can actually harm shorter games. Aside from facilitating product returns, they provide minimal assistance in other areas.
Valve doesn't offer funding or act as a traditional publisher, providing guidance or support during development. Steam is the sole platform for distribution, limiting our reach and revenue potential.
They offer no help with QA or testing. Even with their new alpha/beta system, the burden of reviewing any data falls on developers. Valve's main contribution is distribution, but the process is frustratingly outdated.
We need to demand better from Valve: more value for their cut or a reduction in percentage.
Or, there's some value people aren't thinking about, and "the market [of developers] will bear it"...
“The value of a large network like Steam has many benefits that are contributed to and shared by all the participants. Finding the right balance to reflect those contributions is a tricky but important factor in a well-functioning network,” the company wrote in a statement on the Steam Community page. “It’s always been apparent that successful games and their large audiences have a material impact on those network effects so making sure Steam recognizes and continues to be an attractive platform for those games is an important goal for all participants in the network.”
What’s the typical markup on a gallon of milk or a frozen dinner?
I’d bet that Apple’s 27% isn’t as egregious as it sounds.