Determinants of consumer preference to patronize retail outlets (supemarkets) / Normah Sidi

Purpose - This study was undertaken with the purpose of finding out the factors that influence shoppers of their supermarket preference, profile the characteristics of shopping behaviour and identify supermarket attributes that shoppers’ prefer when shopping at the outlets. Design I Methodology - A descriptive research from was deployed. Convenience sampling under non-probability sampling techniques was applied. Primary data was collected via face to face interviews of structured questions where 281 responses were analyzed. In order to achieve the first objective, the study measured 10 determinants comprising of price, brands carried by the supermarket, product quality, product size, guarantee, advertising, supermarket reputation, shoppers’ experience, friends' opinion and the products' country of origin. For the second objective, the study profiled shopping behaviour with 12 possible influencing factors - the relationship of price to quality; importance of friends’ opinion; shopping for necessities; seeking product information; truthfulness of advertisements; sale bargains; occasions trying out new products; brand loyalty; dependence on others to try new products; preference for foreign-made products; loud music environment and store lay-out. For the final objective, the study examined shoppers’ preference of the stores’ attributes of price; employee efficiency; variety of products; availability of products in stock; location; parking facilities; in-store room space to move around; shelving efficiency; opening hours; delivery service; acceptance of credit; previous experience and in-house advertising.