Exploring factors influencing rural consumers’ selection of vegetable market outlets

Rural consumer purchasing behaviour has evolved significantly with the increasing accessibility of diverse market outlets, leading to changes in how rural communities decide where to buy daily essentials such as vegetables. In Langkap, Hilir Perak, rural consumers can choose from supermarkets, wet markets, farmers’ markets, and mini markets, yet the factors influencing these choices remain unclear. To address this gap, this study applied the fuzzy VIKOR method to identify and rank the key criteria influencing market outlet selection and to determine the most preferred outlet among 88 primary grocery buyers. Four criteria, which are convenience, freshness, price, and social connection were evaluated across four different natures of market outlets: Econsave Supermarket, Public Market, Pasar Tani, and Fresh Mart. The analysis revealed that convenience was the most influential factor (weightage = 7.818), and the Public Market was the most preferred outlet with the lowest VIKOR index value (0.000). These findings provide valuable insights for retailers, farmers, and local authorities to enhance rural market strategies, improve infrastructure, and strengthen supply decisions to better meet consumer preferences