Segmenting the Retail Market Using Shoppers’ Participation in Consumer Logistics, Self-Perception, and Demographics

Abstract

Recognizing the value of understanding shoppers’ participation in distribution, scholars have conceptualized this domain of activity and called it consumer logistics (CL), consumers’ participation in the movement and handling of goods from the point of acquisition to the point of consumption or final disposal. At the present stage of research into CL, it is appropriate to empirically investigate the relationship between participation in the functions of CL and various characteristics of shoppers. Therefore, this study uses survey data to (1) portray retail market segments jointly in terms of shoppers’ CL participation and their personal characteristics and (2) suggest implications of the findings for retailers. In particular, this study considers consumers’ self-perception as shoppers and their involvement in food preparation, supplemented by demographics relevant to retail strategy.