Modern Retail Formats Research Articles

Endo Gen. Diversifying Retail and Distribution in Thailand. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2013, xii+275p.

Diversifying Retail and Distribution in Thailand Endo Gen Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2013, xii+275p.Once again, Thai studies need a determined Japanese researcher to unearth the puzzling research areas that are plagued by limited data, poor statistics, and mistaken presumptions. A comprehensive account of the retail and wholesale industry has been rare, despite this industry being Thailand's second largest sector by constituent ratio of GDP and employment.This book by Endo Gen provides a thorough understanding of Thailand's retail, wholesale, and distribution systems. It gives a historical background of the business with a focus on the dynamics since the 1990s-the period that has unleashed the trade, such as cash- andcarry, hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience stores, throughout the country.Chapters 1 and 2 present the historical background and characteristics of Thai retailing, which, until the 1980s, had been overwhelmed by small-scale grocery stores (cho huai) or the so-called shophouse, a one-story shop with a dwelling over the top. While there is no strong argument within these two chapters, I find them insightful for those who want to understand the evolution of the sector. In addition to the general structure, the author traces today's major players, such as the Central Group and Saha Pat, back to their origins. Competition and coordination among them are addressed and put into contextual settings extremely well. The investment and consumption booms of the late 1980s led to the advent of new retail formats and fiercer competition. The succeeding chapters develop the arguments of the book, capturing the contemporary and situation of the industry.Chapter 3 discusses the 1997 financial crisis and the massive influx of new retail formats introduced by multinational companies. The author conceptualizes post-1980s Thailand's consumer market as a structure that possesses significant disparities among geographical areas and income strata. He then argues that this mosaic is the main explanation for why retail and distribution firms in Thailand must adopt diversification strategies (pp. 38-46) and why Bangkok-based and provincial department stores competed to open new stores in provincial cities, which led to excessive competition (p. 63).Chapter 4 poses an important question: Have new retail formats really heralded a distribution revolution? As the 1997 financial crisis created the opportunities for new, foreign-led retailers, particularly hypermarkets which sell daily foods and necessities at lower prices, the change in the retail and distribution sector looks so immense that most observers would call it a revolution. Nonetheless, Endo argues that the revolution has yet to come. Things have been changed, for sure. From a long and complicated chain of distribution networks, the modern retail formats now deal directly with manufacturers, with an increased relative bargaining power of the former. The distribution and logistics systems have been improved, have greater efficiency, and are equipped with better information technology. Commercial practices, such as the payment systems, have been considerably modified, too.Yet, given all the above changes, the author argues that we should not call it a revolution, for a number of reasons (pp. 128-129). To begin with, the biggest players in the market, that is, hypermarkets and cash-and-carry stores, have achieved growth mainly from expanding their number of stores. However, doing so is becoming increasingly difficult over time. The active expansion into provinces via smaller-size stores of these modern retailers has caused managerial problems in their logistics management. Another modern retail format, the supermarket, has also struggled to develop its own unique competitive advantage and has suffered managerial problems, low profitability, and high operating costs. Likewise, convenience stores have not succeeded in establishing themselves as an important retail format and have had no significant impact on the distribution system, as initially expected. …

Consumers’ Shopping Preferences for Retail Format Choice Between Modern and Traditional Retails in Malaysia

The retail landscape in Malaysia is transforming from a traditional to a modern retail format. The large retailers are increasing their dominance over small shops in the country by offering their customers a wide stock of fresh food products. The small shops are still surviving, although with difficulty, and they continue to provide a choice of shopping venue. The objective of this study is to show the advantages of both the modern and traditional retailers that are available to Malaysian consumers and to investigate what determines consumers’ shopping preferences for their retail format. A structured questionnaire was constructed to gather shopping preferences from 650 respondents in Selangor. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and binary logit model were used to analyze the data. The results show that sociodemographic variables such as age, education, being accompanied by children while shopping, and family size as well as packaging, store environment, and price of products have influence on retail format choice.

Hypermarkets in Oman: a study of consumers’ shopping preferences

Purpose – Hypermarkets have emerged as an important retail format in many parts of the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer behaviour towards store preferences, particularly hypermarkets, in Oman. Design/methodology/approach – Following a mixed method approach, primary data, collected mainly using questionnaires and focus groups, were analysed to reveal consumer preferences. After pilot testing, 300 structured questionnaires were administered, of which 164 completed questionnaires were accepted for analysis. Data on store choice attributes were collected and analysed to reveal respondents’ preferences. Respondents’ characteristics were also measured using socio-demographic variables and were compared with their purchasing behaviour. Findings – By offsetting traditional markets, hypermarkets have emerged as one of the important retail formats in the urban areas of Oman. Their emergence has impacted trade in the traditional markets, the souqs. A weekly trip to the hypermarket is becoming an established feature of Omani life. Employed, educated or prosperous Omani consumers and expatriates prefer hypermarkets and these preferences surge during hot weather conditions. Consumers visit hypermarkets not only for purchases but also for recreation. Several factors affect consumer choice of hypermarkets in Oman, and these are listed in the outcomes of the study. Research limitations/implications – This study mainly focusses on consumers from selected hypermarkets in the Muscat and the Batinah regions of Oman. Although these regions are home to more than half of the Omani population, similar studies on other prominent regions will help in generalizing the preferences of consumers. Practical implications – Beyond an academic investigation to better understand the issue, the findings are important to help policy makers, town planners, and retailers better understand, plan, and evolve a consumer friendly retail sector. The findings will also help in understanding the regional imbalances in retailing activities, locally and globally. Social implications – The findings will help in the planning of certain retail policies to assure the notion of accessibility, affordability, and availability of global products and services to Omani consumers and also in striking a balance between traditional and modern retail formats to maintain diversity, growth, and overall consumer satisfaction. Originality/value – This paper furthers understanding of retailing issues in a conservative Islamic society in general; and in an area, Oman, that has not been covered before, in particular.

Quantifying barriers impeding the diffusion of supermarkets in China: The role of shopping habits

The present study contributes to the literature on supermarket diffusion by incorporating shopping habit factors, beyond socioeconomic factors and store characteristic factors, into a framework for predicting consumers' choice to shop in traditional versus modern retail formats. Further, this study aims to estimate the relative importance of these variables compared to other factors. Our results show that socioeconomic factors have minimal impact on consumer choice. Shopping habit factors have as great or even larger impact as market-relevant and product-relevant attributes, especially for fresh-food and cooked-food shopping.

The Modern Retail Customer's Experience on Customer Engagement: Evidence from Health and Personal Care Stores in Malaysia Using Structural Equation Modelling Approach (SEM)

Objective- The modern retail experience is about more than buying products. It's about the feeling the customer gets from being in your store, the way it makes them feel, and how it addresses the person they want to be. In today's business arena customers are prime assets for an organization and managing the customer relationship is equally critical for the organizations. This paper aims to address the emotional response of customers, which would lead to three dimensions of emotions which are a pleasure, arousal and dominance. This research was conducted in order to observe the buying behaviour of customers that shop at health and personal cares retail outlets. Methodology/Technique A hypothesized model which integrates two major antecedents of health and personal cares retail stores brand was analysed and tested rigorously using the SEM. The model was tested using 400 usable questionnaires of adult respondents who reside in chosen urban areas in Malaysia. The study has used a self-administered questionnaire distributed by using retail outlets intercept. This paper contributes to the understanding about the importance of food allergy awareness among public. Findings - - The results show that socio-demographic variables such as age, education, income level and work sector as well as modern grocery retail format, servicescape and customer emotion experience have significant positive effect of customer engagement on health and personal cares of retail stores brand. Novelty - These findings have important implications that demonstrate the originality or value for health and personal cares retail stores and consumer behaviour body of knowledge. Type of Paper Empirical Paper Keywords: Customer Emotions; Customer Engagement; Modern Retail and Health and Personal Care Stores.

Analysis of Stimuli Attracting Customer Buying Behavior and their Satisfaction Level in Modern as Well as in Conventional Retail Stores

The paper highlights the stimuli that attract a prospective buyer in modern retail mall and conventional stores and researcher made a comparative analysis of those variables between modern retail format and conventional retail store. The purpose of this research is specifically to compare the level of satisfaction of the with the offerings and attributes offered to them in modern retail formats vis-a-vis conventional shopping stores. I. Introduction Richard, (2011), Consumer Behaviour studied the shopping habits of to form an idea of whether or not the store concepts, product ranges and strategies of the companies are appropriate towards consumer requirements. Customers are satisfied when the perceived service meets or exceeds their expectations. Theyre dissatisfied when they feel the service falls below their expectations. When retailers provide unexpected services, will be delighted. Thus, to delight customers, retailers need to understand the customers expectations and take the necessary steps to meet the expected service (Raut and Dash 2011). The consumer is no longer shopping from the local market; rather the place of shopping has shifted to the stores in malls. Malls are also towards catering to the younger population segments. Shopping behavior of the consumer varies according to their age. Moreover shopping behavior of younger consumers is focused towards seeking entertainment, while older focus on convenience and leisure. India is currently in the second phase of evolution, that is, consumer demand organized formats (Jhamb and Kiran, 2012). According to Kotler, Keller, Koshy and Jha (2012) Customer Shopping Behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, service, idea, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.

Consumer Preferences for Product Transparency in Emerging Markets – Lessons Learned from India

For retailers moving into an emerging market it is crucial to understand whether topics relevant in developed countries are important there as well. One of these topics is the increasing demand for product transparency, i.e., information regarding a products provenance, content, or ecological impact. The results of a study with early adopters of modern retail formats in India show that even in an emerging market like India, consumers highly value the disclosure of product-related information.

Trendy shopping replacing traditional format preferences

The Indian retail sector is going through a transformation and the emerging market is witnessing a significant change in its growth pattern. Both existing and new players are experimenting with new retail formats. Consumers’ are also in favor of these retail formats for trendy shopping. The present paper is first of its kind to take the various important aspects together, namely, emerging retail formats, demographic factors and attributes affecting customers’ buying preferences from these retail formats for designing a framework. A self-structured questionnaire has been used for collecting the primary data from 500 urban consumers from major cities of Punjab in India. The study has used the descriptive statistics, ANOVA test and factor analysis for analyzing the data. The findings of the paper reveal that consumers’ prefer emerging retail formats due to its significant product attributes like improved quality, variety of brands and assortment of merchandise and store attributes like parking facility, trained sales personnel and complete security. The retail formats have been classified into two categories; malls, specialty stores and hyper/supermarkets are recognized as modern retail formats and discount stores, convenience stores and department stores are recognized as traditional retail formats. Key words: Retail formats, consumers, demography, product attributes, store attributes.

Persistence of Traditional Retailing in an Island Town

Problem statement: The convergence of modern retail formats in the developing world is resisted by the persistence of traditional retail formats. The issue of lower-circuit and middle-circuit in traditional retail trade in the modernizing urban arena has raise debates about its co-existence in different cultural and geographical settings. The aim of this study is to examine the persisting organizational features of sundry and general store retail trade in Labuan town, East Malaysia. Approach: A descriptive design using qualitative approach is utilized. Data is collected from a series of recursive informal interview from a total of 14 sundry and general retailers. Data is analyzed from themes derived from narrative account. Results: The findings reveal that the persistence of traditional retailing can be characterized by family business and the stability of sole proprietorship, coupled with the prevalence of independent outlets. The reasons attributed to the persistence of traditional retailing are a combination of organizational capacity factors of the retail traders and the situational context of the island economy. Conclusion: Island towns have a unique capacity to preserve certain retail trades that are under threat in conventional geographical context. This implies that the island with porous borders, not only have a confluence of external influence, but can sustain economic cultures. Future research can explore the persistence of cultural goods in these sundry and general stores to see the extent to which diverse socio-economic market structures are served.

Modern Retailers in Transition Economies

This article reports the findings of a study on modern domestic retailers in Vietnam. The authors based this study on (1) a survey of fifty-six firms that control almost all the modern retail format stores in Vietnam, (2) in-depth interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) and government officials, and (3) store visits and observations that were carried out by the authors. The authors discuss the operation and retail renovations of local modern retailers, the structure and the background of competitors, the problems retailers face, and their prospects for future development. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of modern retailers in Vietnam and have significant implications for policy makers as well as for local and foreign retailers.

A Study on the Role of Demographic and Psychographic Dynamics in Food and Grocery Retailing

The Indian food and grocery retail sector is in the transformation mode for various reasons like strong macro-economic fundamentals and the changing socio-economic scene are driving what were once traditional and small scale retail outlets into organised retail formats aimed at catering to the evolving tastes and needs of the discerning consumers. But the very fast changing trends in food and eating habits of consumers have contributed immensely to the growth of ‘Western’ format typologies such as convenience stores, departmental stores, supermarkets, specialty stores and hypermarkets. This has happened for various conspicuous reasons namely demand and supply, socio-cultural, demographic, psychographic, economic and technology advancements like a large segment of young population, a rapidly expanding middle class, rising income levels, growing literacy, increasing number of working women and nuclear family structures which in turn have created an enormous demand for consumer goods and paved way for modern retail formats. The ever changing consumer's psychographic variables like activities, interests, opinions, values and lifestyles have also completely changed the formats namely convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets etc. are the crystal clear reflections of tectonic shifts in demographic and psychographic changes of consumers. However, little is known about its actual influence and contribution to the organised retailing in food and grocery sector from an empirical analysis. Thus, understanding of demo-psychographic dynamics has become an imperative in designing modern food and grocery retail formats based on the purchase patterns. The study is purely based on primary data and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model. A total of 200 retail customers in Hyderabad actively participated in the survey. Findings, various managerial and marketing implications are extensively discussed.

Greek retailing in transition

Within the past four years retailing in Greece has begun to change dramatically. A system of small, independently owned and operated shops, which has been protected by tight legislative controls on store operations, is now under threat from the introduction of modern retail formats, organization and management practices – largely by foreign retailers, either directly or through joint ventures and franchising activity. The trigger to the change has been the liberalization of the trading environment. The consequences for consumers, indigenous retailers and wholesalers, and manufacturers are likely to be profound. The sudden nature of the change and the size of the country make Greece an ideal laboratory for the study of retail change.

A Framework for Network Planning

Highlights the integral link between the location of a particular format of retail outlet and the benefit which they offer to the customer segments which they serve. Outlines a simple conceptual framework for planning store networks which can be used as a starting point for a variety of retail businesses. This depends on the degree of portability of the product and the emphasis placed by the customer on the relative importance of convenience and comparison in the buying process. Four principle types of retail location positions are identified by the framework and the main locational factors or “drivers” of the success of each are explained. Underlines the importance of retailers recognizing the ongoing nature of the network planning process, involving store rationalization, relocation and refurbishment, as well as the roll out of new store concepts. It is anticipated that the framework should prove useful both to retailers setting out on a formal process of network planning as well as to planning authorities who recognize the need to understand the factors driving the locational decisions of the various types of modern retail format.