Attitudes of Chinese consumers towards retail formats

The Chinese consumer goods market is widely considered tobe one of the economic hot spots of the world. China seems to be themarket with the largest growth potential within the next decade. Multina -tional retail companies, for example, Wal-Mart, Metro and Carrefour havemade large investments to open up this new market. However, parallel tothe positive aspects of the market development, foreign retail companiesentering the market encounter numerous risks and difficulties. Whereasquestions concerned with logistical problems are being discussed moreoften, analyses focusing on the shopping behavior of Chinese consumersare rare. In this context, the following report provides information onstore preferences based on a comprehensive survey of 800 citizens ofWuhan. In detail, the research focuses on decision- making problems ofChinese consumer s and determines their preferences for foreign chainstores on the one hand and for domestic supermarkets and traditionalretail formats on the other hand. All in all, traditional wet markets stilldominate shopping behaviour. Nevertheless, modern retail outlets are ac -cepted as an alternative, although they are mainly used in addition to thedaily shopping at traditional wet markets. However, this research showsthat even in a more domestic market - oriented city like Wuhan, traditionalshopping patterns are being abandoned and more differentiated shoppingpatterns are emerging.