Causal path modeling of grocery shopping in hypermarkets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine attitudinal and behavioral shopping patterns related to hypermarket shopping in an Asian market, which has undergone a revolutionary transition from traditional to modern trade food retailing in the past decade. The first class includes shopping enjoyment, risk aversion, price signaling, innovativeness, trust and future purchase intentions. The second group of behavioral shopping patterns includes advocacy, time, and money spent shopping. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 244 shoppers was interviewed across Bangkok using a structured questionnaire through face‐to‐face personal interviews. Findings – The study finds that grocery shoppers tend to be more risk averse when time pressured, but less risk averse if they are innovative. Bangkok Thais score high on innovativeness and shopping enjoyment and are more frequent patrons of hypermarkets than other grocery store formats. While a particular aspect of hypermarket grocery shopping behavior is found to relate to advocacy and future loyalty intentions, it does not contribute to enhanced store trust. Research limitations/implications – While Thailand is part of Southeast Asia, not all countries share the same cultures or consumer behavior. Similarly, as Bangkok is a mega city, it cannot be said to represent rural parts of the country. Practical implications – As the majority of modern retailers are owned and managed by western countries, the format is relatively new in most Asian markets. Their growth has not evolved naturally and may result in cross‐cultural consumer behavior conflicts, thus findings help extant or new retailers better understand consumer behavior. Because of high risk aversion, private label brands may require that stores develop greater trust among consumers, perhaps through sampling or building awareness of the concept behind private label. Thai hypermarket shoppers appear driven more by convenience than by time pressure. Because they tend to shop in groups and enjoy this experience, retailers may want to consider more of the experiential or social aspects involved in shopping, rather than purely functional offerings. Originality/value – By applying predominantly western theories to a developing Asian market, their generalizability can be tested.