Shopping motivations, retail attributes, and retail format choice in a transitional market : evidence from Vietnam

The purpose of this two-phase, sequential mixed method study is to examine the impact of shopping motivations (utilitarian motivation and hedonic motivation), retail format attributes and demographics on the retail format choice of either a supermarket or a traditional market in a transitional Vietnamese economy. The first phase was a qualitative study which explored the link between shopping motivations and retail format attributes, using in-depth interviews with sixteenth shoppers in Hochiminh city. The reason for gathering qualitative data is to enable the researcher to develop the scale of shopping motivation constructs that is contextually relevant to Vietnam, taking into consideration its cultural backdrop and pace of economic development. This is because similar scales developed in a Western context might not be suitable in measuring and determining motivation constructs in Vietnam. The qualitative study aims to adjust and modify these scales as well as assist in discovering retail format attributes and determining demographics variables that might impact on Vietnamese shoppers’ choice retail format. Based on the findings from this qualitative study, combined with extensive, extant literature reviews, a second phase study was undertaken to develop two instruments. These instruments were used to survey consumers shopping mainly for two kinds of products for their households: non-food products and processed food products. The sample size for the non-food products study was 276 shoppers, and the sample size of the processed-food products study was 301 shoppers. The surveys were conducted in 24 districts of Hochiminh city. Logistic regression modeling was used to analyze the data. Results from the study indicated that shopping motivations (utilitarian motivation and hedonic motivation) impact significantly on retail format choice in a transitional, Vietnamese economy. In addition, “location” and “time convenience” were traditional market attributes that were strong predictors in shoppers’ choice of traditional markets. “Merchandise selection” was an important supermarket attribute in predicting shoppers’ choice of supermarkets. Finally, age and the average household income monthly of Vietnamese were found to be important predictors of retail format choice for only processed food products but not for non-food products