Malaysian consumer preferences of hypermarkets in the context of global and local brands

Purpose: This study aims to research the factor influencing Malaysian consumers to shop at any particular hypermarket, and to investigate whether the preferences change according to local or global brand-name. The factors analyzed are Physical environment, Price, Service Quality, Brand Image, Product quality and attitude towards global brands. A big part of this study uses brand image as the mediator and tries to explain how it effects consumer preferences. Design/methodology/approach: this study proposed a conceptual model to test the relationship between all the variables (independent and dependent) by gathering data from online questionnaire. 189 respondents gave personal answers to the survey. Numerous statistical tools were used to validate the measurement scale and form results that can produce factual analysis Findings: Notably, this study concludes that Malaysian consumers do not shop at a particular brand based on it’s a global or local brand-name, instead, more attention is paid to the physical environment of the store, prices, and product quality. Service quality was discovered to be of least concern for the locals. Majority of the people residing in Malaysia are happy as long as their specific hypermarkets reassure product assortment and quality, with good pricing. Lastly, it was also determined that majority of people residing in Kuala Lumpur prefer shopping at Tesco hypermarket amongst the others. Practical implications: Marketers and manufacturers should focus more on improving the physical environment of the store, and maintain good prices, while having a large product assortment. Originality/value: This study proposed conceptual hypotheses that would help determine the factors that influence people to visit a specific store. The observed and investigational evidence from this study will contribute to the literature regarding consumer preferences at hypermarket. Keywords: Physical environment, Price, Service Quality, Brand Image, Product quality, global brands, hypermarke