S. Strasser

Who Is and Is Not the Discounter Supercenter Shopper

Discounter operated supercenters are perceived as a major competitive threat to current food retailers. Their selection of both supermarket type merchandise and discounter general merchandise is perceived as an advantage to time pressed consumers. In this study, for consumers living within a five-mile radius of a Super Krnart Center, selection was a primary reason 16 percent of the respondents considered the center as their favorite grocery store but, location was the most important reason. This is one of the first studies to find that location is a primary reason for shopping a supercenter and supports the conjecture of locational importance by some industry observers. The profile of the primary supercenter shopper is a younger more educated shopper who lives close to the supercenter and values selection. Respondents who did not consider the supercenter their primary store still liked its selection but generally found the supercenters prices high and location inconvenient.