Determinants of store and store type choice in the food market

Most work related to store type choice in Germany pertains to brand choice or store image. This thesis considers specific consumer attitudes towards quality, freshness, environment, advertisement, organic food, genetically modified food and prices, several sociodemographic factors and a loyalty factor. Until now, no research has focused explicitly on the role of consumer attitudes in store or store type choice. Analyzing these attitudes and the actual point of purchase shows which of these factors influence store and store type choice as well as to what degree they do so. Such an analysis shows which store and store type is preferred by, for example, quality-oriented, freshness-oriented, organic food-oriented, or price-conscious households. Assuming there is a true relationship between these choices, an implied image ranking can be established. This means that, for example, specific stores or store types can be shown to have a higher or lower implied quality or price image. The focus of this work is on the consumer determinants, which are presented on the left side of the figure.