Logit modelling of food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to comprehensively uncover antecedents of food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores in India. Children form the pivot of food marketing. They accompany parents on food shopping trips and assist food purchases. Their extent of participation varies with the frequency with which they accompany parents, the presence of food promotions and other demographic variables. The present paper attempts to comprehensively uncover the variables that help in cumulatively predicting food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores. Design/methodology/approach - – Data have been collected from 473 mothers of children in the age category 4-11 years. For the aforesaid purpose, a structured, pre-tested and non-disguised questionnaire has been prepared. Binary logistic regression has been applied to analyse the data through SPSS 19. Findings - – Shopping behaviour of children in retail stores significantly depends upon food promotions in retail stores, frequency with which children accompany mothers on shopping trips and demographic variables such as age of mother and father and education status of mother. Practical implications - – This study attracts attention of parents, food retailers and policy makers towards impact of food promotional strategies on food buying behaviour of children in retail stores. Originality/value - – This piece of research is important as no such study (to the best of researchers’ knowledge) has been conducted in India even when food retailing is an important component of total retail in India and also growing tremendously.