Factors Affecting Consumer Preferences For Major Food Markets In Taiwan

The Food Industry Research and Development Institute conducted a nationwide survey of food consumption in Taiwan in 1999. A sample of 1200 consumers responded to a questionnaire, which asked whether there was a use/visit experience in the past year for each of six types of food markets: traditional vegetable market, supermarket, hypermarket, consumer cooperative, chain convenience store, and grocery store. Questions also asked which types of food markets consumers used most frequently for the purchase of fresh foods, planned purchases or occasional purchases of processed foods, and what factors influenced consumers to choose their most frequently used market. Nearly 84 percent of surveyed consumers have used/visited traditional vegetable markets in the past year, while 47 percent choose traditional markets as their most frequented marketplace for buying fresh food in Taiwan. Some 81 percent of surveyed consumers have used or visited a supermarket in past year, while 17.7 percent and 29.0 percent choose supermarkets as the most frequented marketplace for planned and occasional purchases of processed foods, respectively. We apply stepwise logistic regression to identify significant sociodemographic factors (such as gender, age, and others) which influence the choice of each of the six major types of food markets and to identify the promotional factors which positively or negatively influence consumers' preferences for the most often used market. Female consumers have almost four times higher odds of frequently using traditional vegetable markets in the past year. The unmarried, divorced/widowed, and/or those who had higher family monthly incomes demonstrate lower odds of frequently using traditional markets. For purchases of fresh foods, female respondents, older consumers, and/or those living in northern Taiwan have higher odds of choosing traditional vegetable markets as the most frequently used market, while occupation "chief," and those with higher levels of education have lower odds of choosing traditional markets. Price level influences consumers positively in choosing traditional vegetable markets, while products with mark registrations, such as GMP or CAS, negatively influence this choice. For planned purchases of processed foods, older consumers are more likely than others to choose traditional vegetable markets, and price level is also a positive influence for choosing these markets. For occasional purchases of processed foods, manual laborers and/or those living in northern Taiwan have higher odds of choosing traditional vegetable markets, while unmarried respondents have lower odds. Price level and products with nutrition labeling are positive promotional factors influencing consumers to choose traditional vegetable markets. For the other five market types, sociodemographic factors influence consumers' choices of markets differently in each case, but marketing factors also influence choices of which type of marketplace to use most frequently.