Consumers’ criteria to select food retailers revisited in the current environment

Food retailing is undergoing major transformations, particularly in France. Hypermarkets are declining, hard-discount stores are gentrifying, e-commerce is mixing with physical distribution, convenience stores are gaining presence and market shares, other forms are emerging: short, collaborative or cooperative channels. Consumers are clearly changing their buying patterns. How do people currently select a form of sale? Are there any changes in their selection criteria or in their perception of food retailing that can explain that they are turning away from hypermarkets to go to more meaningful places? The objective of this research is to revisit the consumers' criteria to select a form of sale in the current environment. A qualitative research carried out on forty individuals confirms the accuracy, in today's context, of criteria described in the literature but also enables the identification of a new criterion: the origin of the products purchased. Moreover, it shows the perception of current consumers about food retailing in France, such as a kind of hostility against hypermarkets. Finally, it invites further exploration of the symbolic functions of retail trade by studying the role played by consumers' individual values in their selection of a form of sale.