Store patronage and lifestyle factors: implications for rural grocery retailers

Presents results of a study on outshopping grocery patterns of rural shoppers. The researchers mailed a questionnaire to residents in a rural Vermont area, asking them to record their grocery expenditures for one week. The questionnaire solicited information about respondents’ store patronage, psychographic behaviour and socio‐economic status. The study had two objectives: first, to determine the proportion of outshopping for groceries, i.e. the per cent of total grocery expenditures in stores away from the major retail centre; and second, to identify store patronage and psychographic factors associated with rural grocery shoppers, and to determine if such factors correspond with the proportion of grocery expenditures outlaid elsewhere. Consumers were divided into the three groups by level of shopping activity: low, medium and high. Results indicated that each group had different store patronage practices, psychographic profiles, and income levels, suggesting that grocery retailers should work with communities to organize retail mixes that appeal to different shopping groups.