“Tell Me Where You Shop, and I Will Tell You Who You Are”: Czech Shopper Profiles According to Traditional, Large-Scale and Alternative Retail Options

Abstract

Abstract Traditional, ‘post-traditional’ large-scale, and ‘alternative’ food shopping options are used in this paper to address the following questions: Who are the customers of these different retail formats? Is it possible to discern certain types of shopper according to retail formats? Do alternative food networks attract significantly different consumers than traditional forms and large-scale outlets? Relatively unique data collected in an omnibus survey by The Centre for Independent Public Opinion Research during 2014, 2015 and 2017 (n = 3,168) are used in this analysis. The consumption habits and preferences of a representative sample of the Czech population were subject to investigation. Results are presented mainly by descriptive statistics and the testing of hypotheses on the similarity or difference of given shopper populations by contingency analysis (associations between characteristics use contingency coefficients). A profile of shoppers according to food provisioning options is presented, and demographic, socio-economic and geographic factors influencing current trends in the shopping behaviours of Czech consumers are analysed. Significant differences between the customers of diverse retail formats and alternative possibilities to acquire food are among the most important distinguishing factors characterising Czech shoppers today.