Shopping and cross-shopping practices in Hanoi, Vietnam: An emerging urban market context
Author: Tran, Hai Van
Under the direction of: Lucie Sirieix
SupAgro, Montpellier
English text
Keywords : Management sciences, Vietnam, Cross-Shopping, Vietnam, Format choice, Modern retail, Emerging urban market.
Abstract
The retail business in Vietnam has gone through noteworthy changes in the last few years. Despite being a predominantly agricultural country, it is forecast to be the fastest-growing market for convenience stores in Asia by 2021. Whilst most of the studies on market in Vietnam focused on individual retail choices between traditional or modern formats, some focused on consumer’ shopping practices as part of their daily life. These researches, however, have not considered cross- shopping, do not focus on practitioners and do not study the different dimensions of practices. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to provide a deeper understanding on urban consumers in an emerging market, their strategies in choosing between and/or combining different retail formats to buy fresh produce and the factors affecting their shopping practices. The study was conducted to provide insights into how urban Hanoians choose where to go buy vegetables and why they are doing what they are doing. Shopping and cross-shopping practices, as a result, were studied in relation to the individuals who engage in them. Individual interviews using semi-guided questions were carried out to explore, describe, and understand the shopping and cross-shopping practices of seventy-night shoppers of fresh vegetables in their everyday life. Qualitative research method was used as a key approach in developing a comprehensive understanding of food-related phenomena from the perspective of research participants. Insights into the relationships between the factors related to shopping practices and the shopping strategies, as well as the dimensions of shopping practices were explored. Social relations between actors in the market appeared to have particular characteristics that originate from the broader cultural context of Southeast Asia, its tradition of collectivism and reciprocity, and individual life course events. The study proposes a framework of shopping practices in emerging markets and also provides managerial recommendations regarding retail policy and development.
