Abstract
What characterises the grocery store - customer relation? Can grocery stores expect to have an active role in households’ management of everyday life? Can households, on the other hand demand active participation and help from the stores? By which methods can we learn more both about food-related consumer behaviour and about the relation between stores and consumers? Based on two empirical studies of consumer behaviour, this books deals with these issues. In the first part of the book an empirical study using 165 weeks of POS scanner data for fourteen product categories is presented. These data were used to analyse effects of different promotional activities, and the results indicated that in-store activities, particularly in the form of in-store display, were important. The results from the first study brought the question of store - customer relation into focus, why this relation was studied next. The second part of the book consists of this exploratory, empirical study applying participant interviewing. In this case it meant talking to grocery shoppers while observing them. Some ten households with small children were accompanied to the grocery store, providing a context based consumer perspective. Different aspects of food and purchasing, such as interest in food and the social role of the meal, were treated. Tentatively, the dimensions planning and involvement are suggested as dimensions by which to separate households or shopping trips from each other. If validated, these dimensions might be useful as instruments for retailers interested in adapting to their customers different needs and purchasing behaviours. The concluding part discusses the two empirical studies, both in terms of method and in terms of contribution to knowledge on consumer behaviour. One important issue is here the value, for a single researcher, of combining two studies with such different methods.