Romanians consider proximity and prices when choosing where to shop - GfK

Proximity to home or work is the most important criterion for half of the local population when choosing the store from where to buy most of the needed fast moving foods and non-foods, reveals a GfK’s Shopping Monitor survey.

People aged between 45 and 55 or those with higher education and especially people in the capital city are even more influenced by this factor.

Prices are also important for Romanians when choosing among various stores – 46 percent of Romanians mentioned the price level in the survey, its impact being greater on women or people with incomes of less than RON 1,500, but less considered by people in Bucharest.

The variety of food and non-food range ranks the third position in the top of criteria – 43 percent of Romanians saying they choose hypermarkets,

Freshness and quality of products, although comes fourth in the top of reasons why consumers choose a shop (16 percent of total population), is of relatively low importance among young people aged between 25 and 35, but also for the people who live in Bucharest, according to GfK.

Other criteria of a relative importance for buyers (less than 6 percent) are the habit of going to a particular store (especially among Romanians who do not work), the existence of promotions (with a slightly larger impact among women), the pleasant staff and quick purchase opportunity (no queues at the checkout or speed of payment).

The data are part of the Shopping Monitor study conducted by GfK in November 2010 on a total of 737 respondents over 15 years old in urban areas, responsible for buying foods and non-foods for the household, a sample that is representative of historical regions and degree of urbanization. The data collection method was the one of telephone interviews.