What drives shoppers to shop at Superstores in Dhaka?

Dr P. R. Datta, FCIM, FCMI

Executive Chair, Academy of Business & Retail Management
(ABRM), London, UK
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Business & Retail Management
Email: p.datta@abrmr.com

Retailers and supermarkets exist to provide services to their customers, and since serving
customers better is the ultimate competitive goal of retailing, it is necessary to identify
service attributes that are most important to customers. Recently, I wrote about booming
sector of retailing and its future prospect. There is a radical shift in customer minds too the
way they shop at a specific superstore and the reasons behind it. There are many reasons
why customers are rush to a store or strict to a specific store for longer. However, in our
recent study, we identified the 10 most important reasons why customers shop at particular
store.

The findings here manage to provide fascinating insights into the expectations and psyche of
supermarket shoppers in Dhaka. Whilst these findings are in themselves telling, it is
important to remember that we cannot automatically assume that such attitudes and
responses would be replicated in other metropolitan areas of Bangladesh, let alone in the
whole country. The very nature of the retail outlets themselves means that they attract and
appeal to a certain clientele, and these target shoppers are individuals, who are deemed
affluent or relatively affluent when compared with their fellow compatriots and women.

The characteristics considered most essential in developing a perception of supermarket

service offering is a convenient location, and the second most important aspect is value for
money. The next four most important attributes were `has an exterior that is visually
appealing`, a variety of branded products, has sales personnel who appear presentable
and neat and background music. Other important service attributes are: convenient to
move around in the store, well -stocked products, cleanliness of the store and the visual
display of products.

The shoppers` priorities help elucidate something of the desires of customers, but also reveal
something about their underlying fears or anxieties. As we can see from the above in first
place comes: Convenient location, something that should come as little surprise, especially
as shoppers are reluctant to travel far in Dhaka, in view of its frequent traffic paralysis. The
siting of stores within or adjacent to well to do neighbourhoods ensures that supermarkets
become a place of convenience, somewhere local enough to visit in person or to dispatch
domestic helpers to, without incurring additional transport costs or the risk of being stuck in
traffic jams. The sheer convenience of a store has the potential to increase the regularity with
which customers choose to shop, thus making it not only a retail space, but also a
'knowledge hub' where information is exchanged between staff and shoppers and shoppers
and their fellow shoppers. A supermarket's location helps cement it within its local
community, and this overtime, enables the establishment of the bonds of trust. In addition,
traditionally Bangladeshis are eager to shop on a regular basis, whether this is for food, for
themselves or hospitality, for items that help them mark family occasions or religious
celebrations and thus having a place that meets their particular needs is something that is
clearly of considerable importance. The concept of convenient is vital in Bangladeshi
context, as people tend to shop within their localities.

As a rule, most retail outlets are keen to make their customers aware that they desire to be
seen as places that offer value for money. Cost is always a significant driver and thus comes
of little surprise that the majority of shoppers deems it to be so. Bangladeshis are used to
shopping around and thus expect a retail outlet to offer competitive prices. This is equally
true of more affluent shoppers as it is those who are in the lowest income brackets within
society. No customer wishes to feel that he or she has in some way been ripped off; we all
appreciate a bargain and certainly expect retailers to make every effort to demonstrate a
desire to keep costs down.

The fact that the third highest priority is to do with a store having an exterior that is
visually appealing is itself very revealing. Buildings and the way in which they are
maintained connote status, core values and are an indicator of what may well lie within.
Clean, bright fancies are an indication of a business that takes pride in what it is offering;
they also add to the collective values of a neighbourhood rather than detracting from them.
Many traditional markets in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh are to be found in
structures that are tired, dilapidated and in desperate need of repair. Such buildings are
often a portent of what is to be found within. Modern supermarkets are expected to
differentiate themselves from the bazaars of old and the findings indicate that first
impressions are deemed important.

Those that actively choose to shop at supermarkets do so in the expectation that they will
offer a wider range of products, especially those of a branded nature. Exposure to TV, radio
advertising, as well as advertorials in newspapers and magazines ensures a heightened
awareness of products available. It is also a fact that those with high disposable incomes are
more likely to travel for work and leisure and to have access to education outside the
country, these factors influence-shopping choices. In the same way sales personnel are
expected to be presentable and neat. Such standards are reassuring, especially when it
comes to hygiene and general conduct. Much of this is about forging bonds of trust at
various levels, and it is interesting to see that background music scores so highly. Creating a
homely ambiance with the playing of traditional songs and melodies can prove extremely
evocative and cements a sense of well-being. Music is an integral part of the Bangladeshi
identity and thus the mood it creates in a retail outlet is very different from the discordant
sounds, chaos and detritus that is all too familiar in some of the more traditional retail
spaces, especially partially covered markets. The music adds to the shopping experience and
helps reinforce positive values. From the supermarkets point of view the shoppers are more
likely to browse at leisure and thus may well end up spending more as the relaxed and
positive vibe often has the effect of loosening purse strings. Equally the store lay out enables
a far less frenetic and stressful shopping experience. If there are wider aisles, well-stocked
shelves in a bright clean store where products are displayed artfully and with care then all
these factors have a bearing on the overall experience and the likelihood of discerning
shoppers to feel at home and develop a sense of loyalty towards a store.

Findings also indicate that mailings from the store, in store prayer room facilities, facilities
for children and credit card facilities are least important to Bangladeshi organised food
retail shoppers. Bangladeshi customers appear to set little store by whether a retail outlet or
supermarket is concerned with customer needs. This may appear to be an anomaly, yet on
reflection, there is almost certainly a very good plantation as to why this should be the case.
As there has not been, a long established tradition of store engagement with customers,
shoppers have developed their way of appraising and assessing whether or not a store
delivers what it claims. Families, friends and neighbours provide a powerful antenna that
appears to act as a mechanism for gathering opinions as well as disseminating them. Thus,
shoppers are remarkably independent in their approach and appear indifferent to more
scientific retail theories and practices that place considerable emphasis on cultivating a
rapport with customers. Naturally, such attitudes are often deeply ingrained, especially in a
culture that has rich traditions anchored within family, faith and community. Therefore, it
should come of little surprise that mailings from the store seem to have limited impact.
Supermarkets and the like are expected to focus on their core products and services and so
whilst prayer facilities, play areas, or a crèche for children might appear laudable extras in
fact are optional extras that, rarely enter the thinking of the average shopper. Bangladeshis,
whilst being a deeply religious people do not associate supermarkets or shopping malls with
acts of devotion. Those who are especially devout will order their day around the required
prayer times and will often refrain from engaging in activities that might in some way
detract from their devotions. Places of worship are deeply personal and are full of familial
and community associations.

Shopping in larger market malls and supermarkets can often be an experience in itself, one
that has a purpose given added impact by associations such as in-store music (often of
traditional songs and melodies). As a rule, if a family goes on masse they wish to savour the
experience together and they see little need to divest themselves of their young and entrust
them to strangers in a crèche or designated play area. For some, better to do shoppers, there
is the added consideration of safety, especially the fear of kidnap, so it should come as little
surprise that children are kept close, often indulged and expected to share with the retail
activities of their parents and or their extended family.

Whilst retail outlets may wish to connote modernity and radiate modernity, some offerings
appear to meet with limited enthusiasm from adult customers. In Bangladesh, cash remains
king and to date the take- up of credit cards is decidedly patchy. Customers appreciate
simplicity, and there is a general perception that cash transactions are straight forward, free
from the potential fraud or bureaucracy of credit and debit cards and affording the shopper
the potential to bargain in certain circumstances. Shoppers want what suits and what might
work in London or New York may not always be deemed desirable in Dhaka or other
Bangladeshi cities. Such apparent reluctance to embrace new means of payment must not be
misinterpreted, for Bangladeshis are extremely canny shoppers. Put quite simply, cash
transactions are straightforward and are free from the involvement of external parties or
institutions.