Consumer and retailer perceptions of hypermarkets and traditional retail stores in Portugal

Since its appearance in the mid 1980s, the hypermarket is a symbol of the modernisation of Portugal. It has dramatically changed not only the retailing structure in this country but also Portuguese buying behaviour. To better understand these changes, personal interviews were conducted with 500 Braga consumers. In addition, a mailed survey was administered in the same market to 204 traditional retailers. The results show that, for consumers, the hypermarket is the preferred type of retail store for frequently purchased packaged goods, due to its low prices and convenient one-stop shopping. The perception of traditional retailers is that the hypermarkets affected them negatively. The comparative analysis suggests that, although consumers do not have a negative opinion about traditional retail, they do not share the same favourable opinion that traditional retailers have about themselves.