Mode Choice and Consumer Spending: An Examination of Grocery Store Trips

This paper aims to provide a better understanding of consumer behavior and its interaction with mode choice. Data for this study were collected through a customer intercept survey in spring of 2011 at ten grocery stores in the greater Portland area. A linear regression model of consumer spending was estimated to test the effects of mode, socio-demographic characteristics, time of shopping trip and distance from store. A binary logistic regression model predicted likelihood of utilizing an alternative mode for a grocery shopping trip based on socio-demographics, amount spent and several built environment characteristics. Results show strong effects of mode on the amount spent, with customers in autos spending consistently more than customers utilizing other modes of travel. Results from the mode choice model are consistent with the expenditure model in that amount spent is inversely associated with taking alternative modes, although the direction of causality is not clear. Findings also suggest that the built environment and day of week have a strong relationship with shopping mode. The implications of these results are limited by the lack of a full profile of customer shopping behaviors, including frequencies of shopping trips. Despite the limitations, this research sheds light on the relationship between consumer expenditures and travel choices and contributes to this literature by examining the relationships between mode and grocery shopping.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Clifton, Kelly
  • Morrissey, Sara
  • Ritter, Chloe
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2012-1-22 to 2012-1-26
• Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p
• Monograph Title: TRB 91st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Consumer behavior; Expenditures; Mode choice; Regression analysis; Shopping trips; Surveys
• Uncontrolled Terms: Supermarkets
• Geographic Terms: Portland (Oregon)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01365395
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-3913
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 20 2012 12:16PM