Store Wars: 20 years of change in British supermarkets
Published 16 October 2002
How have 20 years of change in British supermarkets affected the way we shop?
Results from a major 2½-year ESRC-funded study of the effects of long-term expansion of modern food superstores have just been released. The study, taking place in Portsmouth, is funded by the Economic & Social Research Council, and is being conducted by Professor Ian Clarke (pictured right) of the Department of Marketing at Lancaster University Management School, together with Professor Alan Hallsworth (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Professor Peter Jackson (University of Sheffield).
The research group is replicating and extending Professor Hallsworth's original study conducted over 20 years ago in Portsmouth. In June this year in the first phase of the work, the group interviewed over 2,500 people outside all of the stores in the Portsmouth study area. The findings show that, even though people in the area now have a greater array of stores to choose from – given that mobility has increased substantially through increases in car ownership over the 20 years – more people now tend to shop closer to home.
Surprisingly, a greater proportion of people now walk to the large stores than in 1980 and the number of people using them more than twice per week has also increased markedly, from 18% in 1980 to just over 40% now. Professor Clarke said “We believe the higher frequency of shoppers may be due to people making smaller, more frequent purchases, possibly because they are using the large superstores to 'top up' instead of using other smaller local stores, as they might once have done. This, of course, is made easier because, unlike 20 years ago, we now have not just Sunday shopping but in some cases 24-hour trading. But it might also be that, as shoppers, we are more impulsive in our purchasing, or because nowadays we are buying more fresh and chilled foods which do not store as long. We need to bear in mind” he said, “that 20 years ago these new stores were regarded by most of us as 'special' and a 'treat' to shop in, but nowadays we use them like the old 'corner shop' – they are now part of our everyday lives”.
Other interesting findings from the first part of the study are that people now seem to be more 'loyal' to an individual store, as they purchase a larger proportion of their groceries from a single outlet, and there has been a substantial increase in people shopping on their own. “This may simply reflect the fact that these large stores are now more acceptable to single person households, or that people are either choosing or having to shop on their own rather than with their families”.
Professor Clarke pointed out that “there is a tendency for us to take the changes in our retail landscape for granted, but the stark reality is that over the last twenty years, food retailing has been transformed in virtually all towns across the UK, with potentially huge impacts on the choices available to shoppers. Just ask yourself which major food retailers over the last two decades have opened the doors of a new superstore in your immediate area – and chances are there will be at least two new outlets close to you”, he said.
Hardly a week has gone by over the last twenty years without some mention of the 'store wars' being fought between national retailers like Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco and Safeway. Government has taken a close interest in how new store developments have affected consumers, and a major report by the Competition Commission published two years ago concluded that their impact on consumer choice is heavily dependent on the competitiveness of each local marketplace. There has been a lot of speculation about the effects of this expansion, but no study of their long-term impact on shopping behaviour, that is, until this new ESRC-funded study.
“The Waterlooville and Havant area of Portsmouth was one of the first parts of the UK to see the opening of modern superstores back in 1980”, said Professor Hallsworth, who conducted the original baseline study when he worked at the University of Portsmouth. “At that time”, he went on, “the only large, car-based, food superstore in the Portsmouth area was Tesco, Portsmouth – and it depended on a multi-storey car park. Then, in the space of a few weeks, two large new outlets with huge surface car parks opened – the Asda next to Waterlooville town centre, and the Havant Hypermarket operated by the Co-op. Since 1980, the local 'store wars' have intensified even further: Asda – themselves taken over recently by the largest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart – bought the Havant Hypermarket from the Co-op and the store now trades under the Asda / Wal-Mart banner; and four other major new outlets have been built in nearby Horndean (Safeway), Waterlooville (Waitrose – relocated from Cowplain), Portchester (Tesco), and Farlington (J. Sainsbury). “This is the same phenomenon that has been played out to varying degrees on different battlefields across the country”, Professor Hallsworth said.
Over the next two years, the researchers will be further developing their understanding of how the 'store wars' phenomenon has affected consumer choices over the long-term. From October 2002 onwards, they begin the second phase of their research and will be delivering questionnaires to households in Waterlooville, Havant and surrounding areas. “We want to find out whether or not residents feel that their overall shopping choices have increased or decreased as a result of these substantial new store investments and closures of smaller stores”, says Professor Clarke. “It will be interesting to see how different types of households have perceived these developments”. The third phase of the research, led by Professor Jackson, will involve in-depth work with households over the next two years. This will focus on how different types of household have experienced the changes in retail provision. How does shopping fit into the wider context of people's lives and how do their consumption choices relate to other aspects of their lifestyles and identities? The potential ramifications of our study for central Government planning and competition policy and town planning across the UK are likely to be very significant.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about the study, or if local residents of the area would like to participate in the household research, they are encouraged to contact Professor Ian Clarke at Lancaster University. Details of the project can be found on the project website at: http://www.lums2.lancs.ac.uk/rccc
The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It has a track record of providing high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invests more than £46 million every year in social science research. At any time, its range of funding schemes may be supporting 2,000 researchers within academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences, thereby nurturing the researchers of tomorrow. The ESRC website address is: http://www.esrc.ac.uk
Reference details of the project described above can be obtained from ESRC Research Programme No. R000239531, 'Retail Competition & Consumer Choice: Long-term change and household dynamics'. External Relations Division, Economic & Social Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1UJ, Tel: 01793 413122; email: exrel@esrc.ac.uk
