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Abstract
An analysis of primary survey data on Thai shopping behavior seeks to understand the
relative satisfaction of consumers with wet markets and supermarkets and identify the factors
that affect frequency of visit to, and purchase behavior within, these retail outlets. This is used
as a basis for engaging in wider debates on the ‘supermarket revolution’ in Asia. On all
salient attributes affecting retail outlet choice, wet markets are perceived, in general, to be
inferior to supermarkets. However for fresh produce sales, wet markets retain an advantage.
Both socio-economic characteristics and retail outlet attributes are considered as determinants
of food shopping behavior. Bootstrapped bivariate ordered probit models identify that those
using wet markets more frequently are older and characterized by lower incomes and
educational achievement. Bootstrapped bivariate Tobit models reveal that those purchasing a
higher proportion of fresh produce from wet markets do so based on product quality and do
not regard wet markets as lacking cleanliness. Visit data are consistent with Reardon’s model
of supermarket diffusion.