Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:239791 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Abstract Given the many potential negative factors that influence food choice behaviour in older people, it is important to understand the problem areas of food shopping. Uses critical incident technique (CIT) to elicit consumers' stories of dissatisfying/satisfying shopping experiences and, where dissatisfied, identifies their expectations. Volunteers from a cross-section of locations in Scotland were interviewed, eliciting 248 incidents. Results identified eight key elements contributing to the food shopping experience with all, except social aspects, having positive and negative incidents. Argues that the factors influencing the food shopping experience are much wider than previous research indicates and that, given the breadth of dissatisfaction across the elements, older consumers are lacking "power" within the marketplace. Expectations indicate that some consumers feel they do not have the ability to exercise any alternative to overcome their dissatisfaction.Research has found there to be many potentially negative factors influencing the food choice behaviour and nutritional status of older people (Herne, 1995), with one key area identified as the food shopping environment (Read and Schlenker, 1993;Brech, 1994). The quality of the food shopping experience of older consumers is of relevance to marketers, as their increasing numbers represent a growing market opportunity for food retailers, who are competing at the margins for market share.

The growing numbers of older people represent an important market segment for retailers, particularly the food retail sector. The dominance of the food multiples and their growth strategies have been criticised for contributing to some older consumers being disadvantaged. This paper considers the satisfaction levels of older consumers in Scotland, with their food‐shopping experience. Drawing upon previous work by the author which identified the factors influencing satisfaction, 220 volunteers were recruited from various locations in Scotland and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The survey focused on the main shopping trip. Results indicate that, whilst there is a general trend towards satisfaction, there are key areas of dissatisfaction, such as aspects of the products for sale (merchandise), the practices and procedures of the retailer (retail practices) and factors in the community which affected the shopping trip (external shopping factors). This suggests that policy‐makers seeking to encourage the participation of food retailers in health promotion need to recognise vulnerable sub‐groups of the older population and recognise that not all older consumers can signal their preferences in the marketplace.

The number and proportion of older people in the UK are increasing and it has been found that this population segment is a nutritional risk group. Food choice research and health promotion reports have sought to identify the influences on diet and the food retailing sector has been found to particularly impact upon older people. Low income, poor mobility and an inability to access food shops disadvantage many. This paper considers the food shopping experiences of older consumers by identifying, through critical incident technique, positive and negative aspects of the food shopping activity. A total of 120 interviews were conducted and 248 incidents collected from people aged 60/65+ in various locations in Scotland. Content analysis produced eight primary categories and 22 sub‐categories of key elements in the shopping experience. The main factors that contribute to the quality of the shopping experience were merchandise related, retail practices and staff issues. The internal store environment, accessibility, external shopping environment and personal factors were also identified and featured both positive and negative incidents, with social aspects only having positive incidents.

The increased policy emphasis on the ‘patient experience’ places the health consumer in centre stage as the driver for healthcare delivery. This poses challenges for service providers to meet the needs of more vulnerable groups, notably those with disabilities, who are often more likely to be both in greater need of services and, at the same time, less able to access them. This paper reports an interpretive synthesis of qualitative research studies in the UK and US on the experience of vulnerable patient groups using a broad range of health services. An interpretive review method was adopted to capture the complexity of the data. Eighteen papers were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria for the review. Seven key themes were identified: life experience, service design, point of delivery, accessibility, availability, specialist education/training and consumer typology. Although policy makers and providers often refer to the need for greater consumerism in the development of health services, our review suggests that it may be appropriate to consider a model of ‘mediated consumerism’ for some groups of service users. While some concerns are common to both mainstream and vulnerable consumers, others such as accessibility of services, and the resulting experience of health care, are particular to specific vulnerable groups. Accessing the experiences of these more vulnerable groups therefore warrants close attention in the development of both policy and practice in health service delivery.

Voluntary food co-operatives (VFCs) remain a relatively under-researched area of academic enquiry. However, they represent an important form of retail provision for particular consumer groups. This paper examines the role and purpose of VFCs in Scotland. It details the primary reasons behind their establishment and examines their different methods of operation. Placed within a framework of food retail access, the research identifies the important contribution VFCs make to alleviating poverty and promoting healthy eating in inner urban areas. Significant differences exist between VFCs and the paper therefore concludes with a typology of different voluntary food co-operatives.The great thing about poverty is that it is a problem that you can throw money at (respondent's quote).