Retail competition and consumer choice: contextualising the “food deserts” debate

Abstract

The “food deserts” debate can be enriched by setting the particular circumstances of food deserts – areas of very limited consumer choice – within a wider context of changing retail provision in other areas. This paper’s combined focus on retail competition and consumer choice shifts the emphasis from changing patterns of retail provision towards a more qualitative understanding of how “choice” is actually experienced by consumers at the local level “on the ground”. This argument has critical implications for current policy debates where the emphasis on monopolies and mergers at the national level needs to be brought together with the planning and regulation of retail provision at the local, neighbourhood level.

Healthy Cities: The Impact of Food Retail-led Regeneration on Food Access, Choice and Retail Structure

“…Clarke et al (2004), in the context of a Tesco regeneration hypermarket in Leeds, comment that "we would be very surprised if the opening of such a new Tesco hypermarket did not have substantive and discernable effects, as is normally the case, on other food stores in the area, large and small" (p.92). However they do not spell out either the direction or magnitude of such impacts.…”

A geographically and socio-economically disaggregated local household consumption model for the UK

“…Residents in deprived areas tend to have restricted access to affordable goods either due to physical inaccessibility (as documented in the debate concerning 'food deserts'), lack of private or public transport, and lack of internet access [38][39][40]. Therefore, according to this argument, material demand in deprived neighbourhoods may be over-estimated.…”

The Impact of Hypermarket Corporate Brand Extensions on Brand Personality: A Conceptual Analysis of Malaysian Market

“…Consumers develop brand architecture through personal interpretation towards retail stores, services and assortments (Esbjerg and Bech-Larsen, 2009). However, brand as an interface will influence consumer more than the retail interface (Ewing, 2000) and this will lead to consumer choice (Clarke, Hallsworth, Jackson, Kervenoael, Aguila and Kirkup, 2004). Due to the importance of retail brand, this conceptual study will be focusing on corporate brand extension of hypermarket into new products and services.…”