We are what we eat. In the contemporary version this expression would be: we are what we buy and consume. We buy often, almost daily. In this respect, Magenta Consulting wanted to learn the behavior of Moldovans, and because the residents of the capital represent the largest public consumer in the country, the survey was conducted exclusively on the territory of the city Chisinau.
Market versus supermarket
The results of the survey show that among the Chisinau residents who go daily for shopping the most popular are the markets, supermarkets and small shops selling at counters. So 26% of the residents of the capital do their daily shopping in supermarkets, 14% - in markets, and 13% in small shops.
This “top three” remains unchanged also in the case of those who purchase their supplies of products several times during a period of 7 days, but, in this case the number of buyers increases. Over a third of Chisinau residents, 39% go to supermarkets once or twice a week, 29% of buyers belong to markets and almost a quarter – to the small shops with counters.
This is the case of specialized shops, fruit and vegetable stalls, markets and wholesale warehouses. For these trading outlets, the frequency the same buyer visits is reduced to a visit per week and rarer. Each fifth Chisinau resident gets the weekly supply of foodstuffs from fruit and vegetable stalls or from the city markets.
A third of the residents of the capital go rarer than monthly to wholesale stores or warehouses for foodstuffs. This type of commercial enterprises, according to the survey conducted by Magenta Consulting is also the most unpopular among the population of Chisinau – 48% do not buy there at all, while supermarkets are ignored only by 2% of interviewees.
The supermarket – double champion at the frequency of visits by buyers
Magenta asked the residents of the capital what are the foodstuffs they buy daily. The leader in answers was bread and bakery products – 71%. Among the foodstuffs Chisinau residents purchase several times a week are fresh fruits and vegetables – 65%. Over a half of the interviewees buy dairy products, 48% - water or juice and soft drinks. Those buying sausages have lower percentage, and 41% do not leave the shop without candy and chocolate.
Rarer, mostly twice a month, the population from Chisinau buys tea or coffee – 59%, cereals and pasta – 55%, confectionery – 45%, fish and meat – 41%, and 39% accordingly. The most frequently the residents of the capital buy products from supermarkets, the magnitude of the popularity of these types of shops may be seen in the chart below.
However, other types of shops also have sales, such as the specialized stores. 22% of the interviewees claim they purchase sausages namely from this type of shops, 23% go to butcher shops, 16% chose to buy sweets from confectionery shops. The respondents also do not ignore markets, a quarter of them buy fresh fruits and vegetables namely at fairs, each fifth goes to the market for fish, and each tenth – for meat, cereals, rice and pasta.
Also, Magenta Consulting calculated how much the Chisinau residents spend in average for the chemical products and foodstuffs. Thus, at once, for foodstuffs they pay in average MDL 284, and for chemical products MDL 91 less – MDL 193.
The most for foodstuffs, but also chemical products, pay women, the persons aged between 26 and 35 years old, managers or those who are in a leadership position and the Chisinau residents with a monthly income of over MDL 12 thousand. The consumption basket is more economical with men, persons who have not reached the age of 25 years old, retirees, those only with special secondary or lyceum education and the residents of the capital with an income lower than MDL 3 thousand.
With the full or less full wallet, the Chisinau population consumes. On the thickness of their wallet depends only the way in which they do their “acrobatics” in their consumer behavior.
Methodology: This survey was conducted on a conventional sample of 420 interviewed persons, during the period February 24 – March 5, 2017, in the city of Chisinau.