A role for consumer risk perceptions in grocery retailing

Abstract

The power and usefulness of perceived risk theory in understanding shoppers’ behaviour has been demonstrated many times over recent years in the UK by the numerous food scares. The article explores how retailers use perceived risk in their strategies and develops the links between store attributes and risk dimensions. This re‐interpretation of previous store‐image studies provides a new conceptual framework for understanding store image and deepens our knowledge of how risk and risk‐reduction are operationalised in practice. The paper also reviews some evidence on factors which affect shoppers’ risk perceptions, e.g. age, gender, group discussion, brand name and shopping channel and discusses how the risk concept can be used by food retailers as well as presenting some ideas for future research.