THE SEVEN PS OF MARKETING AND CHOICE OF MAIN GROCERY STORE IN A HYPERINFLATIONARY ECONOMY

The paper assesses the significance of the seven Ps of marketing in influencing consumer choice of store for main grocery shopping in a hyperinflationary economy. It reviews two pioneering complex and six simplified models of consumer behaviour. Theorising in the marketing stimuli component of the reviewed models is limited to the traditional four Ps of marketing. Data was gathered from a convenience sample with 55 elements using a questionnaire informed by a 26-item construct based on the seven Ps of marketing. Exploratory factor analysis and mean scores were employed to analyse the data. The results of factor analysis confirm the significance of six of the seven Ps of marketing in influencing shoppers’ choice of store for main groceries in a hyperinflationary economy. Thus six of the paper’s seven hypotheses were confirmed. The managerial implication of the paper is that grocery retailers operating in a hyperinflationary economy should go beyond the traditional marketing mix in their quest to influence consumer shopping behaviour. The academic implication of the paper is that the marketing stimuli component of consumer behaviour models should be expanded beyond the traditional four Ps of marketing. Future studies should measure the influence of the seven Ps of marketing on main grocery shopping in a stable economic environment. It would also be sensible to measure the seven Ps of marketing’s influences on organisational buying behaviour in a hyperinflationary environment and the immediate post-hyperinflationary context.