岩手県船越における消費者行動の分析

抄録

This is a case study of consumer behavior by the residents of Funakoshi on the eastern seaboard of Iwate Prefecture. The writers attempted to clarify the factors affecting the choice of shopping centers for daily necessities by the residents of Funakoshi.
Funakoshi is a small agricultural and fishing settlement of about two hundred households and is situated 5km south of the Yamada shopping center, 30km from the Miyako shopping center and 25km north of the Kamaishi shopping center. They are all connected by rail and bus routes.
Using Huff's probabilistic model, expected ratios of consumer choice frequency for Funakoshi to the three shopping centers were calculated and the ratios were compared with the actual ones. The results are as follows:
(1) In testing the hypothesis by χ² test, there was an insignificant difference between the expected ratios and the actual ones, mainly because of the differences of the shopping centers' scale and the multiple purpose trips them.
(2) By an examination of residuals between the expected and actual choice ratio, it was also found that the shopping center of Miyako is more frequently visited to buy daily necessities than Kamaishi. The reasons for the choice between the two shopping centers for the residents of Funakoshi were due to:
(a) Conditions of shopping centers: the scale and range of goods available at each shopping center and the commercial environment. The shopping center in Miyako was preferred by the residents of Funakoshi.
(b) Conditions of connection to the centers: Miyako is closely connected to Funakoshi than Kamaishi by bus.
(c) Social conditions: Miyako was much more in accord with the mood and temperament of the residents of Funakoshi because Kamaishi is an iron and steel center with a large number of unfamiliar transient population from various parts of the country.