Consumer research in Papua New Guinea: Exploring preferences and purchasing behaviours for staple foods in an urban market

The supermarket expansion throughout emerging economies has caused dramatic shifts in fresh produce markets, impacting consumers and smallholders. As supermarkets begin to compete with open markets in the sale of fresh produce, new market opportunities emerge for smallholders, and new purchasing behaviours emerge for consumers. This research explores how the expansion of large-scale supermarkets is impacting the sale of local fresh produce staples in the largest urban market of an emerging economy. Using an intercept survey (n=353) at open market and supermarket locations throughout Port Moresby, this research found that consumers are motivated by convenience and price and use both supermarkets and open markets depending on what staples they are buying. As the first published data on supermarket consumers in Port Moresby, the results provide a baseline of urban purchasing behaviours in a country where consumer insight is scarce and offer insights to those marketing fresh produce within the context of emerging modern retail.