=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3013/20210003
|storemode=property
|title=AIC Algorithm for a decision to choose the supermarket: Evidence from Vietnam
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3013/20210003.pdf
|volume=Vol-3013
|authors=Nguyen Thi Ngan,Bui Huy Khoi
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/icteri/NganK21
}}
==AIC Algorithm for a decision to choose the supermarket: Evidence from Vietnam==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3013/20210003.pdf
AIC Algorithm for Making Decisions on Supermarket Choice:
Evidence from Vietnam
Nguyen T. Ngan 1 and Bui H. Khoi 1
1
Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Abstract
The paper explores factors influencing making decisions on supermarket choice: Evidence
from Vietnam. Data used in the study were gathered from highly reliable information sources
and primary data collected through a survey of 201 clients living in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam. To analyze and evaluate data, this paper has used the following methods as the AIC
algorithm and regression analysis. Through research results show that most customers are
most concerned with the factors of a decision to choose the supermarket. Based on theory and
previous studies, this research is done through 2 phases, qualitative research and quantitative
research, using non-probability sampling. Finally, research results have identified four factors
affecting the decision to choose the supermarket for shopping, including Location, Perception
of prices and products, Attitude of employees, and Reference. The paper uses the optimal
selection by the AIC Algorithm for Making Decisions on Supermarket Choice: Evidence
from Vietnam.
Keywords 1
AIC algorithm, decision, the supermarket
1. Introduction
The study investigates the factors that influence supermarket brand selection behavior in Vietnam,
as well as the degree to which these factors influence the customer's choice intention. The factors of
store picture, price perception, risk perception, attitude, knowledge, and familiarity were determined,
according to the findings [1]. Currently, the supermarket business is always welcome in Vietnam's
retail market. Because the retail market is a potential market, bringing high profits for participating
businesses, there are now many supermarkets in the market, especially in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City,
Vietnam, supermarkets continuously. Formed as Big C, Co.opmart, Emart, Aeon, ... To fully meet the
requirements of consumers, businesses besides providing full products to consumers, businesses
should also attract consumers, along with the challenge is also an opportunity for retailers to show
professionalism, build image, retail skills, and art, etc. to fully meet the requirements and bring the
best experience to consumers. The Vietnam retail sector is attracting both large and small companies
to take part. In the first ten months of 2019, retail sales of products totaled 3 million billion VND,
accounting for 76 percent of overall retail sales and up 12.8 percent from the same time last year [2].
This paper uses the optimal choice by the AIC Algorithm for making decisions on supermarket
choice: Evidence from Vietnam.
2. Literature Review
ICTERI-2021, Vol I: Main Conference, PhD Symposium, Posters and Demonstrations, September 28 – October 2, 2021, Kherson, Ukraine
EMAIL: buihuykhoi@iuh.edu.vn; nguyenthingan@iuh.edu.vn
ORCID: 0000-0002-0851-1177; 0000-0002-4976-7435
©️ 2020 Copyright for this paper by its authors.
Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org)
2.1. Relevant previous studies
The paper seeks to identify the factors affecting food purchasing decisions at the Co-opmart
supermarket chain in HCM City through the application of a mix of qualitative and quantitative. The
study found four aspects to be important: commodities, cost, convenience, and communication. These
factors influence the decision to shop at the Co-opmart supermarket [3].
One of the most convenient methods to buy groceries is at a supermarket. Ease of use,
convenience, and a better shopping experience are all significant factors at the supermarket. The
independent variables in the study were convenience, variety & assortments, product quality, price,
and private label, whereas the dependent variable was consumers' supermarket selection choice.
Consumer decisions on supermarket selection are positively influenced by variety and assortments,
product quality, and private labels, according to the findings of this study [4].
Every month, the number of visitors to Brastagi Supermarket Medan grows. Typically, large
events during the month stimulate a rise in the number of visitors, a factor of customer satisfaction
that is high enough that tourists continue to pick Berastagi Supermarket for shopping and fruits in
Medan's modern market. This study used incidental sampling, which is a sample collection strategy
based on chance, in which anyone who crosses paths with a researcher can be used as a sample.
According to the findings, product, price, location, and advertising all have a substantial impact on
consumer decision-making [5].
Along with reviewing previous research models, we give 04 factors affecting the decision to
choose the supermarket as the shopping address of Ho Chi Minh City consumers includes (1) price
and product perception, (2) location, (3) employee attitude, (4) reference. We use the above 4 factors
as a proposed research model for our research paper.
2.2. Perception of prices and products (PP)
According to Kotler [6], the product factor comprises 3 levels: core product, actual product, and
supplementary product. That core product is the value the product brings to the consumer or the value
that meets and satisfies the needs of consumers, the actual product is the function, the packaging,
product quality, and supporting products are sales policies, customer care, and after-sales service. In
most of the above research on the factors affecting shopping decisions at retail stores mentioned
above, the product factor is an important factor, directly influencing the purchasing decision of
consumers. The price not only includes the content of the price of the product or service that the
consumer pays to the supplier or retailer, but also refers to the total cost that the consumer pays for
that product or service [7].
2.3. Location (LO)
Location is often one of the most influential considerations in a customer's store choice. For
example, a working couple may easily decide to shop closest to their bus stop. Most similar
consumers shop at the retail stores closest to them. Placement determines strategic importance
because they are an advantage for developing sustainable competition. If a retailer has the best
position, which is most attractive to its customer, it will relegate the competitor to the second-best
position (Levy et al. 2012). The convenience of location makes it convenient in shopping for
customers. Most consumers will prefer to choose supermarkets close to home for shopping because of
the convenience of transportation, which not only saves time but also reduces stress, costs, and other
problems. Therefore, the location of the supermarket has a certain influence on consumers' decisions
[8].
2.4. Attitude of employees (AE)
For the retail sector supermarkets, in particular, the interaction between supermarket staff and
customers is always highly appreciated [9]. Customers or consumers who go shopping at the
supermarket will feel more excited if the collective of supermarket staff gives them a friendly and
comfortable atmosphere. Not only influence during shopping but also employee's attitude will make
you appreciate going to the supermarket where you are shopping. That affects whether you continue
to choose that supermarket in the future [10].
2.5. Reference (RE)
A reference group is a group of people influencing the formation of customer attitudes,
perceptions, and behaviors towards a product, brand, or business [11]. Normally, people will always
pay attention to the opinions of others such as friends, relatives ... in anything. For example, I like that
bag but friend's advice you not to buy it because it doesn't look right for me, and it is the comments
that will make me confused about shopping. Here in supermarket selection too, when my friends have
a good rating of a supermarket and recommend it to me, I will consider that supermarket more than
the others because here I already have confidence in my friends, I will be more secure in their
referrals.
2.6. The decision to choose the supermarket (DE)
Supermarkets have a major influence on food prices all over the world. The paper shows the major
factors that influence supermarkets. They will use the model analysis results to intelligently combine
the effects of each supermarket option factor [12]. The factors of store picture, price perception, risk
perception, attitude, knowledge, and familiarity were determined to influence a decision to choose the
supermarket [1]. Besides, the author's research model is reasonable because of its science, because
this model is built on the consumer model of Kotler [13]. The author combines the "price", "product"
factors of Chamhuri and Batt [14], the "location" factor of Roig-Tierno et al. [15], the "employee
attitude" factor of Newman et al. [16].
3. Method
3.1. Sample Approach
According to Bollen [17], the minimum sample size is 5 samples for one parameter to be
estimated. The sample size can be defined as 5: 1 (5 observations per 1 variable) [18]. In this study
there are 21 variables, therefore, the minimum sample size can be calculated as n = 5 x 21 = 105.
Although the minimum sample size requires only 105 surveys, the author submitted go 221 survey
questionnaires indirectly via the Internet with tools supporting Google Forms for consumers to ensure
sample diversity and representativeness. Table 1 shows sample characteristics statistics.
Table 1
Research Sample
Characteristics Amount Percent (%)
Male 88 43.8
Female 113 56.2
Below 18 16 8.0
Sex and Age 18-25 71 35.3
26-35 51 25.4
36-45 43 21.4
Above 45 20 10.0
Below 3 million VND 5 2.5
Income/Month 3-6 million VND 77 38.3
7-10 million VND 59 29.4
Over 10 million VND 60 29.9
Job Student 25 12.4
Office Staff 71 35.3
Homemaker 79 39.3
Other 26 12.9
Always 37 18.4
Usually 95 47.3
Buying in Supermarket
Often 39 19.4
Sometimes 30 14.9
Collected data will be encrypted, entered in Table 2.
Table 2
Factor and Item
Factor Code Item
PP1 I feel price goes hand in hand with quality
PP2 I feel that the prices of products are always clearly communicated
PP3 I feel that frozen food here is always fresh
PP
PP4 I feel the full product supply is always available
I feel there is always an alternative product available and can easily find
PP5
products
Supermarkets have many convenient branches for shopping, no matter
LO1
where they are
LO2 Supermarket locations are always in a crowded residential area
LO
LO3 Shopping places near my home help you to easily move
LO4 I can easily find supermarkets in the area near my home, company, ...
LO5 The supermarket is in a place with a convenient traffic location
AE1 I feel that the staff always provides services quickly
I feel the staff are always ready and enthusiastic to respond to
AE2
customer requests
Employees have a certain level of knowledge about the product that
AE AE3
makes me feel secure in using the product
AE4 I feel the staff are always polite and happy for customers
I feel employees are always attentive in protecting customers'
AE5
belongings
RE1 I feel that the opinions of friends and relatives affect my decisions
When I see many people trusting supermarkets to shop, I will also want
RE2
to shop here
RE Having the recommendation of others will save you time in choosing
RE3
the supermarket
RE4 I feel secure when being introduced to others
RE5 I appreciate the opinions of everyone around me
DE1 The supermarket will be the supermarket that you prioritize to choose
DE DE2 I decide to choose the supermarket as a shopping place in the future
DE3 I will recommend the supermarket to your friends and relatives
The items used for these concepts will be measured using a 5-point Likert scale: 1 Totally
Disagree, 2 Disagree, 3 Normal, 4 Agree, 5 Totally Agree.
3.2. Blinding
For the duration of the study, all study staff and respondents were blinded. No one from the
outside world had any contact with the study participants.
4. Results
4.1. AIC (Akaike's Information Criteria) algorithm
R program used the AIC to select the best model. In the theoretical environment, AIC has been
used to select models. The AIC technique can also handle many independent variables when
multicollinearity develops. AIC can be used as a regression model to estimate one or more
dependent variables from one or more independent variables. The AIC is a crucial and useful metric
for determining a full and straightforward model. A model with a lower AIC is chosen based on the
AIC information standard. When the minimal AIC value is reached, the best model will end [19-22].
Every step of the search for the best model is documented in R reports. For DE = f (PP + LO + AE +
RE), the step stop with four independent variables has an AIC of -355.12.
Table 3
Estimates
SD t-value p-value Decision
DE Estimate
Intercept 0.49925
PP 0.21635 0.04384 4.935 0.000 Accepted
LO 0.40515 0.05249 7.719 0.000 Accepted
AE 0.12723 0.03719 3.421 0.000 Accepted
RE 0.12890 0.04312 2.989 0.000 Accepted
We use t-value by p-value. The p-value for all variables is less than 0.05 [23], so they are
correlated with the decision to choose the supermarket (DE) in table 3 was influenced Perception of
prices and products (PP), Location (LO), Attitude of employees (AE), Reference (RE).
4.2. Model Evaluation
Table 4
Violations of regression model
PP LO AE RE
VIF
1.225733 1.208596 1.095582 1.118131
test for autocorrelation
Autocorrelation Durbin-Watson = 1.7654
p-value = 0.04398
R-squared F-statistic p-value:
Model Evaluation
0.5129 51.6 0.00000
When the independent variables in regression models have a high correlation, the phenomenon of
multicollinearity arises. When the VIF coefficient is over 10, Gujarati and Porter's model show
evidence of multicollinearity [24]. Table 4 shows that the VIF (variance inflation factor) for
independent variables is less than ten [25], as a result, the independent variables are not collinear.
Because the p-value = 0.04398 is less than 0.05, the Durbin-Watson test shows that the model in table
4 has autocorrelation [26]. According to the results from table 4, the Perception of prices and products
(PP), Location (LO), Attitude of employees (AE), Reference (RE) impact the decision to choose the
supermarket (DE) is 51.29% in table 4. The regression equation below is statistically significant,
according to the analyzes above [27].
DE = 0.49925 + 0.21635PP + 0.40515LO + 0.12723AE+ 0.12890RE
5. Conclusions
The results of the analysis of the influence from high to low are Location (β = 0.40515), Perception
of price and products (β = 0.21635), Reference (β = 0.12890), and Attitude of employees (β =
0.12723). After determining the influencing factors and their influence on the decision to choose a
supermarket, the author concludes that the factors that have a powerful influence on the decision to
choose a supermarket are location and feel on price and product. The factors are related in the same
direction with the decision to choose a supermarket, so if any factor is increased, the decision to
choose will increase. Therefore, businesses can influence the above factors to promote their business
and create customer loyalty.
6. Acknowledgments
This research is funded by the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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