How many people visit supermarkets in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica, a Central American nation, has a thriving supermarket scene. Want to know consumer habits and market trends there? This blog post explores how many locals visit supermarkets, using official stats and surveys.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), Costa Rica had 1,380 supermarkets in 2019. They were spread across 82 cantons. These stores employed 38,564 people, about 1.8% of the country’s workforce.
Households spend more at supermarkets than anywhere else. INEC data shows the average monthly grocery bill was 103,685 colones ($170) in 2019. That’s 18.6% of total household expenditure!
But not everyone shops at supermarkets the same way. A 2018 University of Costa Rica survey found 77.4% of households visited weekly. Another 13.5% went every two weeks, while 9.1% went monthly or less.
There were regional and socioeconomic differences too. In the Central Valley, 81.4% visited supermarkets weekly versus 72.4% elsewhere. And 84.2% of higher-income, educated households shopped weekly compared to 69.7% of lower-income, less-educated households.
The UCR survey asked about supermarket choice reasons. The most common answers: product variety (62.3%), quality (51.9%), convenience (48%), prices (39.7%), and promotions (28.8%).
Supermarkets play an important economic and social role in Costa Rica, attracting many weekly customers. However, the sector faces challenges and improvement opportunities, like:
Increasing accessibility and affordability, especially for rural areas or low-income segments. Offering more sustainable, healthy options – organic, local, fair trade products – while reducing food waste and plastic packaging. Adapting to evolving customer preferences and needs through online shopping, home delivery, personalized services. Competing with other stores/markets offering lower prices, fresher products, cultural diversity.
In summary, Costa Rican supermarkets have a significant food system and consumer behavior role, but face challenges requiring innovation and adaptation to meet a diverse, dynamic market’s demands.
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