Consumer Behavior and the Village Trade Store: A Papua New Guinea Example

ABSTRACT

Geographie research on consumer spatial behavior has ignored the activities of Third World villagers who patronize small trade stores in their own community. In many villages throughout the Third World, the trade store is the closest retail outlet supplying low-order consumer items. This study examines the role of kinship and distance in affecting consumer spatial behavior in relation to trade stores in a village in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This analysis is based primarily on records of sales from four trade stores. It explores the extent to which distance functions independently of clan affiliation. The discussion also highlights the influence of clan affiliation on shopping patterns. This study demonstrates that kinship relationships, in addition to distance, are important dimensions of consumer spatial behavior in Third World rural communities. It also suggests that the impact of kinship on shopping patterns may be related to the degree of village involvement in the commercial economy.