A data examination on a supermarket dataset in Taiwan

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to focus on a database from a supermarket for market segmentation.Design/methodology/approachRather than using the questionnaire to collect the customers' purchase behaviors, this study uses a database from a supermarket as an example to illustrate how market segmentation can be performed by adding useful variables particularly from behavioral variables and through Chi-square test and analysis of variance.FindingsThe illustration of the database from a branch supermarket shows that two demographic variables (gender and age group) and two behavioral variables (date of transactions and time of purchase) are critical variables for market segmentation when total money spent and purchased merchandize items are taken into consideration.Practical implicationsThis case study can be a reference for supermarket practitioners to follow in order to increase profit and to provide better services for their customers.Originality/valueNo studies have been found to combine demographic variables, behavioral variables, merchandize items and total amount for market segmentation simultaneously. Different combinations of demographic variables, behavioral variables and merchandize items can be further used to perform market segmentation more effectively. This framework used in this case study can be further applied in similar industries including retail industries for market segmentation as well as to fulfill customer needs in practice.