We’d rather pay more, as long as we don’t have to go far. What determines the choice of a grocery chain?
Store location and consistently low prices top the list of priorities when choosing a grocery chain. However, their weight differs dramatically depending on what type of shopper you are. While loyal customers barely consider price, deal-hunters will switch to a competitor to save just fifty crowns. Older generations and people from smaller towns care about parking, women pay attention to food freshness, and younger shoppers value late opening hours.
Most Czechs shop regularly at one to three grocery chains, while one fifth (21%) of the population is loyal to a single chain they visit almost exclusively.
However, 13% of Czech shoppers actively compare offers across chains and buy wherever the deal is best at any given moment. For this group, a saving of as little as 50 crowns on a single shopping trip can be enough to switch stores. 22% of those who regularly switch chains for lower prices said so in the NMS survey.
How do we choose where to shop? Above all, we don’t want to go too far out of our way
According to 44% of respondents, location is the most important factor when choosing where to shop. Second place goes to consistently low prices, cited as the most important factor by 34% of respondents.
“The biggest differences in shopper priorities show up around the factor of consistently low prices. People who always shop in one favourite chain stated low prices as their reason in only 21% of cases. For them, location is what matters most. But 51% of those who actively compare offers across chains named low prices as their main reason for choosing a store. For these ‘comparers’, price actually matters more than accessibility, which only 35% of them cite as their primary reason. In other words: for a good promotion or discount, we are willing to go out of our way, even to a store we would not normally visit. The question then is whether such a trip is actually worth it, especially when it involves driving from store to store,” says Lucie Režná from NMS.
Quality and range of products are equally important factors in choosing a chain. And it is Lidl, Billa and Kaufland that win the most customers on these grounds. Fourth place goes to the availability of fresh products, for which Czechs prefer specialized shops such as bakeries or fruit and vegetable stores. Although Lidl stores are not far behind in this regard.
27% of respondents consider a chain’s loyalty programme and member discounts to be important. Loyalty cards are most popular at Tesco, followed by Albert and Lidl.
Parking matters most to older shoppers and people from smaller towns
For the oldest generation Baby Boomers location is the single most important factor when choosing a grocery chain. Car accessibility and parking availability also play a significant role for this group.
The option to park near a store is equally important for people from smaller towns and villages, who often have no choice but to drive to a shop in a larger town.
Gen Z tends to stick to established routines. Compared to older generations, they most often shop wherever they have simply always shopped. Opening hours also matter to the under-28s, with 16% citing them as a key reason for choosing a particular store.
Food quality drives women’s choices, men value easy access
When choosing a grocery chain, women decide according to freshness of food more often than men do. They are also more likely to take advantage of loyalty programmes and club member discounts.
Men, on the other hand, more often shop wherever is easiest to reach by car or park near, or simply wherever they have been going out of habit for a long time.
Methodology
A total of 1,056 respondents participated in the online survey. Data was collected from a representative sample of the online population aged 18 and older via an online questionnaire from March 5 to March 9, 2026.
Contact for media
Lucie Režná, NMS Market Research s.r.o. – [email protected], +420 724 950 557
About NMS Market Research
NMS Market Research is a research agency with over 20 years of history. In addition to market research, which it provides to hundreds of clients worldwide, it also studies political and social issues. In addition to the Czech Republic, it operates in other countries in Europe and Asia. NMS is a member of the international organization ESOMAR and national organization SIMAR.