Effect of Government Support on Traditional Markets : Focusing on the Interaction of Convenience and Characterization

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to seek a more effective support plan for government support for traditional markets. More specifically, this study borrows the concept of POP(Point of Parity) and POD(Point of Difference) of brand positioning to provide implications for more effective traditional market support. Research design, data, and methodology: For the analysis, the raw data of the survey on the Management of Traditional Markets, Shopping Centers and Stores in 2019 provided by Small Enterprise and Market Service (2021) were used. Among a total of 1,401 markets, 1,295 markets in which all items of convenience and specialization were collected were analyzed. We conducted a 3-way covariance analysis. Results: First, traditional markets that participated in government-supported projects had more visiting customers than traditional markets that did not. Second, in traditional market competitiveness, convenience improvement is a competitive factor for traditional retail stores, and traditional markets with high convenience in government support policies show increased support effects. Third, in terms of the effect of government support and convenience on the traditional market support effect, it was found that traditional markets with high differentiation due to specialized support had an effect on the increase in the number of visiting customers even if convenience was low. Implications: First, this study empirically analyzed the existing traditional market support policies and support effects. Second, this study suggests that it is necessary to consider differentiation along with improvement in convenience, which is category similarity, in government support policies. Third, this study empirically analyzed the need to improve the convenience of traditional markets in government support policies.