COMPARISON OF SOCIAL INTERACTION AND FRIENDSHIPS FORMED AT WET MARKETS AND SUPERMARKETS

Abstract

Wet markets in Singapore have played a huge role in building of community ties and establishment of cohesive neighbourhood communities. It is part of Singapore’s community and heritage. However, wet markets are being wiped out at a fast pace by the growing popularity of supermarkets due to the changing consumers’ preference and behaviour. Currently, there are limited studies on the comparison of social interaction at both markets in today’s context. This study seeks to explore the level of interaction and friendships formed between shoppers and other individuals at the wet markets and supermarkets. It will find out if wet markets promote community bonding and social interaction as compared to supermarkets in today's context and whether Singapore should continue this tradition and culture of wet markets, despite the growth of supermarkets. Firstly, qualitative research was carried out by reviewing previous literature, followed by interviews to understand the reasons for interactions at both markets in the context of Singapore. Next, quantitative research was conducted to find out the shopping behaviour, social interaction, progress of friendships and demographic profiles of the respondents. Lastly, data analysis included simple tabulations, cross tabulations, binary logistic regression and multiple linear regression. The findings of this study were that wet markets are places of social interaction where customers make friends and have high level of interaction with other individuals compared to supermarkets, as respondents at the wet markets have higher informational and social interactions with stall owners and other customers, have more knowledge on the people they have interacted with and make more friends.