ATRIBUTOS QUALITATIVOS QUE INFLUENCIAM CONSUMIDORES NA ESCOLHA E AVALIAÇÃO DOS SUPERMERCADOS NA REGIÃO DO MÉDIO ALTO URUGUAI GAÚCHO.

Supermarkets are present in many cities by offering various products to end consumers. The consumers choose and evaluate supermarkets based on their qualitative attributes which are inherent to the service. The identification of these consumer choice attributes form the dimensions of service quality provided by supermarkets. Therefore, this is the main objective of this study: to identify the attributes which influence consumer choice and evaluation of service quality from supermarkets. The research method is exploratory qualitative, employing the critical incident technique to collect data and keywords analysis with 24 supermarket consumers in the Médio Alto Uruguai Gaúcho region. The main results from the research identified a group of 43 qualitative attributes categorized in nine theoretical dimensions that were important in customer perception related to supermarket service. This study also brings academic and scientific implications, because it widens the study of qualitative attributes mentioned by consumers, which influence their choice and evaluation of supermarkets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]