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The research objective was to understand what low‐income or emerging consumers living in the Latin American region understand as value when considering retail offerings.

The methodology employed for primary research was qualitative. Six of the major markets were selected: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Four focus groups were conducted in each country, resulting of a total of 208 participants. Target consumers were women from the emerging socio‐economic strata (SES). Secondly, this study relies upon a wide selection of secondary research and data sources: syndicated data sources such as A.C. Nielsen; local retail associations such as ABRAS in Brazil and ANTAD in Mexico; journal and popular press articles, SES profiles and previously published, relevant consumer studies.

Rather than emphasizing their limited income, emerging consumers as a group represent a sizable market for consumer products. But they should not be addressed as a single group: peculiarities among them underline the need for further segmentation, as in higher income segments. Their needs should be better defined as basic instead of just simple, and they do not just go for the lowest prices or second brands, as they have marked preferences that characterize them. This also reflects in their shopping habits, which partly explains the resilience of the traditional/small format retailers. The findings underline these segments' relevance for consumer products, their rational behaviour as they try to reconcile their preferences with their economic reality, and how this explains their distinct set of products and format requirements.

Marketers and retailers interested in catering to lower‐income segments will find clues to understanding the preferences, habits and needs of these segments that represent a significant portion of emerging markets.

Conclusions are presented here in the form of six common myths on emerging consumers that are contradicted by the findings. The relevance of this study comes not only from the significant size of this market but also from the possibility of marketers to emphasize the social contribution of business.

To understand the drivers behind small‐scale retailers' collective success, even after a decade of sustained growth of the “modern” retail sector in Latin America.

The study described in this paper was sponsored by the Coca‐Cola Retailing Research Council – Latin America. Consumer research for this study was based both on primary and secondary sources. To understand the drivers behind small‐scale retailers' collective success, standard frameworks were adapted for evaluating their value proposition and business model. Customer‐facing value drivers were examined along with selected ratios from the strategic resource model.

In spite of being “poor,” emerging consumers have a substantial purchasing power as a group. They work with a very specific set of products, categories and store format needs that distinguish them from other consumers. These distinct needs imply that it is not “just a matter of money and time” for them to change their purchasing patterns over to the “modern trade”. In fact, the evidence shows that smaller scale retailers fit the needs of emerging consumers quite well. Despite perceptions that the small retail sector draws its resilience from informality, we conclude that that the sector can be surprisingly efficient. Furthermore, the retailers exhibit a sustainable business model.

Although a wide variety of studies have been developed around small‐scale retailers, less effort has been devoted to learn about local storekeepers that are actually conducting successful business, especially in reference to less developed countries.