German food retailing is characterized by fierce competition among retail chains for consumer shopping. This paper considers the switching behaviour using data of white dairy product purchases. The empirical investigation uses a survival analysis approach, in particular hazard analysis. The results extend the knowledge of shopping behaviour by providing a new set of explaining variables and the importance of the first store, defined as store with the major share of household budget, becomes apparent. On average, households buy dairy products 42 times per year. Thereof 58 % are retail chain switches and in 41 % of all cases the households remain at the previously visited retail chain. Generally a low customer loyalty is visible in this investigation. It is shown that switching behaviour is widely influenced - amongst others - by percentage of private label products, percentage of special offers and price consciousness.