Consumers' perceptions of mail‐order speciality foods

The objectives of the study are to examine consumers' perceptions of speciality food mail‐order products on the basis of a mail survey of “active” and “inactive” mail‐order shoppers. The paper identifies a profile of mail‐order shoppers, examines the influence of perceived risk and the effectiveness of risk relievers, derives the dimensions of perceived benefits and establishes consumer segments based upon benefits sought.

The results reveal a distinct profile of active in‐home shoppers with resped to demographic and lifestyle variables.

Shoppers perceive higher levels of risk with mail‐order shopping compared to in‐store shopping. Appropriate risk relievers are identified for both active and inactive groups.

Consumers' perceptions of the benefits of mail‐order emphasis quality, uniqueness and convenience. However, underlying these attributes are four main dimensions of customer relations and service, convenience, nostalgia and uniqueness.

Furthermore, it is possible to identify two segments of active mailorder shoppers in terms of a produd‐oriented group and a mail‐order‐oriented group.     

Apparel catalog patronage: Demographic,lifestyle and motivational factors

This study was designed to profile catalog shoppers of apparel and to examine their frequency of shopping. Specifically, it focused on the relative importance of consumers' lifestyle, demographic, and motivational factors in catalog shopping patronage. Data from 680 respondents were analyzed. The data indicated a relationship between consumers who shop for apparel from catalogs and some of the variables included in the study. A multiple regression model indicated that when several variables were considered, the frequent catalog shoppers tended to be older and better educated than infrequent catalog shoppers. They were also more likely to engage in inactive pursuits rather than sports activities and were more likely to perceive convenience as an important factor in their decisions to shop from catalogs than were infrequent catalog shoppers.     

The moderating effects of in-store marketing on the relationships between shopping motivations and loyalty intentions

This study attempts to understand the moderating roles of in-store marketing by incorporating the effects of shopping motivations on repatronage and word-of-mouth intentions in the context of fashion apparel by applying theories related to self-determination and social impact. Structural equation modeling using data collected from young adult fashion apparel shoppers in Thailand reveals positive effects of shopping motivations. The utilitarian shopping motivation shows a greater effect in predicting loyalty intentions than hedonistic shopping motivation. In-store marketing is shown to have a moderating effect on loyalty intentions, although the influence of each moderator on the investigated direct effects varies. The findings can prove helpful to fashion apparel retailers in developing effective advertising and promotional strategies that correspond to the specific needs of the shoppers to promote store loyalty intentions.     

To tell or not to tell? The roles of perceived norms and self‐consciousness in understanding consumers' willingness to recommend online secondhand apparel shopping

Secondhand apparel shopping resides in a domain characterized by used goods traditionally associated with financially marginalized consumers. Acknowledging the elusive psychological barriers associated with preowned apparel, this study explores mechanisms that facilitate consumers' willingness to recommend online secondhand apparel shopping. Results from three experimental studies and a cross‐sectional survey of online secondhand shoppers in the United States reveal that hedonic and ethical benefits influence recommendation behavior via perceived norms, whereas economic benefit directly influences consumers' willingness to recommend. Moderated mediation analyses further demonstrate that self‐consciousness alters the strength of the indirect effects, such that consumers with lower self‐consciousness displayed greater willingness to recommend compared to highly self‐conscious consumers. Findings contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of the roles perceived norms and self‐consciousness play in facilitating or inhibiting recommendation behavior in a context that implicitly involves self‐disclosure of one's secondhand purchase behavior. Managerial implications offer insights on salient benefits that can be leveraged to influence word‐of‐mouth recommendation.     

Looking at Gen Y shopping preferences and intentions: exploring the role of experience and apparel involvement

Apparel retailers need more information to reach and increase patronage from Generation Y with $150 billion purchasing power. Experiential retailing, involving one or more of the five senses, helps create utilitarian and hedonic benefits for brick‐and‐mortar apparel shoppers. However, little is known about how Generation Y responds to experiential strategies. This study of Generation Y brick‐and‐mortar apparel shoppers, using a cohort approach, seeks to determine which dimensions of a shopping experience, as well as shopping involvement level and demographics, are associated with store preference and patronage intent.     

Online service personalization for apparel shopping

This study explores the dynamics of online service personalization in the online apparel retailing context, with regard to customers’ actual online shopping activities. From an empirical study of American Internet shoppers (n=204), three types of widely-used online service personalization, that is (i) offer, (ii) recognition, and (iii) personal advice, were identified. Moreover, grounded by the Theory of Reasoned Action [Fishbein, M., Ajzen, I., 1975. Belief, Attitudes, Intention, Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA], relationships between customers’ online service personalization attitudes and their online shopping activities—regarding apparel items—have been investigated. Findings of this study empirically present the dynamics of online service personalization in the context of online apparel retailing. Also, the results show that customer online shopping experiences may impact on their online service personalization attitudes. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed regarding online service management. Based on the results, Internet-based apparel retailers may benefit from developing various types of personalization services by enhancing shopping intentions of their customers, in particular, of those who are loyal to the retailers.     

Female consumers: Decision-making in brand-driven retail

This article is a theory-building exploratory study conducted to investigate how female shoppers make meaning in a branded-retail store shopping experience. This study extends research on retail consumers' decision-making and the retail shopping experience using hermeneutic phenomenology. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with respondents, who were self-identified customers of a leading intimate apparel retailer. The results suggest that consumers' retail shopping decision-making incorporates a complex set of interactive components that are brand-driven and simultaneously affect and are affected by the interaction of in-store shopping and retail setting. The findings show a rich understanding of the consumer decision-making process is achievable by including the actual in-store experience, consumers' prior contextual experiences and expectations regarding retail visits.     

The role of product brand image and online store image on perceived risks and online purchase intentions for apparel

Purchase intentions for apparel products often require physical examination prior to purchase. Hence, greater risk is associated with shopping online for apparel products, making it important to examine factors that reduce various risks influencing online purchase intentions. This study examines and compares the impact of two of the most important risk reducers for online apparel shopping – product brand image and online store image – on specific types of perceived risks and online purchase intentions for apparel. The results show that product brand image influences consumers' online purchase intentions both directly and indirectly by reducing various risk perceptions. Online store image impacts purchase intentions indirectly by decreasing risk perceptions. The results of this study provide fresh insight into understanding the impact of product brand image and online store image on each type of perceived risk associated with online shopping.     

Segmenting the older American market for personal apparel: focus on rural communities

The goal of this research was to determine whether rural elderly consumers' wants and needs for apparel products were met at the local retail level. Consumers (n = 322) ranging in age from 54–94 years were surveyed concerning their attitudes and behaviour regarding shopping for personal apparel. Data analyses revealed five market segments that differed in terms of (i) the level of involvement with shopping; (ii) perceptions of physical constraints to shopping; (iii) perceptions of available merchandise mix and services; and (iv) certain demographic characteristics. Respondents in cluster 1 were active and frequent shoppers, but did not always find what they needed. Those in cluster 2 were demanding consumers who were also satisfied with retail offerings. Cluster 3 compared prices and was highly dissatisfied with the merchandise available. Cluster 4 was satisfied with the merchandise mix, but did not shop often. Cluster 5 was highly dissatisfied with retail offerings.     

Online grocery shopping: the impact of shopping frequency on perceived risk

Online grocery shopping has enjoyed strong growth and it is predicted this channel will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. While online shopping has attracted an abundance of research interest, examinations of online grocery shopping behaviour are only now emerging. Shopping online for groceries differs considerably from general online shopping due to the perishability and variability of the product, and frequency of the shopping activity. Two salient gaps underpin this research into online grocery shopping. This study responds to calls to investigate the online shoppers’ experience in the context of online purchasing frequency. Second, this study examines the mediating effect of perceived risk between trust and online repurchase intention of groceries. An online survey was employed to collect data from shoppers who were recruited from a multi-channel grocery e-retailer’s database. The online survey, comprising 16 reflective validated scale items, was sent to 555 frequent and infrequent online grocery shoppers. Results find that while customer satisfaction predicts trust for both infrequent and frequent online grocery shoppers, perceived risk fully mediates the effect of trust on repurchase intentions for infrequent online grocery shoppers. Furthermore, path analysis reveals that the developed behavioural model is variant across both groups of shoppers. Theoretically, we provide a deeper understanding of the online customer experience, while gaining insight into two shopper segments identified as being important to grocery e-retailers. For managers, this study tests an online customer behavioural model with actual purchasing behaviour and identifies the continued presence of perceived risk in grocery e-retailing, regardless of purchase frequency or experience.     

Comparing online and non‐online shoppers

A web‐based survey was completed by 130 faculty and staff from a university located in the south‐eastern United States. The purposes of this study were to investigate: (a) consumer characteristics related to online shopping; (b) benefits of online shopping as perceived by online shoppers; and (c) concerns about online shopping as perceived by non‐online shoppers. Responses were analysed using SPSS for tests of chi‐square. Findings suggest that the differences between online shoppers and non‐online shoppers correspond with Rogers’ 1 categories of adopters, and that the educational needs of consumers also differ based on their previous experience with online shopping.     

Values,personality traits,and packaging-free shopping: A mixed-method approach

This research examines packaging-free shopping, which contributes to reducing the negative impact of plastic packaging on the environment, and its’ relationship with green consumption values, value consciousness, and psychological traits. A mixed-methods approach is adopted with quantitative followed by qualitative research. Study 1 recruits 240 respondents from social media and the lead author's university website to examine different factors that increase consumers’ likelihood of packaging-free shopping. Study 2 recruits packaging-free shoppers from Facebook Pages, explores these findings and provides further insights. Study 1 finds that consumers are driven more by green consumer values than by value consciousness, and consumers who are more conscientious are more likely to do packaging-free shopping. Study 2 supports this by finding that green consumer values drive packaging-free shopping, but this in only one part of their green efforts. The research contributes by illustrating the importance of conscientiousness specifically in the domain of packaging-free shopping and that these packaging-free shoppers are not driven in terms of value for money but by addressing their green consumer values. We recommend that packaging-free retailers and policy makers utilize promotional efforts to communicate how packaging-free shopping provides a balance with consumers’ green values for these shoppers, how it fits in with their other green efforts, and how these shopping efforts are making a difference in helping the environment.     

Impediments to mobile shopping continued usage intention: A trust-risk-relationship

Smartphones are revolutionising our daily shopping routines in such a way that nowadays a mobile service solution exists for everything – or if not, then such a solution will soon be available. With the increasing popularity of smartphones, research into the acceptance of mobile shopping (m-shopping) by customers focuses more on drivers than on barriers. It is precisely for this reason that this study aims to shed light on m-shopping impediments in order to gain deeper consumer insight and to overcome the pro-innovation bias of existing studies. The empirical study results show that their overall risk perception hinders consumers from regularly engaging in m-shopping. In such cases, it is more transaction-processing and financial risks rather than privacy or security concerns that are significant aspects for experienced mobile shoppers.     

Attraction of power shopping centres

This paper examines shoppers at two power centres in the U.S.A. to determine why they do or do not engage in cross-shopping within the centre and the demographic and situational characteristics and shopper behaviours which may distinguish the cross-shopper from the non-cross-shopper. The paper also examines the spatial extent of power centre trade areas in order to position this new type of centre within the traditional shopping centre hierarchy. Cross-shoppers are driven by the same motives as shoppers in other centres. The most important reason for not cross-shopping is 'shopping store for a specific item', indicating the importance of destination shopping. Cross-shoppers and non cross-shoppers appear to be a relatively homogeneous group, differing only in terms of gender and travel distance. Trade areas of power centres approach the size of those for regional centres.     

Heavy,medium, light shoppers and nonshoppers of a used merchandise outlet

An unsettling economic future coupled with changes in social values indicate that preowned merchandise buying will become increasingly evident. Consumers face the prospects of inflation, unemployment, and shortages, while social values are shifting away from disregard of resource usage by the disposable society. Buying preowned merchandise is a solution to coping with the environmental changes. Although institutions selling used merchandise, like other retailers, require factual information to design effective marketing strategies, this remains a neglected retailing phenomenon.The purpose of this study was to gain insights concerning several aspects of preowned merchandise buying using Goodwill Industries as a case in point. Data were collected to provide demographic profiles of heavy, medium, and light shoppers and nonshoppers, the information sources effective in inculcating awareness, basic patronage motives of heavy, medium, and light shoppers, and various buying behavior patterns of the four groups. The latter included shopping at Goodwill versus other institutions selling used merchandise, future shopping plans at Goodwill, overall attitude toward used merchandise, and the types of preowned merchandise they would be willing to purchase.Telephone interviews were made with a randomly selected sample of household representatives living in a midwestern standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) with a population of 85,000. The 336 respondents (97.5% of the sample) who were aware of Goodwill formed the initial data base from which 320 usable questionnaires were obtained. A composite shopping volume index was used to differentiate light, medium, and heavy shoppers as well as nonshoppers.Results from the study show that some differences exist between the groups in terms of demographics, information sources, and patronage motives as well as part and anticipated shopping behavior. Several implications are suggested for Goodwill in particular and similar organizations in general.     

Keeping customers shopping in stores: interrelationships among store attributes,shopping enjoyment,and place attachment

Our research purpose was to identify and test variables that contribute to customer's willingness to continue to shop in brick and mortar stores, hereafter referred to as store loyalty. Specifically, we examined interrelationships among store attributes, shopping enjoyment, place attachment, and store loyalty with apparel shoppers. Significant store attributes that predicted shopping enjoyment included atmosphere, price, leisure, design, and service. Shopping enjoyment was a significant predictor of both place attachment and store loyalty. In turn, place attachment was found to be a significant predictor of store loyalty. The implications for store retailing are discussed as well as limitations and areas for future research.     

Shopping orientations of US males: A generational cohort comparison

Male shoppers are recognized as an important and distinctive market segment. While initial steps to categorize and classify male shoppers have been taken, the majority of existing empirical research considers male shoppers as a single, homogeneous market segment. Recognizing that our understanding of male shoppers can be improved by identifying smaller, more homogeneous sub-segments, this exploratory study uses Generational Cohort Theory (GCT) as a framework to examine the shopping orientations of US men across four different generational cohorts: the Silent generation, the Baby Boomers, the 13th Generation, and the Millennials. The findings of this study support the use of GCT as a market segmentation tool for male shoppers and provide insight to help retailers understand how men in the four cohort groups approach shopping. Specifically, the findings suggest that male shoppers in the Millennial generation exhibit significantly higher levels of shopping enjoyment, recreational shopping tendency and market mavenism than males in the other generational cohorts.     

INFORMATION DISCLOSURE IN MAIL ORDER CATALOGUES

Catalogue mail order shopping has become a common mode of shopping for many consumers. Despite Federal Trade Commission rules as well as federal statutes designed to protect consumers in mail order transactions, consumers continue to experience problems with shopping by mail. Some problems may stem from limited availability or clarity of information in mail order catalogues. Resolution of problems is also more difficult when complete information is not available. In a survey of 139 catalogues distributed in the United States the authors found that, with the exception of refund policies, the majority contained no (or vague) information on the companies' policies. Additionally, when information was provided it was usually located on the order form rather than in the catalogue itself. Recommendations for improved information disclosure in mail order catalogues are discussed in the final section of this paper.     

Anatomy of shopping experience for malls in Mumbai: A confirmatory factor analysis approach

The city of Mumbai has not yet exhausted its potential in terms of availability of mall space. Yet shoppers of Mumbai seem to prefer high-street locations even if the product or format is operating from inside a shopping mall also. It means that shoppers look beyond the basic chore of shopping and experience plays a vital role. This study was undertaken to understand the composition of shopping experience so that mall developers and managers succeed in generating exciting among shoppers by orchestration of shopping experience using components as identified at the end of this research. It is based on empirical investigation of 400 respondents selected from four shopping malls in Mumbai. The study identifies ambience, convenience, marketing focus, safety & security and physical infrastructure as factors vital in defining shopping experience. Results were confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis.     

Influence of demographics,psychographics, shopping orientation,mall shopping attitude and purchase patterns on mall patronage in India

Retail boom in India is generating considerable interest from within the country as well as abroad. This growth in retail has been fueled by the mushrooming of shopping malls across the country. Despite this very little is known about the characteristics of the Indian mall shoppers. Also of special interest is the behavior of heavy shoppers because regardless of the footfalls at the mall, if the money spent is low, the mall does not benefit. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to profile Indian mall consumers, identify characteristics differentiating the high rupee volume purchasers at the mall and to evolve a model that can help predict heavy rupee volume purchasers in a catchment.The results of this study, spanning eight cities of India and 3026 mall consumers, indicate that the heavy shoppers are significantly different from the other groups along multiple demographic and socio-economic variables, behavioral variables, attitude and shopping orientation. Additionally, the study contributes to literature by evolving a typology of shoppers. The model evolved using Discriminant Analysis was used to predict potential heavy and low rupee volume purchasers for a city of interest, where currently there are no malls.