Examining shopping mall consumer decision-making styles,satisfaction and purchase intention

Understanding consumer decision-making (CDM) styles is essential for market segmentation, positioning and crafting marketing strategies within a market. Few studies have examined the structural relationship among decision-making styles that consumers exhibit during mall shopping, level of satisfaction and purchase intention. The purpose of this study was to examine CDM styles as the antecedents and predictors of level of satisfaction and purchase intention. Based on the Consumer Styles Inventory, eight CDM styles that individual exhibit during shopping mall activities are proposed in terms of utilitarian and hedonic perspectives. We hypothesize these eight CDM styles as a set of predictors of customer satisfaction and purchase intention. A total of 327 valid paper-and-pencil questionnaires were collected from several shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Partial least squares (PLS) path modelling approach, a structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was performed to test the proposed structural relationships. The empirical assessment supports that hedonic shopping styles consumers that exhibit high level of habitual, brand consciousness, fashion consciosness, recreational conscious style have lower levels of satisfaction and purchase intention during mall shopping while novelty and fashion conscious style consumers have lower level of satisfaction but do not unveil lower purchase intention. Utilitarian shopping styles consumers that exhibit high level of price conscious, confused by overchoice and high-quality conscious style have higher levels of satisfaction while impulsive/careless shoppers do not; and while price conscious, impulsive/careless, confused by overchoice consumers have higher levels of purchase intention but the high-quality conscious consumers do not unveil higher purchase intention. Further, there is a positive relationship between satisfaction and purchase intention. The practical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Country image,product image and consumer purchase intention: Evidence from an emerging economy

In offering fresh insights on the country-of-origin effect literature, this article provides evidence to suggest that cognitive country image (CI) is not necessarily consistent with affective country image. Based on a large scale consumer survey conducted in China, the findings reported provide empirical support for a hypothesized decomposing effect. In particularly, the results demonstrate that cognitive and affective CI have a different impact on the intention to purchase, with the former influencing purchase through product image, and the latter having a direct influence, independent of product image. Such a decomposing effect has important theoretical and managerial implications surrounding the mechanics of country image and the impact on purchase intention which are extracted from this study along with directions for future research.     

The influences of consumer innovativeness and consumer evaluation attributes in the purchase of fashionable ethnic wear in India

This paper highlights the consumer motivations for purchase of an innovative product like fashionable ethnic wear in India. It attempts to combine consumer innovativeness constructs and consumer evaluation attributes to understand buying behaviour in fashionable ethnic wear through a consumer survey. It confirms the relationship between product usage (the number of brands bought) and ethnic wear domain‐specific innovativeness. It also explores the correlations among different dimensions of consumer innovativeness like domain‐specific innovativeness, optimum stimulation level and consumers' need for uniqueness constructs. It shows the difference in importance attached to the chosen consumer innovativeness constructs and consumer evaluation attributes by buyers and non‐buyers in the purchase process.     

The effects of online shopping attributes on satisfaction–purchase intention link: a longitudinal study

Attributes of online satisfaction are dynamic. Specifically, it remains to be examined how online shopping attributes empirically affect changes in satisfaction that leads to repurchase behaviours over time and why. The present study develops a theoretical framework for conceptualizing satisfaction with temporal effects and empirically tests it using longitudinal data from 219 online customers. The results indicate that the relationship between attribute‐level evaluations and satisfaction, which has only been examined in terms of predictors of satisfaction in prior literature, is dynamic and changes over time. Changed attributes (particularly convenience and site design) might signal an opportunity to capture the dynamics of attribute‐level evaluations over time. Furthermore, the findings reveal significant temporal effects of satisfaction and purchase intention at time point T on satisfaction and purchase intention at time point T + 1. The results suggest that temporal effects occur as a diagnostic function of a previous attribute rating of a subsequent satisfaction evaluation and the consumer's level of subjective knowledge.     

Authentic isn't always best: When inauthentic social media influencers induce positive consumer purchase intention through inspiration

This study explores whether and how varying levels of social media influencers (SMIs) personal authenticity affect consumer behavior in four experimental studies. Though consumers who perceive SMIs as being authentic express greater intention to purchase products endorsed by the SMIs, authenticity does not influence non-purchase behaviors. SMI authenticity also affects purchase intentions through trustworthiness and inspirational capacity. However, authenticity is not always necessary to influence consumer behavior. Inauthentic SMIs still can inspire consumers and positively influence their intentions to purchase hedonic products. These findings add value to existing literature and can inform effective SMI marketing strategies for various product categories.     

The rhythm of shopping: How background music placement in live streaming commerce affects consumer purchase intention

There is growing evidence indicating that background music has a significant impact on consumer purchasing behavior. However, there is limited research on the placement of background music in live streaming commerce. This study conducted a single-factor experiment with three conditions (playing during purchase phase, continuous playing, and control group) to investigate the effects on arousal, consumer memory, and purchase intention. Results show that live streaming with background music increase consumer's purchase intention and arousal. Specifically, background music playing during purchase phase leads to higher purchase intention and consumer memory than continuous playing. Continuous playing induces higher arousal than background music playing during purchase phase. Process measures reveal that playing during purchase phase (vs. continuous playing) reduces arousal, thus enhancing consumer memory and leads to higher purchase intention. Continuous playing, however, induces arousal but impairs consumer memory, subsequently leading to lower purchase intention.     

The role of involvement: Investigating the effect of brand's social media pages on consumer purchase intention

This study examined the influence of consumer's brand familiarity and the information quality of social media content on their involvement with a brand on the brand's social media pages. Also studied were the influence of involvement on consumer's attitude towards the brand's social media page and the effect of their attitude on future purchase intention from the brand. The results indicated that both brand familiarity and information quality had significant effects on a consumer's involvement with a brand on its social media page, yet the brand's social media content had a greater influence on a consumer's involvement with the social media page. Further, involvement with a brand's social media led to a positive attitude towards the brand's social media page, which in turn influences future purchase intention from the brand. However, the involvement did not directly influence future purchase intention from the brand. The results suggest the significant importance of quality of social media content.     

Inclusive advertising featuring disability on instagram: Effect on consumer well-being,brand engagement,and purchase intention

Should advertisers continue to promote their brands through brand endorsers without considering their diverse characteristics, or should they embrace diversity in advertising? Gender, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation are some of the aspects of diversity that have been investigated in advertising research, primarily in the context of Western and developed countries. However, it remains underexplored how physical disabilities in influencer advertising on Instagram affect consumer well-being and consumers’ responses toward brands in a non-Western market. Through an experimental design (including both inclusive and non-inclusive samples), this study examined the effects of inclusive advertising (including disabled persons) on consumer well-being (both hedonic and eudaimonic), brand engagement, and purchase intention. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. In Study 1 (shampoo brand case), a data analysis of 260 young Pakistani consumers revealed that inclusive (vs non-inclusive) advertisements enhance both hedonic well-being (HWB) and eudaimonic well-being (EWB), with a stronger effect for EWB. The spillover effects of EWB and HWB indicated a significant influence on brand engagement and purchase intention, whereas the effect of HWB is significant only on brand engagement. The effects of HWB on brand engagement and of EWB on purchase intention showed a greater influence in the case of inclusive advertisements than in traditional non-inclusive advertisements. In Study 2 (clothing brand case), an analysis of 235 respondents revealed that inclusive advertising drives both HWB and EWB, which have a greater influence on brand engagement and purchase intention when individuals are exposed to an inclusive advertisement featuring disabled persons than a non-inclusive one. These studies confirm that inclusive advertisements attract a more diverse customer base in addition to existing customers. These findings offer theoretical and practical insights for advertising and consumer research.     

Organic food corporate image and customer co-developing behavior: The mediating role of consumer trust and purchase intention

The impact of organic food corporate image on customers' surpassing purchasing behavior is absent in prior literature. Based on the S–O-R framework, the current study focuses on organic food member customers to explore the influence of corporate ability (CA) image and corporate social responsibility (CSR) image of organic food company on the consumption behavior and co-developing behavior of customers. The consumer samples came from 269 member customers of an organic food enterprise in southwest China. The results show that organic food company CA and CSR image positively affect consumer trust and co-developing behavior. CSR image enhances consumer trust and co-developing behavior than CA image does. Additionally, consumer trust and purchase intention play a multi-step mediating role in the relationship between corporate image (CA and CSR) and consumers' co-developing behavior. In conclusion, our findings provide new insights for understanding the relationship between the corporate image of organic food and the co-developing behavior of customers. The research results provide support for organic food companies that can effectively promote consumer trust, continuous purchase, and active engagement in the co-development of products and services by creating an image of ability and social responsibility.     

How Chipotle used unbranded content to increase purchase intention by changing beliefs about ethical consumption

Abstract

To combat ad avoidance, advertisers are moving advertising into programs, a practice known broadly as branded entertainment. The difficulty of advertising to Millennials has also prompted the use of unbranded cause advertising, to increase awareness of issues championed by the brand, without triggering defensive persuasion-coping strategies. Chipotle combined both these trends when it produced a relatively unbranded piece of branded entertainment, Farmed and Dangerous, a four-episode sitcom that humorously dramatized the ethical issues raised by industrial farming. When the series ran on Hulu, an online television network, it increased sales for the Chipotle brand and won awards for its creators. This study reports a classic pre/post experimental design, to show how exposure to this unbranded entertainment increased purchase intention by changing beliefs about ethical issues related to the environment, nutrition, and gene technology.     

Culture, product type, and price influences on consumer purchase intention to buy personalized products online

With personalization, consumers can choose from various product attributes and a customized product is assembled based on their preferences. Marketers often offer personalization on websites. This paper investigates consumer purchase intentions toward personalized products in an online selling situation.The research builds and tests three hypotheses: (1) intention to purchase personalized products will be affected by individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity dimensions of a national culture; (2) consumers will be more likely to buy personalized search products than experience products; and (3) intention to buy a personalized product will not be influenced by price premiums up to some level. Results indicate that individualism is the only culture dimension to have a significant effect on purchase intention. Product type and individualism by price interaction also have a significant effect, whereas price does not. Major findings and implications are discussed.     

Website usability,consumer satisfaction and the intention to use a website: The moderating effect of perceived risk

This paper analyzes the influence of website usability on both consumers' satisfaction and intention to use a website, as well as the impact of satisfaction on usage intentions. Additionally, we study the moderating effect that consumer risk perceptions may have on the influence of website usability. Results show that website usability affects satisfaction which in turn affects intention to use. Contrary to expected, usability does not directly affect intention to use but has an indirect effect through consumer satisfaction. Finally, the usability effect on consumer satisfaction is moderated by perceived risk.     

Store environment and consumer purchase behavior: Mediating role of consumer emotions

This article presents a large-scale cross-sectional field study of the effect of store environment on consumer emotions and the resulting influence on aspects of consumer behavior with actual shopping behavior used as an example. Cast into a stimulus–organism–response framework, the results suggest that a consumer's emotions can be a mediating factor in the purchase process. In this study, we identify and explore how store environment and emotional states may influence various dimensions of purchase behavior. This research confirms that although cognitive factors may largely account for store selection and for most planned purchases within the store, the environment in the store and the emotional state of consumers may be important determinants of purchase behavior. This research has many pragmatic applications, because pleasure was associated with the amount of money spent and affinity for the store, whereas arousal was associated with money spent in the store, time spent in the store, and the number of items purchased in the store. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of negative online customer reviews on brand equity and purchase intention of consumer electronics in South Africa

This study investigated the effect that negative online customer reviews have on brand equity and purchase intention. This research examined the influence of negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on brand equity, as influenced by customer review quality, product involvement and source credibility. A 3 (high quality review versus low quality review versus no review) × 2 (high product involvement versus low product involvement) factorial experiment with 236 respondents was conducted. The results revealed that the presence of negative eWOM has a significant detrimental effect on brand equity and purchase intention. Furthermore, the effect of negative online customer reviews is more detrimental to the brand equity of a high involvement product than a low involvement product. The results also revealed that high quality reviews are more influential than low quality reviews with respect to brand equity, and the difference between the levels of eWOM source credibility has no significant effect on brand equity.     

Consumer behavior and purchase intention for organic food: A review and research agenda

In this article, we review and discuss the factors, which affect the change in the consumer behavior towards organic food. We extract findings from various studies conducted in different countries and analyze those factors and provide suggestions for future research. We find that health-conscious consumers show a growing preference for organic food over the conventionally grown food. This shift in the attitude of the modern consumers is greatly influenced by the rising incidence of lifestyle diseases, such as heart disorders and depression. The need to purchase organic food to improve the quality of life will have huge implications for the retail, distribution and marketing functions of business.     

Country-of-origin effect in apparel choices: A conjoint analysis

The purpose of this study was to determine Canadian consumers' beliefs about, and preferences for apparel products made in Canada, China and some other low-cost nations. The importance of the country-of-origin of garments relative to other apparel attributes in consumers' purchase decisions was also examined. Information integration theory provided the theoretical foundation for a conjoint analysis of product ratings. A simulated purchase of fleece sweatshirts was designed to conduct the conjoint analysis experiment. Consumers' beliefs regarding various attributes of apparel products made in Canada, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea were also measured. Significant differences were found in consumers' beliefs about garments made in different countries regarding quality, price, style and fit. Canadian clothing was perceived to be superior in quality, style and fit, but the most expensive. Results of the conjoint analysis indicated that Canada was the most preferred country-of-origin. The effect of country-of-origin on subjects' evaluations of sweatshirts, however, was less important than that of either quality or price. Beliefs about quality, price, style and fit of garments made in Canada, China and South Korea were found to be significantly related to subjects' utilities for sweatshirts made in such countries. Differences in beliefs and utilities were found among respondents differing in awareness of country-of-origin, ethnic background, age and education, but not among those who held different opinions about supporting domestic industries.     

A brand preference and repurchase intention model: the role of consumer experience

Consumer brand preference is an essential step towards understanding consumer choice behaviour, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. However, the study of brand preference has been limited to traditional marketing focusing on functional attributes to maximise utility. But now the shift to experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to experiences. Technological advancements have helped to increase the similarities between brand attributes and product commoditisation. Consequently, consumers cannot shape their preferences among brands using rational attributes only. They seek out brands that create experiences; that intrigue them in a sensorial, emotional and creative way. This study seeks to develop a model that provides an understanding of how brand knowledge and brand experience determine brand preference and to investigate its impact on brand repurchase intention. Accordingly, exploratory focus group discussions are employed followed by a survey of mobile phone users in Egypt. The findings provide insights into the relative importance of consumer perceptions on different brand knowledge factors in shaping brand preferences. It also demonstrates the significance of consumers’ experiential responses towards brands in developing their brand preferences that in turn influence brand repurchase intention. The model therefore offers managers a new perspective for building strong brands able to gain consumer preferences.     

Virtual test-driving: The impact of simulated products on purchase intention

This paper studies a number of key determinants of users׳ experience and engagement when driving a simulated car model, the outcome of this engagement in relation to enjoyment and satisfaction and the role of user satisfaction in purchasing the actual product. We test a holistic model using an experimental quantitative approach. Our analysis suggests that hedonic experience may create higher levels of engagement among users of the simulated car. Enjoyment and engagement were found to positively influence user satisfaction while driving the simulated car. In turn, user satisfaction with the simulated car was found to positively influence purchasing intention for the actual car. Our work has shown how a simulation based on widely available technologies can provide a foundation for the development of a relationship between a user and the simulated product. Consequently, our research findings have significant theoretical and practical implications beyond the auto-manufacturing industry, as experiencing simulated products can play an important role in the context of electronic commerce. This is especially true given the increasingly important role ‘experience’ plays in electronic marketing.     

Interactive music for multisensory e-commerce: The moderating role of online consumer involvement in experiential value,cognitive value,and purchase intention

Background music adds a multisensory element to marketing and e-commerce. Applying interactive sensory-enabling technologies (SETs) to online shopping websites is an area of interest in sensory marketing. This research examines interactive background music in e-commerce and investigates how online consumer involvement moderates the effects of interactive music. Single-factor experiments with three conditions (interactive music, static background music, and control) were conducted to investigate its impact on experiential value, cognitive value, and purchase intention of high- and low-involvement consumers among both students (Study 1, N = 251) and nonstudent samples (Study 2, N = 218). Different music genres were applied to stimuli of the two studies to demonstrate the generalizability of the findings. Results find that interactive music enhances the experiential value of e-commerce for low-involvement consumers. By contrast, high-involvement consumers show greater purchase intention under the interactive music condition due to a heightened level of perceived cognitive value. Involvement is an effective predictor of elaboration and purchase intention under the interactive music condition, but not under the other two conditions. The contribution is twofold: (a) it shows the impact of music as an interactive SET and, (b) demonstrates the moderating role of consumer involvement in the context of multisensory integration in e-commerce. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with limitations and directions for future research.