Influence of retail store environmental cues on consumer patronage behavior across different retail store formats: An empirical analysis of US Hispanic consumers

This study examined the influence of Hispanic consumers’ perceived importance of apparel retail store environmental cues and demographic characteristics (i.e., age and the number of years lived in the US) on their apparel store patronage behavior across various retail store formats. Three apparel retail store environmental cue dimensions were identified. Of the three dimensions, Customer Service appeared as a significant determinant in Hispanic consumers’ decision to shop at department stores, specialty stores, and mass merchant stores. Convenience was significantly, but negatively, related to the use of specialty stores. Physical Atmosphere appeared as significant determinants of Hispanic consumers’ use of Internet websites. The respondents’ shopping frequency at department stores, Internet websites, and catalogues was significantly different based on the respondents’ age and number of years lived in the US This study offers insights for apparel retailers in building effective retail store environments to attract Hispanic consumers.     

The effects of acquisition and transaction shopping value perceptions on retail format usage intentions: an illustration from discount stores

Although it becomes increasingly important for food retailers to understand what motivates consumers to use one retail format rather than another, research on retail format choice is sparse compared to store choice. This study examines the extent to which perceived acquisition value of shopping at a retail format and perceived transaction value of shopping at one particular retail format outlet in a specific situation have an impact on retail format usage intentions. In addition, we study the influence of different situation-specific factors on perceived transaction value of shopping at one particular retail format outlet. Taking discount stores as an example, the developed conceptual model is empirically tested using a structural equation approach. The results show that perceived acquisition value of shopping at the retail format plays a dominant role in explaining retail format usage intentions, while perceived transaction value of shopping at one particular retail format outlet, which depends on certain situation-specific factors, is of lesser importance.     

The effects of shopping value on retail outcomes: a comparison between department stores and hypermarkets

Shopping in various retail formats involves both utilitarian and hedonic value. Taiwan residents shop at department stores and hypermarkets frequently, compared to other retailers. This study contrasts the differential effects of shopping value on retail outcomes in department stores and hypermarkets. The results support predicted relationships: (1) in the department store context, (a) hedonic shopping value perceived by shoppers is higher than utilitarian shopping value; (b) hedonic shopping value has a greater effect on satisfaction and word-of-mouth than utilitarian shopping value; and (2) in the hypermarket context, (a) utilitarian shopping value perceived by shoppers is higher than hedonic shopping value; (b) utilitarian shopping value has a greater effect on satisfaction and repatronage intentions than hedonic shopping value.     

The relationships among family and social interaction,loneliness, mall shopping motivation,and mall spending of older consumers

The study implemented 419 mall‐intercept interviews with people who are 55 or older in large malls in three metropolitan cities in the United States. The five subdimensions of mall‐shopping motivation of older consumers were identified under two dimensions: Consumption‐oriented mall‐shopping motivation (service consumption, value consumption, and eating) and experiential mall‐shopping motivation (diversion and aesthetic appreciation). The structural model revealed significant effects of social interaction, loneliness, and mall‐shopping motivations on mall spending. Outcomes suggest that a mall can be a place to reduce older consumers' loneliness and that retailers in the mall can attract and make older consumers spend more by emphasizing value consumption and service consumption. Results also provide the implication for mall developers that providing more experiential features and events in malls may attract more older consumers. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceptions of the discount retailer: an analysis of consumers' and managers' ideal discount store

Consumers' and managers' perceived images of three discount department stores and a hypothetical ideal discount store were compared in this study. Results indicate that managers and consumers possess significantly different overall impressions of each store. Significant differences were also identified between the ideal amount of each attribute and the amount offered by the retailer.     

Cross-Cultural Retailing Research

Abstract

Relatively little is known about consumer perceptions of retailers in Central and Eastern Europe. What store attributes do consumers in these markets emphasize? Do these attributes reflect the culture of the region? These questions are addressed in the case of Estonia. However our main objective is to contrast the Estonian situation with that of a typical Western country, Canada. Two key shopping experience constructs are selected, namely merchandise selection and the interactivity between the store and the consumer. To make the comparison meaningful we have chosen a single retail category, namely discount or low-price department stores. In both countries there were two stores that dominated their respective market, so this facilitates the collection of consumer perceptions. Structural equation modeling using AMOS software has been used to test the equivalence of the constructs across cultures. Our main findings are that (1) both merchandise selection and store-customer interaction are valid constructs across both countries, (2) that the factor patterns have configural invariance or equivalence for each construct across the two cultures and (3) that the factor patterns do not have weak factor invariance across the cultures. In short, we conclude that there are major differences in consumer's discount store shopping experiences across the two cultures.     

Discount Store Retailing in Korea

Abstract

This study examined the effects of consumers' internal shopping motives and external store attributes on excitement that shoppers may experience at discount stores in Korean markets and the mediating impact of excitement on selected behavior outcomes. Among three types of shopping motives (socialization, utilitarian and diversion), diversion significantly affected the level of excitement that shoppers experienced at the discount store. Store attributes of facility-related convenience and a neat, spacious atmosphere had an impact on shoppers' excitement at the discount stores. Excitement positively affected shoppers' satisfaction and repatronage intentions in discount store retailing in Korea. The empirical study results have major implications for multinational retailers as well as for future research in the area of international retailing.     

Large format retailing in the US: a consumer experience perspective

Proponents of relationship marketing seek to develop and maintain long-term ties to their customers in the hope of having a loyal customer base. In this paper we examined large format retailing from the perspective of consumers’ experiences in these stores. Focus group interviews were conducted in two major US metropolitan areas and one medium size market. After analyzing the focus group content, several themes emerged related to patronage of large format retailers. These included the accuracy of prices when products were scanned and loyalty to store personnel based on familiarity. Large format supercenters were especially chided for their bigness and potential negative impact on smaller retailers. Attending to the details of the food retail business (accurate pricing, product availability, continuity of personnel) are ways in which consumers’ experiences in retail stores might be improved. Numerous choices and a diverse array of retail formats are available to consumers in the US market. Managerial implications are discussed in the light of a changing retail landscape.     

浅谈零售企业在消费结构升级中的商机

十八大提出居民收入倍增目标,预示居民的消费意愿、消费预期和消费能力提升,并将带动消费结构的升级,居民消费将趋向发展型和享受型。在消费结构升级环境下,在百货店、大型超市、便利店、专业店、专卖店、购物中心、折扣店等多种零售业态并存的激烈竞争中,零售企业应抓住消费结构升级中的商机,根据市场状态调整经营方向,改革经营模式,培育和营造良好的消费环境,满足消费者需求,以争取更多的市场份额。     

An empirical analysis of tenant location patterns near department stores in planned regional shopping centers

The location of a store within a mall can affect the sales and profits of the store and its neighbors, and those of the mall׳s owner/developer. Because the interests of retail stores and the mall׳s owner/developer with respect to choice of location might not coincide, bargaining power might come into play. To assess empirically whether relative bargaining power as between a retail store and the mall owner/developer affects store location within a center, we focus on locations of stores near the department store tenants of malls. Department stores might have the bargaining power necessary to affect which tenants are chosen as neighbors of the department store.Using data collected from 148 regional shopping centers (malls) in 2007 in the five westernmost provinces of Canada, we examine the relationship between variables that reflect store location patterns near a department store׳s entrance, and variables associated with the bargaining power of developers. We find that the density of stores selling comparison shopping goods is larger near department stores within centers that are older or have a larger gross leasable area. In addition, such density is negatively related to the number of department stores contained in the center. Because a shopping center׳s age, gross leasable area, and the number of department stores in a center are expected to be associated with a developer׳s bargaining power, the above findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the store location patterns near department stores depend on the relative bargaining power of the developer and the department stores.     

Influence of congruity in store-attribute dimensions and self-image on purchase intentions in online stores of multichannel retailers

Online stores of multichannel retailers continue to lag pure internet retailers with reference to consumers' shopping intentions and sales. This study develops and tests a framework in which (a) trust and attitude (conceptualized as a second-order construct with hedonic and utilitarian dimensions) influence purchase intentions, (b) congruity between the multichannel retailer's land-based and online stores (conceptualized as a second-order constructs made up of seven dimensions: aesthetic appeal, navigation convenience, transaction convenience, atmosphere, service, price orientation, and security) influences trust in and attitude toward the online store, and (c) congruity between consumers' self-image and perceived image of the online store influences trust in and attitude toward the online store. The findings provide robust support for the framework and have strong implications for theory and practice.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Extreme Cherry Picking Behavior of Consumers in the Frequently Purchased Goods Market

Extreme cherry pickers are customers who seek price deals and excessively avail themselves of deep discount offers, which generates negative profits for retailers. This study uses market transaction and primary consumer survey data to provide insights into the determinants, prevalence, and profit impacts of such behavior in the frequently purchased goods market. We find that the extreme cherry picking segment is small (about 2% of all shoppers), but its relative value varies across stores, and consumers manifest this behavior only in secondary stores. An inverse U-shaped relationship marks consumers’ opportunity costs for cross-store price search and likelihood of extreme cherry picking behavior. Finally, we also find that a loss leader promotional strategy adds to retailers’ bottom lines, despite the pure loss generated by extreme cherry pickers.     

Red price? Red flag! Eye-tracking reveals how one red price can hurt a retailer

Retailers present prices in red color to signal savings. Past research has shown that presenting all prices in red increases perceived savings from the store. However, in practice, retailers often present just one price in red in promotion materials with multiple prices. Will consumers perceive higher savings from the store even if only one price is presented in red? This research examines this prevalent retail practice using a theoretical lens. The theoretical framework predicts that two unique learned associations with red color (red: Savings and red: Stop) play a key role in shaping consumers' perception of savings from stores that highlight only one price in red. This research proposes and empirically demonstrates that consumers perceive lower savings from stores that present only one price in red. The theoretical framework is validated using a multi-method approach that combines the strengths of behavioral and physiological (eye-tracking) methods. Findings from this research suggest that presenting only one price in red lowers perceived savings from the store, which may hurt sales.     

Perceptions of assortment variety: The effects of congruency between consumers’ internal and retailers’ external organization

This research shows that consumers’ perceptions of variety and satisfaction are dependent upon how the assortment is organized, both internally by the consumer and externally by the retailer. The results of three laboratory studies indicate that for familiar categories, congruency between a consumer's internal categorization structure and the external store layout leads to higher perceptions of variety and higher satisfaction with product choices, while for unfamiliar product categories, congruency between shopping goals and external structure leads to lower perceptions of variety but increased satisfaction with the store's assortment. However, if retailers institute external category filters congruent with consumers’ internal shopping goals that allow them to bypass products, consumers have both lower variety perceptions and satisfaction with the assortment offering.     

Do Farmers' Market and Specialty Food Store Customers Differ in the Effects of Perceived Utilitarian and Hedonic Shopping Values?

This study explored differences in the effects of perceived utilitarian and hedonic shopping values on customer satisfaction for the two separate groups of the agricultural product marketing channel: farmers' markets and specialty food stores. Empirical data were collected from customers of agricultural product retailers located in Taiwan (N = 412). The results show that different agricultural product marketing channels provide different values to their customers. Farmers' market customers experience a greater hedonic value, and specialty food store customers experience a greater utilitarian value. In addition, the perceived utilitarian and hedonic shopping values of farmers' market customers are more highly positively associated with customer satisfaction than are those of specialty food store customers.     

Smartphones and the reconfiguration of retailscapes: Stores,shopping, and digitalization

The aim of this paper is to examine and conceptualize how the integration of smartphones is reconfiguring the retailscapes of stores and the implications that this has for retailers and consumers. Departing from an understanding of retailscapes as socio-material assemblages and drawing on an ethnographic study of mobile shopping, this paper shows how the integration of smartphones into the activities of in-store shopping is reconfiguring how store space is enacted. The integration of this digital device reorganizes the activities of shopping, and new informationscapes, socialscapes, and experiencescapes unfold as a result. In the process, stores are reconfigured, agencies change, and the relationship between consumers and retailers is remade.     

Internet or store? An ethnographic study of consumers' internet and store-based grocery shopping practices

Drawing on practice theory, this paper develops an understanding of the interrelationships between where and when consumers shop (the internet, stores, and their preferred retailers), and what they purchase (via the internet and in-store). Ethnographic case studies are presented of two consumers’ internet and store-based shopping practices, and how these intersect with their everyday lives, using data generated from multiple, complementary methods over an eighteen-month period. To this end, the paper contributes to the extant internet grocery shopping literature by offering a wider understanding of internet usage, as well as to broader debates surrounding retail change and shopping practices. The managerial implications of internet shopping on the contemporary retail grocery environment are also described and discussed.     

Effects of store loyalty on shopping mall loyalty

The key purpose of this paper is to bridge a research gap in shopping mall literature by investigating the relationship between store loyalty and shopping mall loyalty. The paper also examines the effects of perceived store value and store relationship commitment on store loyalty en-route to loyalty towards the shopping mall hosting the stores. The study shows that store loyalty influences shopping mall loyalty under certain conditions and that such an influence is moderated by the geographic distance between the consumer and the shopping mall. Further, the study found that distance has a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived store value and store loyalty, but not on the association between relationship commitment and store loyalty. The insights provided by this study offer academics, retailers and shopping mall managers a richer understanding of the relationships between store loyalty and its antecedents, customers' distance from the mall, and shopping mall loyalty.     

When nature calls: The role of customer toilets in retail stores

The scarce previous literature indicates that the customer toilet facilities influence shopping value and should be a concern for retailers. However, customer toilets are often inadequately capitalised in retail stores. This study aims to provide a scientifically robust argument about the critical role of customer toilets in retail stores. The explanatory survey data (n=655) from a Finnish out-of-town department store is examined to explore (1) the importance that consumers place on the customer toilets and (2) the effect of toilet usage on actual shopping behaviour. The results support the assumptions of previous literature by suggesting that customer toilets are considered as an important store attribute and, more importantly, the use of toilets is associated with prolonged in-store time which, in turn, increases spending. The findings offer both academic and managerial contribution and encourage academics and practitioners to regard customer toilets as more than mere an unwanted property expense and discover their full marketing potential.     

Consumers’ perceptions of the fairness of price-matching refund policies

This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of perceived price-matching policy fairness. Among the antecedents, we study the effects of the refund depth if a lower competitive price is identified, the degree that the retail product assortment is available at competing retailers, and the consumers’ inference as to the retailer's motive for the price-matching policy. Product assortment uniqueness is identified as a key driver of fairness perceptions, both directly and indirectly through inferred motive. The three experiments show that consumers’ perceptions of the fairness of a store's pricing policy influence their price fairness perceptions, consequently influencing their retail shopping intentions.