Consumer shopping value: An investigation of shopping trip value,in-store shopping value and retail format

Although delivering value is the key for retailers to create new competitive advantages, the literature on consumer shopping value is fragmented and findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to understand consumer shopping value in-depth by examining consumer shopping processes and experiences in two retail formats: mass merchandisers and department stores. This study conceptualizes consumer shopping value as having two components: shopping trip value and in-store shopping value. Shopping trip value is originated by fulfillment of general shopping motivations, and in-store shopping value stems from retail elements that create in-store shopping experiences that consumers have in specific retail contexts. Five shopping trip value dimensions and six in-store shopping value dimensions are identified from the in-depth interviews. The findings highlight how consumer shopping value is a complex and context specific construct.     

In‐store shopping hassles: Conceptualization and classification

A positive shopping experience provides retailers with a competitive advantage. However, retail environments pose numerous hassles that may negatively affect consumer experiences. Integrating perspectives from attribution theory and expectation theory, we examine the concept of shopping hassle and how it differs from that of retail service failure. Furthermore, we utilize qualitative approaches to explore what shopping episodes consumers perceive as hassles. Conducting semi‐structured in‐depth interviews in Study 1, we develop a classification framework of in‐store shopping hassles. In Study 2, we use a critical incident technique approach to gain a further understanding of types of shopping hassle.     

The mobile shopping revolution: Redefining the consumer decision process

The use of mobile devices by consumers and the accompanying response by retailers is rapidly revolutionizing the retail environment. In the past, retailers have focused primarily on the outcome (to purchase or not to purchase) of the consumer decision process, but now mobile technologies give retailers the opportunity to more actively influence the entire consumer decision-making processes. The increasing use of mobile devices by consumers makes shopping a continuous rather than discrete activity that requires retailers to engage with their customers at critical touch points of the decision process in order to provide a more customer-centric experience. This change in focus from the decision outcome to the decision process signifies an important paradigm shift for the retailing industry. After an extensive review of the literature, we identify four pillars that form the foundation for the mobile shopping revolution and represent the essential ways and means through which retailers can engage with consumers during the decision process. We also discuss the different areas in which the pillars can enable retailers to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the mobile shopping era.     

Mobile-assisted showroomers: Understanding their purchase journey and personalities

Over the last decade, the retail sector has undergone a dramatic transformation, driven by rapid advances in consumer and retail technologies, an evolution of omnichannel environments, and changing consumers who increasingly use their smartphones inside brick-and-mortar retail stores as personal shopping assistants. In this context, showrooming has become a common practice for omnichannel mobile consumers (Flavián et al., 2020). The present study investigates the under-researched phenomenon of mobile-assisted showrooming behavior. Adopting an exploratory qualitative research approach, 31 semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with consumers in a metropolitan city in Queensland, Australia. The authors propose a shopper journey framework that challenges the sequential consumer decision-making process. Influenced by showrooming predispositions, mobile-assisted showroomers pursue a hybrid product evaluation phase that encapsulates both physical and mobile activities during the brick-and-mortar retail visit. In addition, the research identifies four unique personas of mobile-assisted showroomers. The results contribute to extant literature on omnichannel and showrooming behavior by identifying predispositions, behaviors, and segments of mobile-assisted showroomers. The study provides retailers with new strategies to segment mobile-assisted shoppers more effectively and understand their needs and shopping motivations.     

Fashion involvement and experiential value: Gen Y retail apparel patronage

Despite Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers' significant role as a decision maker in the market, it is increasingly challenging for retailers to understand these consumers’ behavior and psychology. To enhance an in-depth understanding of Gen Y consumers, this study examined the effect of fashion involvement (FI) and perceived experiential value (EV) on Gen Y consumers’ retail apparel patronage behavior. Based on a survey method, data were collected from USA and Taiwan Gen Y samples. The structural equation modelling technique was used to analyze 413 useable surveys. Results indicate EV directly influences retail patronage, while FI indirectly affects retail patronage through EV. Analysis further reveals two dimensions of FI; cognitive involvement and affective involvement. Cognitive involvement has a moderate direct, negative effect on escapism value, and weak, negative effect on utilitarian value, while affective involvement has a moderate direct, positive effect on aesthetic value and weak, positive effect on escapism value. This study theoretically contributes to understanding how consumer involvement affects perceived experiential shopping value. Findings also provide strategic ideas for apparel retailers in creating shopping environments that resonate with Gen Y customers, which ultimately leads these customers to be loyal to their brands and stores.     

Effects of perceived interactivity of augmented reality on consumer responses: A mental imagery perspective

As the use of technological features is becoming more common in digital retailing, retailers have adopted augmented reality (AR) solutions to help consumers browse their products. This study examines dimensions of perceived interactivity after experiencing shopping with AR and investigates the relationships between perceived interactivity and mental imagery and between mental imagery and other consumer responses in a mobile shopping context. A total of 302 female online consumers in South Korea participated in a survey. After shopping cosmetic products with the AR function in a mobile app, participants completed the questionnaire. The findings reveal that the controllability and playfulness dimensions of perceived interactivity influence mental imagery, which, in turn, affects consumers' attitudes toward a product and their behavioral intentions. The relationship between perceived interactivity and mental imagery differs based on an individual's involvement level. These results provide practical insights for digital retailers in creating effective mobile shopping environments.     

Consumer satisfaction in retail stores: theory and implications

The substitution of small retail stores by the large stores has been a topic of debate among academics, practitioners, retailers and general public, especially in the context of foreign firms entering emerging markets such as China and India. The purpose of this research is to find out the determinants of consumer satisfaction in small and large retail stores in an emerging market, with a sample from India. Data were collected using a 39‐item structured questionnaire developed by the authors. The sample consists of 225 consumers who shop at retail outlets (Convenience sample of 125 consumers from small and 100 consumers from large stores respectively). Exploratory factor analysis grouped the 39 variables into 14 factors. Further, regression analysis revealed that six of the factors (Social desirability, staff friendliness, shopping economy, shopping ambience, family shopping and deal proneness) were major predictors of consumer satisfaction as they were found to be significant at 5% level. The significance of factors such as social desirability and staff friendliness imply that many consumers prefer those typical features of small stores, which in turn results in the likely coexistence of small retail formats in spite of the entry and proliferation of large retail stores from different countries. We posit three theoretical propositions to stimulate further research in this area.     

Retail Market Power in a Shopping Basket Model of Supermarket Competition

Supermarket retailers typically operate with relatively low margins, suggesting a highly competitive retail environment. However, despite the fact that consumers purchase an entire shopping basket at a time from supermarkets, this evidence is largely based on models of retail competition with single-category purchases. In this paper, we develop and test an empirical model of retail price competition that explicitly accounts for the effect of demand complementarity among items in consumer shopping baskets. Relative to the case where consumers purchase products with independent demands, we demonstrate that equilibrium prices are higher for all items when retailers take demand-complementarity into account. Our findings indicate that non-price strategies intended to encourage complementarity, such as co-merchandising, strategic shelf-positioning, or featuring complementary goods tend to soften price competition, and lead to higher equilibrium prices.     

Comfort in brick and mortar shopping experiences: Examining antecedents and consequences of comfortable retail experiences

This paper explores the comfort construct in brick and mortar retail settings. As a psychological construct, consumer comfort reflects a sense of ease and peace of mind during a shopping experience. Previous research suggests comfort carries a number of positive consequences for managers, such as strengthening customer relationships and increasing customer satisfaction (Gaur and Xu, 2009). However, these studies take a more interpersonal relationship theory approach and have not considered the impact of non-social aspects of retail environments on consumers' comfort. Moreover, these extant studies have not considered how comfortable environments create value for consumers. Consequently, this study examines how atmospheric elements contribute to creating consumer comfort, and how comfort impacts consumers' perceptions of shopping value. Findings from survey data demonstrate that not all atmospheric elements influence consumers' comfort levels. Moreover, comfortable environments were found to increase both utilitarian value and hedonic value. The implications of the findings for academics and managers are discussed.     

Food retailers' perceptions of older consumers in Northern Ireland

Demographic changes' occurring in developed countries has meant that older consumers are becoming an increasingly important consumer segment that retailers need to pay particular attention to. It is essential that their specific needs within the food and other service sectors are met, as food plays an important role in their social well‐being. Very little research has focused upon the extent to which retailers meet their demands and particular needs. The aim of this study, as part of a wider study on older consumers, is to address this lack of information by examining the level of awareness held by food retail management as to the needs of older consumers (60+ years old) and the problems that they encounter while shopping. Qualitative data were collected using face‐to‐face interviews with retail managers (n = 5) from food retailers in Northern Ireland. These were analysed according to Gillham's content analysis guide. Food retailers stated they were aware of the issues older consumers face and recognize their importance as a growing consumer segment; however, there would appear to be relatively little actual consideration/evidence of them meeting their needs. All interviewees expressed an interest in improving the food shopping experiences of older consumers, and were keen to make an increased effort towards this segment of the population, but these were often not put into practice. In order to overcome the problems faced by older consumers and strengthen the food shopping experience for this age group, it is suggested that retail management make practical changes to improve in‐store facilities, increase affordability of food products and home delivery services, and enhance customer communication.     

Navigating the ‘retail apocalypse’: A framework of consumer evaluations of the new retail landscape

Strong signals exist for a permanent restructuring of retailḍing, where traditional physical retailers may not fully recover. Such transformation will have vast implications for consumers, the industry, and society in general. This study explores U.S. consumers’ evaluations of these profound changes sometimes referred to as the ‘retail apocalypse.’ Two studies, a content analysis of reader comments in response to articles featuring reports on large-scale store closures, and structured online consumer interviews, provide insights into consumers’ perspectives. We include consumer-derived explanations for the decline in physical retail, and the growth of online shopping, as well as anticipated consequences for both, individual consumers and society in general, in a conceptual framework. We find many consumers lamenting the disappearance of physical retailers. Most expect negative consequences for themselves and society. However, many consumers also describe physical retailers as often unable to deliver on basic retail functions, and many are accepting of a future with very few physical stores. Based on these findings, we develop practical implications for the retail industry and public policy, as well as future research opportunities.     

Exploring the resources associated with consumer vulnerability: Designing nuanced retail hardship programs

Retailers across a variety of sectors offer hardship programs to assist consumers who are experiencing vulnerability. Hardship programs are typically designed as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, viewing consumer recipients as one homogenous group. To investigate the resources associated with consumer vulnerability, we thematically analyzed reports from 20 government-funded projects in Australia which directly assisted 32,498 low-income households in the energy retail sector. Our findings reveal three resource ‘bundles’: connections-resource-bundle, convenience-resource-bundle and security-resource-bundle. We then provide recommendations for retailers and service providers on what they can do to alleviate hardship for consumers within each resource-bundle.     

An Investigation of Consumer Subjective Knowledge in Frontline Interactions

It is no secret that the consumer journey produces retail consumers who have varying levels of subjective knowledge about a purchase prior to a retail interaction. This observation leads to a common conclusion that the need for frontline employees (FLEs) in retail environments is diminishing. Nevertheless, retailers invest heavily in staffing and training FLEs. As such, understanding pre-encounter subjective knowledge and how FLEs should address it is critical, yet the topic is largely overlooked in the marketing literature. Thus, we investigate consumer subjective knowledge via an information diagnosticity lens to provide guidance on how subjective knowledge operates when the information in question is scarce/known, tacit/explicit, and specific/general. The results of three experiments reveal consumers can be classified as traditional, well-calibrated, or poorly-calibrated based on their subjective knowledge prior to meeting with an FLE – with each type requiring different FLE approaches to improve both consumers’ willingness to buy and acceptance of FLE recommendations.     

Influences of online store perception,shopping enjoyment,and shopping involvement on consumer patronage behavior towards an online retailer

Online apparel retailers have adopted various types of image interactivity technology (IIT), such as close-up pictures or zoom-in functions, mix-and-match functions, and 3D virtual models to enhance consumers’ online shopping experience. The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of level of IIT on consumer perception of online retail environment, shopping enjoyment, shopping involvement, a desire to stay, and patronage intention. Significant structural relationships between these research variables were found, supporting a pleasure-oriented conceptual model of consumer patronage behavior in the online retailing environment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Does retail type matter? Consumer responses to channel integration in omni-channel retailing

A critical issue faced by marketing practitioners today is orchestrating strategies that provide a smooth consumer experience in an omni-channel environment. The extant literature offers limited guidance on managing the consumer journey in an omni-channel environment across different retail types. Using the S–O-R framework as its basis, this study generates novel insights by examining how different types of retailers influence consumer perceptions of channel integration (CPCI) as well as consumer empowerment, trust, satisfaction, and patronage intention. Data from 736 consumers was collected using purposive sampling to target those who interact with retailers from high-end specialty stores, department stores, and hypermarkets. The data was then analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). We find that consumers from high-end specialty stores, hypermarkets, and department stores have different perceptions when patronising the omni-channel retail business. The implications of the study are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.     

Consumers’ perception of store image of joint venture shopping centres: first-tier versus second-tier cities in China

Studies on consumer behaviour and the modelling of attributes representing store image of shopping centres in the context of a developed country have been the focus of many researchers. In contrast, although China has the largest consumer market in the world, the consumer behaviour and consumption psychology of this enormous market remain relatively unknown due to a previously “close-door” policy as well as a high degree of government intervention within the retail sector. This paper discusses the unique nature and development of the retail industry in China, and formulates a model to represent the store image of joint venture shopping centres, which are the only approved form of direct foreign investment into China's retail sector. Research on store image of shopping centres in the west as well as in China has been applied in the formulation of the model, which consists of 21 attributes. The relative importance of these 21 shopping centre image attributes is subsequently analysed between consumers in a first-tier and a second-tier city in China. By being the first of its kind to reflect on China's retail market and its joint venture shopping centres, and to compare the consumer behaviour within different levels of cities in China, this paper provides both researchers and retailers with a better insight and understanding into the psychology of Chinese consumers, and the retailing business in China.     

从购物动机到商店选择:中国西北消费者的购物行为探索(英文)

虽然中国已经成为世界上最大的消费者市场,但是有关中国消费者的购物行为研究还没有广泛开展,特别是针对中国内地的购物人群而言。本研究探索的是中国西北消费者的购物经历。深度采访显示,那些被访者更多地展现出一种消费者角色,这种角色能够同时满足个人和社会地位需求的购物特征。除此之外,在选择零售商店(购物)时,商品、商店和服务标准也是重要的影响因素。本文为研究中国消费者的商店购买行为提供了参考文献资料,同时也为零售商拓展中国西北市场提供了非常有价值的观点。     

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.     

The Greydollarfella: An endangered species or a market opportunity?

This paper identifies an ignored and endangered species: the mature male shopper, who we have named the Greydollarfella. Based on current research and interviews, we describe this fellow and attempt to differentiate him from other consumer segments. The Greydollarfella, unlike younger men, appears not to like shopping and so is often ignored by retailers or excluded from the retail environment. We argue that the Greydollarfella should be included in, not sidelined from, retail and marketing considerations. He is much wealthier and less time-poor than younger men, and deserves a retail environment that suits his preferences and consumer requirements. We present some examples of how retailers are attending (and not attending) to the Greydollarfella. We conclude that Greydollarfella is not very well understood, is undervalued, and is often marginalised by retail marketing strategies. We believe he offers great value for marketers and retailers (both niche and mass) willing to take the time to understand his psyche, product and service needs, and views on the retail experience. Finally, we call for more attention to be paid to this segment.     

The role of fashionability in second-hand shopping motivations

Second-hand consumption has been quietly undergoing a makeover in recent years. As part of this shift, the concept of shopping for second-hand goods has been redefined. In today's retail marketplace, a mix of thrift stores, high-end stores, and online retailers are recognising the value of second-hand and hosting flea markets or launching their own vintage product collections. However, limited research attention has been paid to role of ‘fashionability’ as a motivation for consumers to shop for second-hand goods. In this study, we explore modern consumer second-hand shopping behaviour and motivations, inclusive of fashionability. Through a segmentation of second-hand store shoppers, we identify four distinct segments. While we find a polarisation of fashionability motivations, the vast majority (83%) of second-hand shoppers are driven by fashion when shopping in second-hand stores. The findings present several implications for second-hand retailers, including new ways to expand their customer base by tapping into elements of fashionability.