Exploring retail format choice among US males

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore retail format choice among male shoppers, using desired store attributes and shopping orientations as predictors of format choice.

Design/methodology/approach

Male shoppers in the USA (n=560) were surveyed via the internet. Multiple regression was used to evaluate the data.

Findings

The findings identify distinctive predictors of male patronage across several retail formats including department stores, discounters, category killers, dollar stores and internet only stores.

Research limitations/implications

The findings identify desired store attributes and shopping orientations of frequent male patrons of several retail formats. The information provided is useful for advancing the retail format choice literature as well as for retailers to better understand male patrons. Future research could examine patronage of newly developed retail formats and include situational variables that could provide additional predictive power for retail format choice among males.

Practical implications

This research provides retailers with specific knowledge to identify males who are likely to frequent specific retail formats based on desired store attributes and shopping orientations.

Originality/value

This exploratory study uses desired store attributes and shopping orientations to profile male shoppers of several retail formats in the USA. The research is unique because the investigation of retail format choice among males has been very limited.

Citation

Carpenter, J.M. and Brosdahl, D.J.C. (2011), "Exploring retail format choice among US males", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 39 No. 12, pp. 886-898. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551111183290