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1 – 10 of over 11000Myron Gable, Martin T. Topol, Vishal Lala and Susan S. Fiorito
The purpose of this paper is to determine the responses of women college students to discount stores and category killers in terms of the importance of seven‐store characteristics…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the responses of women college students to discount stores and category killers in terms of the importance of seven‐store characteristics as well as their expectations for these attributes. Another purpose was to determine differences, if any, between these two store formats. Further the moderating variables of shopping frequency and orientation were introduced to determine if they influenced the results.
Design/methodology/approach
Personal interviews were used to collect data from a random sample of women college students from one university through the administration of a structured survey instrument. Statistical analyses were employed to generate the results.
Findings
Differences were found in the respondents' perceptions for both importance and expectations for six of the seven‐store attributes. For one characteristic, continuity of supply, no differences emerged and this characteristic was deemed important for both store formats. Moderating variables did not alter the results.
Research limitations/implications
Given the limited nature of the sample, there is a need for replication of this research in other geographic regions, including international sites in order to corroborate these findings. Also, replication with men is needed.
Practical implications
This study provides guidance to both discount store and category killer executives on the types of strategies and tactics needed to better attract and retain women college students.
Originality/value
Attention was directed to women college students, a highly desired but often neglected market segment. Further, continuity of supply, an attribute not often indicated in most retailing texts emerged as very important and highly expected by respondents.
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Eunyoung (Christine) Sung and Patricia Huddleston
This paper explores the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ need for self-image congruence on their retail patronage of department (high-end) and discount (low-end) stores…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ need for self-image congruence on their retail patronage of department (high-end) and discount (low-end) stores to purchase name-brand products in two product categories, apparel and home décor. It also compared online to offline shopping and considered two mediator variables, frugality and materialism.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzed the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling (SEM) and MANOVA. Study 1 suggested the model using secondary data, and Study 2 measured and confirmed the relationships using scenario-based online survey data. An MANOVA test was used to compare the shopping behavior of consumers with high and low need for self-image congruence.
Findings
A strong causal link was found between concern with appearance and need for self-image congruence, and a positive relationship between need for self-image congruence and high- and low-end retail store patronage offline and online. While the group with high (vs low) need for self-image congruence was more likely to patronize department stores, unexpectedly, both the high and low self-image congruence groups were equally likely to shop at discount stores.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that marketing messages focusing on concern for appearance may succeed by tapping into consumers’ need for self-image congruence with brand product/retail store images. Results also showed that consumers with high self-image congruence often patronize discount retail stores, suggesting marketing opportunities for low-end retailers.
Originality/value
Because consumers with high need for self-image congruence patronize both department and discount stores, it is suggested that self-image congruity may be multi-dimensional. The current study is also the first to examine structural relationships to test patronage behavior between department and discount stores offline and online.
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As the competition in domestic markets increases, multinational retailers are expanding globally. Multinational discounters such as Wal‐Mart and Carrefour have been vying against…
Abstract
As the competition in domestic markets increases, multinational retailers are expanding globally. Multinational discounters such as Wal‐Mart and Carrefour have been vying against Korean discounters for market share with the full liberalization of the distribution sector in 1997. This study examined various aspects of discount store retailing (store attributes, shopping costs) and consumers’ shopping motives, values, and retail outcomes (e.g. shopping excitement, satisfaction and repatronage intention), to understand Korean consumers’ discount store patronage. Significant differences were found in store image perceptions and shoppers’ internal orientations between multinational discount store patrons vs Korean discount store patrons. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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The internationalization of retailing is increasing throughout the global service markets. Among many retail formats, the discount store is one of the fastest growing formats…
Abstract
The internationalization of retailing is increasing throughout the global service markets. Among many retail formats, the discount store is one of the fastest growing formats actively engaging internationalization. In managing retail firms in other cultures, understanding of local customers’ perceptions toward the retail formats is especially important. Shopping motives may be a function of retail format, cultural, economic and social environment. Prior studies on shopping motives, however, have focused on Western cultures and on a shopping mall format. This study provides an exploratory examination of Korean discount shoppers’ shopping motives and their shopping typologies based on their shopping motives. A total of 624 questionnaires were administered to married female discount shoppers in Korea using the intercept survey method, and 467 completed questionnaires were available for data analysis. Factor analysis identified three shopping motives for patronizing discount stores: socialization, diversion and utilitarian. Four groups were identified using cluster analysis and labeled as leisurely‐motivated shoppers (n =152, 34.1 percent), socially‐motivated shoppers (n=49, 11.0 percent), utilitarian shoppers (n=132, 29.6 percent) and shopping‐apathetic shoppers (n=113, 25.3 percent). The four groups significantly differ in their appraisals of patronized store in some of store attributes, repatronage intention, and money spent in a shopping trip. Typologies of each cluster, discount retailing environments and managerial implications are discussed based on findings.
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Ömer Torlak, Cevahir Uzkurt and Müjdat Özmen
The purpose of this paper is to determine the difference between service quality dimensions of supermarkets and discount stores.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the difference between service quality dimensions of supermarkets and discount stores.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses on service quality dimensions of customers in supermarkets and discount stores. The study has selected one store from each retailer type located in Eskisehir, Turkey and used the scale of the service quality of retail stores. The research has employed a face‐to‐face questionnaire for collecting data from customers on different days and at different hours of the week. A total of 891 questionnaires, 682 for supermarkets and 209 for discount stores, have been analysed.
Findings
Results indicate that the customers of the supermarket and the discount store differ in their perception of some service quality dimensions. While the supermarket customers perceive physical aspects and store policy dimensions at a higher level, the discount store's customers give more priority to interaction with personnel dimension.
Research limitations/implications
Further qualitative studies can provide deeper insights about service quality dimensions of supermarkets and discount stores. The results are also a starting point for further academic research about the different retailer types.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to the understanding of behaviours and attitudes of supermarket and discount store customers. Retailers in Turkey will primarily benefit from the study.
Originality/value
The paper compares the customer perception of service quality dimensions of two different types of grocery retailers; a supermarket and a discount store.
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Johan Anselmsson and Ulf Johansson
The overall purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of customer perceived service quality within grocery retailing in a North European context. We do this by…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of customer perceived service quality within grocery retailing in a North European context. We do this by comparing customer perceived service quality evaluations of the traditional supermarket store with evaluations of the discount store.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on empirical data from four store cases (two traditional and two discount stores), including information gained from a total of 542 respondents. In the study, we have used and tested a model of grocery store service quality, presented in Vázquez et al. (2001), with structural equation modelling (LISREL) and traditional multivariate analysis (SPSS).
Findings
The ability of the Vázquez et al. (2001) model to capture customer perceived quality was below 40 per cent for both concepts which signals limited relevance and that important dimensions in the service evaluation could be missing for both of the two concepts, at least in a North European context. The results show that the traditional supermarket outperforms the discount stores on all service aspects but availability and reliability. When comparing the determinants of the service quality evaluation, the two concepts are very similar. Finally, the overall results regarding determinants of service quality show resemblance to retail studies in other countries and cultures.
Research limitations/implications
This study has been limited to investigate service quality in Sweden and from two out of at least five possible retail concepts. As the explanatory power of the model is limited, future studies should explore other possible determinants of service quality, e.g. the role of technological innovations.
Practical implications
Kotler and Keller (2012) proposes five generic differentiation strategies: product, service, people, channels and image. The results suggest that traditional grocery stores that choose to differentiate and position themselves by focusing on service rather than physical product differentiation should work with assortment issues as well. In order to decide which aspect of service to choose and promote, companies should emphasise differences that are considered important by customers, distinct from competitors and superior in terms of delivering the overall benefit – in this case – in terms of service quality. The results show that the policy dimension would satisfy all three criterions.
Social implications
The study enhances the understanding of customer perceived service quality within grocery retailing, specifically in comparison between the supermarket and the discount store concept.
Originality/value
This study is the first to focus on whether there is a divergence in service quality and service quality measuring between the traditional supermarket concept and the growing discount concept, and if so to what extent. Furthermore, it is a test of a model that has gained acceptance in Latin and South European countries, but in the context of Northern Europe.
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This study examines how various characteristics of the discount retail environment and the overall attitude towards a discount retail store, considered to be an abstract and…
Abstract
This study examines how various characteristics of the discount retail environment and the overall attitude towards a discount retail store, considered to be an abstract and global image component, influence consumers’ satisfaction and how consumers’ satisfaction, in turn, affects store loyalty. The data, collected from a sample of 517 discount retail customers in Daegu, Korea, indicate that: (1) forming the overall attitude is more closely related to in‐store services: atmosphere, employee service, after sales service and merchandising, (2) store satisfaction is formed through perceived store atmosphere and value, (3) the overall attitude has strong influence on satisfaction and loyalty and its impact is much stronger on loyalty than on satisfaction, (4) store loyalty is directly affected by most significantly location, merchandising and after sale service in order, (5) satisfaction is not related to customers’ committed store revisiting behavior. The applications in management and implications for future research are discussed.
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Ritu Lohtia and Ramesh Subramaniam
States that there is compelling evidence that the Japanese retail distribution system is changing. This study uses census data for ten years (1985 to 1994) to understand past…
Abstract
States that there is compelling evidence that the Japanese retail distribution system is changing. This study uses census data for ten years (1985 to 1994) to understand past changes in the structure of the retail distribution system. To understand the likely changes to the distribution system in the future, data were collected from 136 Japanese manufacturers and retailers. Results suggest significant future changes in the number of retailers, specialty stores, general merchandise stores, discount stores, and non‐store retailing.
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The paper aims to identify retail models redistributing suboptimal food and their presence in Czechia. The author aims to give an overview of the status in comparison with other…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to identify retail models redistributing suboptimal food and their presence in Czechia. The author aims to give an overview of the status in comparison with other European Union countries and the form of such models in the Czech retail market concerning social super discount stores (SSDSs).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on data obtained from an empirical study conducted by the study of secondary materials, author store-check observations and interviews with owners of SSDSs. The theoretical part consists of a literature review on social enterprises, food wasting and the definition of certain food distribution formats such as social supermarkets, food banks and SSDSs. The criteria for the selection of the research sample for observation were chosen based on the research conducted in Austria by researchers from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Findings
The research sample consists of 40 retail stores belonging to five retailers. The particular variables of the study are the number of stores, store size, range of categories and products, discount rates, location and the number of employees in the selected stores in Czechia.
Originality/value
This paper is a case study to identify and explore social retailing in Central Europe. This paper contributes to the emerging set of literature on social entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of retail for suboptimal food products.
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V. Ann Paulins and Loren V. Geistfeld
Consumer perceptions of retail store attributes for a set of particular stores were examined to determine their effect on store preference. Respondents rated 13 stores. Four…
Abstract
Consumer perceptions of retail store attributes for a set of particular stores were examined to determine their effect on store preference. Respondents rated 13 stores. Four variables were found to affect store preference using forward stepwise logistic regression: type of clothing desired in stock, outside store appearance, shopping hours, and advertising. Significance of the effect of store attributes on store preference varied by store type. In addition, associations between customer perception of store attributes, education and age were observed. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
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