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There is tremendous growth potential for food and grocery (F&G) retail in an emerging market like India. Bengaluru is the third most populous city of India. With a total consumption expenditure of Rs 2,020 billion and per capita retail expenditure of Rs 67,289 (in 2015), Bengaluru has emerged as a sought-after retail market with many foreign and national brands opening stores here. The purpose of this paper is to use the sign of causality to determine the relationships between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyles in F&G retailing in Bengaluru.

An experimentation framework using causal design was developed to establish relationships between variables: store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle. A primary survey was conducted using a structured non-disguised questionnaire involving 346 F&G shoppers from Bengaluru. Hayes regression models were adapted and hypothesized relationships between the variables tested using correlation, multiple regression and Hayes regression/path analysis.

Satisfaction acts as a mediator in the relationship between store attributes and patronage intention. Lifestyle does not act as the moderator in the relationships between store attributes and patronage- intention; and, satisfaction and patronage intention.

In experiments that test for causality a big limitation is lower internal validity in the absence of control mechanisms, unlike laboratory studies. Another limitation is that this study is limited to urban Bengaluru F&G shoppers, variations could occur if the study is extended to include rural shoppers.

With 100 percent foreign direct investment permitted in the F&G category in India, the research outcomes will be useful to all food retailers (prospective and current) interested in this retail market. Moreover, in the existing competitive scenario, understanding of associative influences between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle will enable retailers comprehend F&G shoppers retailing behavior. This information can be used for targeted marketing and operational strategies, which will deliver more success in marketing relationship management, building competitive advantage and enhancing marketing efforts profitably.

This paper is a new and original contribution to the existing literature on causal relationships among variables in retail marketing research. It is different from prior studies that analyzed shoppers F&G behavior, in that it extends the understanding of the role of “satisfaction” as a mediator and “lifestyle” not a moderator, when testing the causality of store attributes on patronage intention.

In recent years, while the food and grocery retail in developed markets like Western Europe seem to be slowly facing saturation, it has been steadily growing in the Asia–Pacific region markets like India. This is mainly due to the emergence of modern retail and the changing consumer dynamics. This study purposes to assesses whether food and grocery (F&G) shoppers in India are strongly influenced by store-attributes.

Descriptive research design, a cross-sectional survey involving 346 respondents (households) from metropolitan Bengaluru, participated in the study. Data is analyzed with SPSS 21, involving descriptive analysis, 1-way Anova, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which appears useful to confirm the theoretical structure used for the study.

Store-attributes – atmosphere, promotion, convenience, facilities, merchandise, store personnel interaction and services affect F&G store choice decisions. Additionally, significant difference is found in the way respondents perceive the sub-constructs of store-attributes, based on age.

The study contributes to the theoretical knowledge on store-attributes and dynamic socio-demographic influences on store choices. It has managerial implications to encourage global retailers use knowledge on store-attributes influences to initiate effective communication and promotion strategies and work at customer relationship management (CRM) that earn profitably in the long run.

Today, connected consumers seek shopping experiences that blend physical stores-attributes with other retail formats offerings. This research paper provides insights on shopper expectations of store-attributes, which could be used by global retailers to create delightful shopping experiences and to build CRM, especially when “experience per square foot” is used to measure the retailer's performance.

Built on De Wulf et al.'s relationship exchange model, the present study aims to examine store attributes as a signal for the process of customer‐retailer relationship building in the context of department store operation in the USA.

A sample of college students at a US university participated in an online self‐administered survey. Exploratory factor analysis identified store attribute factors pertaining to department stores and structural equation modeling tested hypotheses.

Six store attributes relevant to department store environments were found: post‐transaction service, direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, preferential treatment, and store atmosphere. Four store attributes (direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, and preferential treatment) involve perceived relationship investment, while one store attribute dimension (store atmosphere) directly contributes to perceived relationship quality. Perceived relationship investment positively influences perceived relationship quality, which in turn influences behavioural and attitudinal loyalty intentions. The mediating effects of perceived relationship quality on the perceived relationship investment‐loyalty intention links were confirmed.

The single retail setting and student sample are limitations. Future research should examine store attribute dimensions in different retail and/or service operation settings with more diverse populations.

The current study demonstrated that store attributes (direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, and preferential treatment) promote customer‐retailer relationship building as relationship‐inducing factors in the department store context.

The purpose of this paper is to identify selected store attributes of activewear specialty retailers that impact consumers’ satisfaction, which in turn influence word-of-mouth (WOM) and retail patronage behavior.

Using an on-site store intercept, 150 responses were collected to answer hypothesized relationships. An exploratory factor analysis was first performed followed by a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation analysis.

Results revealed that sales employees and store atmosphere attributes of activewear specialty stores had a positive influence on consumer satisfaction, which in turn had a direct impact on WOM and repatronage intentions for activewear specialty stores. Therefore, in order to satisfy consumers, activewear specialty retailers need to ensure that they provide an attractive and pleasant shopping atmosphere. Furthermore, satisfied consumers are likely to spread positive WOM about the retailer and display their intention to revisit the store in the future. The authors conclude by discussing the results and suggest implications and future research directions.

The findings of this research shed light on the managerial implications for activewear specialty retailers with regards to marketing strategies and consumers’ attitudes.

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast customer perceptions related to satisfaction with conventional grocery stores as compared to specialty grocery stores. The study examines store attributes of product assortment, price, quality, and service in order to determine which attributes have the greatest impact on store satisfaction for each store format.

A mail survey was sent to a sample of specialty and conventional grocery store customers. The ten state sample was drawn from US households located in postal (ZIP) codes in areas where national specialty stores (e.g. whole foods) were located.

Perception of satisfaction were higher among specialty grocery store customers compared to conventional grocery store customers. For both store formats, store price, product assortment, service and quality positively influenced satisfaction. Stepwise regression indicated that each store attribute contributed differently to store satisfaction for conventional and specialty store formats.

The results demonstrate that price, product assortment, quality, and employee service influence store satisfaction regardless of store type (conventional stores or specialty stores). However, the degree of influence of these attributes varied by store type. The results imply that while specialty store shopper satisfaction characteristics are clearly delineated, conventional store shopper characteristics are more difficult to pinpoint. Research limitations include a sample that is more highly educated and has higher incomes than the average American household.

Despite the growth of new product categories and new industry players, few studies have investigated customer satisfaction within the retail food industry. Comparisons of specialty and conventional food stores are equally scarce.

The purpose of this paper is to identify website characteristics that affect customer evaluations and satisfaction with online stores at two interaction points – when the order is placed and after the order has been fulfilled.

Using data collected by bizrate.com, data collected from customers of thousands of online stores, the analysis focuses on the changes in the relationships between website characteristics and customer ratings. Data for two‐time periods, 15 months apart, are used to determine the stability in the observed relationships.

Order fulfillment variables, particularly on‐time delivery, dominate the effects on overall customer evaluations and satisfaction. The statistical significance of other online store attributes, however, changes as differences are observed between 2003 and 2004.

The online environment is dynamic and the paper captures some of the changes in the relationships between website attributes and customer satisfaction. This requires continuous monitoring of the online environment. Since the paper relies on secondary data collected by bizrate.com, the research is limited by specific website attributes and measures of customer satisfaction adopted by a commercial enterprise.

Online retailers must be strategic about fulfillment variables. When online stores compete with each other, it is easier to copy certain attributes like “shipping options” than other attributes such as “on‐time delivery.” This suggests that the most creative, interactive, and vivid online site will not compensate for weak fulfillment and customer support capabilities.

No other paper has looked at these data, collected from real customers making purchases at actual merchant sites, over two time periods. The results provide insights regarding stability of findings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore store choice behaviour of Indian apparel shoppers and analyses the factors influencing their choice of retail formats from an emerging market perspective.

The research draws on a data set of 336 structured questionnaires with adult urban Indian respondents to understand their perceptions about organised and unorganised apparel store formats. The exploratory study uses a comprehensive list of demographics, shopping situations and format stimuli parameters along with two established psychographic scales to assess the extent of their effect on the store choice of apparel shoppers.

Factor analysis revealed five well defined store attributes influencing the apparel shoppers’ decision. The growing market for organised retail with a preference for multi brand stores is highlighted. The study establishes that the shoppers’ perception of single-brand stores is still going through a formative phase. Further at the micro level of the decision process, significant differences are established by a number of variables.

The paper explores the store choice behaviour from a wider perspective that may be useful for future research on developing integrated store format choice models. However, the data used herein relates to a cross-section of shoppers in urban India due to the feasibility and convenience of studying relatively organised retail forms and structure of retail in an emerging market environment.

The paper attempts to enumerate befitting analyses of factors that influence the store choice behaviour of apparel shoppers by using apt format classifications that are specific to the emerging retail market scenario in India.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of store-level attributes, relationship investment, culture and religiosity on relationship quality.

To attain the above objective, data were collected from 350 customers from India and Nigeria. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS.

In the present study, empirical evidence was found for the impact of most of the store’s positioning attributes on perceived relationship investment and relationship quality, in India and Nigeria. Factors like personalization and their impact on relationship investment and quality were not supported in Nigeria. Additionally, religiosity was found to impact relationship quality only in case of Nigerian customers. Cultural differences were also found between consumers of both these countries.

The present study contributes to the theory of consumer behavior and cross-cultural studies by examining the effect of the relationship between various cultural dimensions and religiosity on customer’s commitment with a store, which to the author’s best knowledge is not done before. The present study makes important contribution to the existing literature of relationship quality in three ways: first, by specifying important store-level attributes that impact customer’s perception about relationship investment. By applying these practices, retailers can guide customer’s perception of relationship investment, second, this study confirmed the impact of relationship investment on relationship quality, thus demonstrating the retailers as to why should they invest time and effort in building positive perception about relationship investment, third, this study is first of its kind to have investigated the impact of culture and religiosity on the perception of relationship investment and relationship quality.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of supply chain management (SCM) practices and retail outlet attributes on the performance of organised food retailers in India during COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors conducted empirical research with SCM practices and retail outlet attributes to evaluate the retailers’ performance. The authors present the results from 321 valid responses from the Indian food retailers. The study used structured equation modeling to present the analysis and the results.

The findings of this study reveal that most of the SCM practices (i.e. information technology, level of information sharing, customer relationship, supplier relationship and goal congruence) have a positive impact on performance except the quality of information sharing. The results show that in the time of the pandemic, the retail outlet attributes (image, service quality and convenience) have no significant relationship with the food retailer’s performance while SCM practices are necessary to achieve better performance of the food retailers.

A proactive approach is needed from retailers at the time of pandemic situations to manage the supply chains. The retailers must be extra careful in screening the suppliers for the short and long run. The reason being that in the situation of pandemic, customers might be more demanding and hence, food retailers need to pay special attention to gain growth. It is also required that the policymakers should give importance to the implementation of these SCM practices to be positioned differently.

The research can be valued in terms of its original contribution towards companies in overcoming the disruption caused by COVID-19 to maintain a balance between demand and supply and proposes a completely new theoretical framework. The proposed theoretical model would add value to the existing literature to help the retailers in process of their performance improvement. The study has provided insights for retail organisations, suppliers and government departments to manage their SCs more effectively and efficiently during the pandemic.

The purpose of the study was to understand influence of assortment, store facility, service and relationship on Indian consumers’ small retailer patronage behaviour. The determinant of small retailer–consumer relationships was studied.

Indian consumers were contacted through retail stores intercept method and requested to participate in the survey (n = 321). The questionnaire was adapted from the research conducted by Lee et al. (2008) and modified (some items on relationship were added). ANOVA and multiple regression tests were used to analyze the data.

The Indian consumers’ prefer small retailers due to assortment, service, store facility and relationship. The older and younger populations differ in their reasons for preferring small retail stores. The results show that service and assortment influence consumer-small retailer relationships.

The small retailers’ can harness the relationship and social interaction attribute of their service package for defending their turf against organized retail. The fast-moving consumer goods companies can use the competitive strength of small retailers for increasing their distribution in the interiors of the country and understanding market demand.

There is limited research in India to understand competitive advantage of small retailers over organized retailing.