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To identify factors that influence small‐town consumers' satisfaction with local independent retailers and the subsequent relationships of consumer satisfaction to in‐shopping, community attachment, and support of local independent retailers.

Oliver's expectancy‐disconfirmation model (1980) was used as the framework to predict consumer satisfaction. Consumer mailing addresses were attained from independent retailers in three small Midwest communities in the USA wherein at least one big box retailer was located. A survey questionnaire was sent to 903 consumers of independent retailers. The return rate was 36 per cent with 328 responses.

Most strategies performed by small‐town independent retailers did not meet their local consumers' expectations. Specially, merchandise assortment and availability, such as offering a unique and large selection of products, showed the largest discrepancy between respondents' expectations and retailers' performance, indicating that independent retailers are not meeting their consumers' needs in these areas. Participants who were satisfied with their independent retailers, shopped locally, were strongly attached to their communities, and were willing to support their local independent retailers.

Small‐town independent retailers need to continuously examine and re‐examine their business strategies to meet the changing expectations of their local consumers. Small‐town consumers' expectations of local independent retailers are shifting due to varying dynamics of retail environment including the entry of big‐box retailers. It is essential that independent retailers know their local customers and exploit niche strategies that big‐box retailers do not provide.

The authors adopted the concepts of satisfaction and disconfirmation from Oliver's expectancy‐disconfirmation model. On the basis of Oliver's model, the authorss predicted that consumer satisfaction with local independent retailers would be affected by possible disconfirmation between consumers' expectations and independent retailers' performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether strategic promotion management approach is relevant to the small independent retailers. To address this question, we contrasted the promotion approaches of 397 small independent stores and 115 large retailers. The data were collected from clothing and shoe retailers across eight Australian capital cities. The key finding is that they do in fact adapt their promotion mix to suit their strategic needs. Thus although small independent retailers may lack the financial resources and managerial expertise of larger retailers, they have been found to possess some degree of sophistication in respect to their promotion mix management.

Many national retailers have complained about increases in business rates tax bills since the 2017 revaluation. What impact has the 2017 business rates revaluation had on independent high street retailers in market towns in the north of England? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study uses Valuation Office Agency rating list data to determine rateable value and business rates payable for independent high street retailers in eight northern market towns either side of the 2017 rating revaluation. The data were analysed using business rates matrices to reveal the impact of the new rating list on independent retailers in the eight locations.

Analysis reveals that the majority of independent retailers in the northern market towns sampled have experienced reductions in both the rateable value of their premises and business rates payable. Increase in the rates relief threshold has extended relief to almost half of the independent retailers in the study, most of whom receive 100 per cent relief.

Charity shops receive at least 80 per cent rates relief which means they are able to afford to pay higher rents. This “sets the tone” for landlords setting market rents in that location which are then used as comparable evidence by the VOA when determining rateable values at revaluation further polarising the gap between rate payers and those to are exempt.

Focussing on independent retailers on high streets in markets towns in north of England, this study provides an alternative perspective to the orthodox view of business rates revaluations having a negative impact on retailers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the conditions under which small independent retailers can improve their business performance by adopting a merchandising information orientation and strategically integrating into retailer buying groups.

This study tests hypotheses using a hierarchical multiple regression model and data obtained from 241 supermarket retailers that are existing members of buying groups in Japan.

The results indicate that merchandising information orientation alone may not be a beneficial strategy for small independent retailers to improve their business performance; however, by combining a merchandising information strategy with strong strategic integration with a buying group, optimal benefits can be achieved.

The findings highlight the potential benefits small independent retailers can gain from buying groups when pursuing a merchandising information orientation, which may prompt such retailers to actively integrate the policies and activities of the buying group into their business strategy.

The authors conceptualise retailers’ merchandising information in a model that demonstrates the link between a firm’s information strategy and its performance from the perspective of resource-based theory. Thus, this study advances the knowledge of the strategic behaviours of small independent retailers and provides valuable information for buying groups in the retail sector.

The purpose of this study is to compare the patrons of chain home centers and patrons of small hardware stores.

A questionnaire was administered to individuals residing in two adjacent metropolitan areas located in the US Midwest. Respondents were contacted via telephone and were asked to respond to questions addressing their hardware store/home center preferences and shopping activity.

Respondents' assessments of the importance of eight attributes relating to shopping experience were not able to differentiate between patrons of small hardware stores and patrons of large home centers. Furthermore, the type of hardware retailer that individuals most commonly patronize does not appear to affect their assessments of various types of hardware retailers stores nor the amount of time respondents spent during a typical visit to their most patronized home center/hardware store. Finally, the only demographic difference noted involved income – respondents who shopped most often at large home centers were found to have a significantly higher income than those who shopped most often at small hardware stores.

The results of this study indicate that, at least for the issues examined, there appears to be relatively little difference between the individuals who patronize chain home centers and those who patronize small hardware stores. Consequently, individuals' choices of hardware retailer to patronize appears to be more complex than anticipated.

The growth of chains in hardware retailing has not received the same degree of attention as chain stores in other areas of retailing.

This paper calls for a reconsideration of standard narratives regarding the role of small, independent retailers for twentieth‐century urban communities. The paper aims to discuss the issues.

Taking the German city of Bremen as an example, the paper problematizes the nostalgic treatment of independent “Aunt Emma” (or “mom‐and‐pop”) stores in Germany during the last quarter of the century, by recounting the often conflict‐laden history of small retailers within the urban community. It draws on primary documents from retail associations, the chamber of commerce, municipal administrations, as well as media coverage.

The romanticization of the corner grocer overlooked the often divisive role of small store‐keepers in the interwar years as well as the social considerations behind some forms of retail modernization.

Beyond the particular examples of Bremen or even Germany, the paper urges historians of modern retailing to critically analyze the everyday role shops and shopkeepers have played within their communities without at the same time embracing a market‐liberal narrative of retail modernization as a function of consumer demand.

This study aims to investigate the way in which small retailer performance is influenced by strategy at different levels. It also aims to propose that business level strategy is more important to success than functional level strategy in small retail firms, as this is what enables them to distinguish their business from competitors and effectively set about competing in their markets.

Data were collected from a mail survey of 305 independent retailers in the UK. Multivariate statistical methods were used to develop appropriate variables and explore the relationships between level of strategy and performance.

The results indicate that business level strategy variables have a significant influence on performance whereas functional levels do not when their combined effects are analysed using hierarchical regression modelling.

The caveats normally associated with survey methods apply, as do those related to the use of cross‐sectional, self‐report, and managerial perceptions data. Implications for retail strategy theory and small retailers' performance are addressed.

The importance of business level strategy generally and its specific elements are considered with a view to providing guidance to management decision makers and policy advisors.

Reliable measures for retail strategy variables are developed in the paper. The research distinguishes the performance effects of retail business strategy from retail functional strategy and supports the view that business strategy decisions are superior in their market significance over operational retail mix decisions.

This paper details work undertaken to identify and assess the skills needs of small, especially food‐related, independent retailers in the United Kingdom. The paper, part of a European Social Fund (ESF) assisted project: “Towards a healthy high street (II)”, considers the specific skills areas deemed to be lacking at present in the sector. From this, higher‐level learning materials will be developed which relate to the skills areas identified. The prime source of evidence for skills needs identification draws upon research undertaken as part of two previous ESF projects. The key aim of this paper is to combine and articulate the findings from this earlier ESF research with material published by practitioners, academics and government pertaining to the provision of training in this vital sector of the economy. Three key areas upon which to focus training in the sector are explored: “Building and sustaining competitive advantage”, “E‐commerce” and “Retail operations”.

The past 25 years have witnessed a dramatic rise in the dominance of big‐box retailers in the global retail sector and the decline of small retailers. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the intensity of competition with big box retailers moderates the relationship of strategy choice to expected growth.

This study uses cross‐sectional survey data from a group of 199 small retailers in the USA. Hypotheses are tested using linear regression of expected growth on the use of three growth‐oriented strategies. These relationships are subjected to tests of the moderating effect of direct competition with big box retailers.

This study shows that small retailers pursue strategies of offering previously unavailable goods or services, high quality, and better service to pursue future growth. The interaction effect of strategy with directness of competition with big box retailers, however, has a negative and significant effect on expected growth.

The data set is from 2003 and is cross‐sectional. Future research on small retailers' strategic preferences should reflect a more recent competitive landscape and employ longitudinal data sets to establish cause‐and‐effect relationships.

Small retailers need to understand that the strategies they use to pursue growth essentially become strategies for mere survival when competing directly against big box retailers. One small retailer's growth strategy is another small retailer's survival strategy, depending on direct competition with a big box retailer.

This study provides support for the argument that small retailers should pursue growth‐oriented strategies that create value and differentiate them from big box retailers. Under direct competition from big box retailers, however, these growth‐oriented strategies seemingly become mere means for survival. Small retailers need to be aware of blind spots that prevent them from understanding strategy‐performance relationships.

Globalisation as a competitive marketing strategy can only offer a limited explanation for the behaviour of organisations. This is particularly applicable in the case of business and marketing strategies for small and medium‐sized organisations in the retail sector. Terms such as “localisation” have been coined by researchers but the concept is yet to receive a valid interpretation as a marketing strategy from the perspective of the small retailer. This paper seeks first, to understand how “localisation” impacts on the business practices and marketing strategy of small retailers in Spain and Scotland. Second, the results should help lessen the gap between the concepts of globalisation and the localisation.

This explorative, comparative qualitative paper explores business practices and marketing strategies by small retail business owners in Seville (Spain) and Perth (UK) and the role of localisation, using three key themes – place, people and promotion.

This paper suggests that place attractiveness, word‐of‐mouth customer‐to‐customer marketing, customer service beyond simple product advice, community embeddedness and informal but meaningful interpersonal relations between shop owner and customers are some of the key pillars of the “localisation” strategic marketing approach pursued by small retailers in Perth and Seville. This indicates a counterbalance to globalisation.

The pursuit of a deliberate localisation approach by small retailers may be key to their sustainable competitiveness in the knowledge that these elements would not be easily replicated by larger or global retailers.