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1 – 10 of over 35000A study to determine whether consumers develop their images ofsmall little‐known retailers from the images of the anchor(s) of theshopping complexes in which they are located…
Abstract
A study to determine whether consumers develop their images of small little‐known retailers from the images of the anchor(s) of the shopping complexes in which they are located. Results suggest that image transference does exist in the conveyance of an image to a small, little‐known retailer. It appears that the images assigned to such retailers in shopping complexes by consumers are determined, at least in part, by the images assigned to the anchor(s) of that centre.
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Maxwell K. Hsu, Yinghua Huang and Scott Swanson
The purpose of this paper is to study the interrelationships among grocery store image, travel distance (TD), customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions (BI) in a college…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the interrelationships among grocery store image, travel distance (TD), customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions (BI) in a college town setting.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys are given to undergraduate college student grocery shoppers in a Midwest college town. The 400 usable questionnaires are randomly divided into two parts: one subsample was used for exploratory factor analysis while the other (larger) subsample was used for confirmatory factor analysis and subsequently the structural path analysis.
Findings
Grocery store image is identified as a second‐order construct reflected by the three key components of merchandise attributes (MEA), store ambience and service (SAS), and marketing attractiveness (MGA). Although store image is an important driver of BI, its indirect effect through customer satisfaction is found to be substantially greater than its direct effect on BI. Interestingly, TD is positively related to satisfaction, which highlights the possibility for retailers to overcome the distance disadvantage.
Originality/value
As few studies have attempted to characterize the US grocery market in terms of the reasons for their choice, this exploratory study is unique because it investigates grocery shopping behavior in a traditional American college town. Specifically, the distinctive market factors (e.g. the relative scarcity of grocery retailers, their distance from campus, and the mix of grocer types in or around the Midwest college town) add value and contribute to the retailing literature.
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Stephen S. Porter and Cindy Claycomb
Investigates the relationship between brand characteristics ‐ awareness level and image ‐ and their influence on consumers’ perceptions of retail image. Proposes a model of…
Abstract
Investigates the relationship between brand characteristics ‐ awareness level and image ‐ and their influence on consumers’ perceptions of retail image. Proposes a model of relationships between the number of recognizable brands carried by a retail establishment, the presence/absence of an anchor brand, and perceptions of retail image. Presents the analysis and results of a study designed to test the model. In addition, develops and tests a measure of retail store image. Indicates that one tactic for ensuring a favorable retail store image is a merchandise mix composed of a relatively high number of brands possessing high brand awareness, and one or more brands with a strong brand image. Offers recommendations for both brand and retail managers.
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Hooman Estelami and Heather Bergstein
Despite retailers' growing use of lowest‐price refund policies, little is understood about how consumer satisfaction is influenced by them. This paper examines the potential role…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite retailers' growing use of lowest‐price refund policies, little is understood about how consumer satisfaction is influenced by them. This paper examines the potential role of market price volatility and store image on consumers' satisfaction of stores offering a lowest‐price refund.
Design/methodology/approach
Between‐subject experimental design is used in which subjects are presented with simulated shopping scenarios. In the shopping simulation lowest price refunds are provided to the subjects under different price volatility and store image conditions. Consumer satisfaction is then measured.
Findings
Results indicate that when market price volatility is high consumer satisfaction with lowest‐price refunds tends to be significantly higher for stores with a good image than stores with a poor image. As market price volatility increases, consumer perceptions of value increases for stores with a good image, while it declines for stores with a poor image.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the study are limited by the simulated shopping methodology that is used and the absence of field shopping behavior and covariate satisfaction and refund data from retail stores.
Practical implications
Despite receiving the same outcome, different consumers' satisfaction with lowest‐price refunds may be highly influenced by the environment. Generally, both market price volatility and store image influence consumer satisfaction.
Originality/value
By identifying specific market conditions that influence consumer satisfaction with lowest‐price refunds, it may be critical for certain retailers to mobilize their refund programs.
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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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Mary L. Joyce and David R. Lambert
Research shows that store image is an important component of a consumer’s store choice and use of a store environment. Most of this research ignores how store image might vary…
Abstract
Research shows that store image is an important component of a consumer’s store choice and use of a store environment. Most of this research ignores how store image might vary across different consumer segments. Examines the impact of age on final consumers’ perceptions of retail store image. Reveals that shopper age significantly affects perceptions of store image. Younger consumers feel more positive about both store characteristics and salesperson attributes than do older shoppers. Retailers employing store image research should be mindful of how the age of different consumers could affect their findings.
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Hanna Gendel-Guterman and Shalom Levy
This study aims to examine the effect of private label brand (PLB) products’ negative publicity (NP) events on PLB general image and retailer’s store image, because of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of private label brand (PLB) products’ negative publicity (NP) events on PLB general image and retailer’s store image, because of the suggested interdependency between retailer’s store image and PLB image.
Design/methodology/approach
Three empirical studies were conducted to test the NP effect – Studies 1 and 2, respectively; and test the occurrence of moderate and extreme NP events regarding the functional PLB product category. Study 3 replicates prior studies conducted on the hedonic product category. In these studies, participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The studies use factor analysis methods following t-tests and paths analyses, using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Findings show that both moderate and extreme NP have an influence on the PLB’s image dimensions. These effects “spilled over” to the entire range of PLB products, regardless of the category of the damaged product. Regarding retailer’s store image, the effect of NP was retained in the product-related image context and did not exceed that of the store-related image. However, in relation to functional products, when NP is very extreme, the effect on PLB image exceeds that of retailer’s store image.
Practical implications
Retailers should invest more efforts in their PLB product selection, quality maintenance and supervision to eliminate potential damage from events related to their PLB products.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is in the association of two streams of research: NP effects and the relationship between PLB image and retailer’s store image.
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Iman Naderi and Audhesh K. Paswan
This study aims to investigate how narcissistic consumers perceive and respond to variations in price and store image in retail settings.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how narcissistic consumers perceive and respond to variations in price and store image in retail settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected from a sample of 248 respondents who participated in an experiment with a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design.
Findings
The findings show that while narcissists and non-narcissists do not differ in their perceptions of product quality, they show completely different behavioral intentions. For instance, narcissistic consumers ascribe more importance to store image than to product price, whereas price is more critical in non-narcissists’ decision-making.
Research limitations/implications
Using a young sample and only one product category (i.e. clothing) may affect the generalization of the findings. The inherent drawback of experiments (i.e. gaining internal validity at the cost of external validity) is another limitation of this work.
Practical implications
The construct of narcissism plays a critical role in the way people evaluate products’ symbolic value and ultimately decide to purchase goods from a store which has a certain type of image, including the expected price of the merchandise. Therefore, the findings of this study have significant managerial implications for critical areas of retail business such as segmentation using narcissism, store image management and merchandise pricing.
Originality/value
Despite a long history in social and clinical psychology, few empirical studies have examined narcissism and its impact on consumer behavior. The present study is an attempt to address this gap in retail settings and provides insights into the joint effects of product price and store image on narcissists’ purchase behavior.
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Mbaye Fall Diallo, Jean‐Louis Chandon, Gérard Cliquet and Jean Philippe
This paper aims to investigate how consumer and image factors as well as store familiarity influence store brand (SB) purchase behaviour. SBs are now widely offered by European…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how consumer and image factors as well as store familiarity influence store brand (SB) purchase behaviour. SBs are now widely offered by European mass retailers. However, consumer behaviour toward SBs is not yet clearly understood in all European markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analysed data collected from 266 respondents and used structural equation modelling to test the main hypotheses. They then carried out ANOVA and MANOVA analyses to test the effect of store familiarity on SB purchase behaviour.
Findings
Results indicate that store image perceptions, SB price‐image, value consciousness, and SB attitude have significant and positive influence on SB purchase behaviour. Store familiarity positively influences SB choice, but not SB purchase intention. None of the socio‐demographic variables (age, gender, household income, and family size) included as control variables have an effect on SB choice.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited because it did not account for the effect of product categories on SB purchase behaviour. Consequently, results cannot be determined for different product categories. It would also be appropriate to measure SB choice in a more concrete way, such as using scanner data.
Practical implications
Findings highlight the importance of value consciousness, store image perceptions, and SB price‐image on SB purchase behaviour. They also show greater popularity of SB products among consumers, including those with high household income.
Originality/value
There is increased value to retailers in studying how consumer and image factors jointly influence SB purchase behaviour, whilst also accounting for store familiarity instead of brand familiarity.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the image of a retailer – beyond the distinct contributions of the website and the stores ‐ is improved by the perceived congruence…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the image of a retailer – beyond the distinct contributions of the website and the stores ‐ is improved by the perceived congruence of its channels, and for what types of customers.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted on 1,478 customers taken from the behavioural databases of a major French multichannel retailer. Structural modelling and one‐way ANOVA were used to test the working hypotheses.
Findings
Congruent channels improve retailer image even when these channels have a less good image. However, channel congruence cannot be elevated to a universal guiding principle as it only affects multichannel and online buyers, with no detrimental impact on retailer image.
Research limitations/implications
The study is mainly limited by the type of retailer studied, and the choice of an online questionnaire, limiting the representativeness of the offline purchasers.
Practical implications
In order to improve its image, a multichannel retailer must seek maximum congruence of its website and stores. Congruent channels lead to benefits for the retailer even when they are poorly valued by consumers.
Originality/value
Despite a broad theoretical consensus, this is the first study to demonstrate empirically that website and store congruence improves retailer image, and not only online purchase intentions. It is also one of the first published researches that uses congruence as a mediating variable.
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