Building Store Equity: Role of Store Image, Consumer Satisfaction, and Store Loyalty in the Indian Retail Market

Abstract

The Indian retail sector is poised for tremendous growth and thus provides ample opportunities for local and global retailers. Building store equity will not only be a challenge but also be a prerequisite for surviving in the highly competitive market. The objective of the current study is to understand the role of store image, consumer satisfaction, and store loyalty in building retail store equity in the Indian retail market. The study employed exploratory factor analysis for reducing the number of items and linear regression for hypothesis testing. A total of 210 actual patrons evaluated different retail stores. The empirical findings suggest that store image, consumer satisfaction, and store loyalty play a direct, positive, and significant role in building retail store equity in the Indian retail market. Store image was found to have the strongest impact on store loyalty, followed by customer satisfaction on store loyalty, customer satisfaction on store equity, and store loyalty on store equity. This study will add value to literature on store image, consumer satisfaction, store loyalty, and store equity. The study concludes with strategic implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

Consumer Complaint Satisfaction and Customer Retention: A Study of Complaint Satisfaction in Electronic Industry

“…The morale of an employee is drowned when he/she considers the acts of organization as unjust and unethical (Resnik & Harmon, 1983). Similarly, a loyal customer may feel drowned and bad when found to be cheated by the firm (Sharma & Patra, 2021). These dimensions are a mixture of rational, logical and emotional components that help in the overall assessment of the human mind.…”

“…Mere complaining does not assure that the issue will be resolved quickly as a consumer might have to go through many processes after complaining. As a result, it is vital to understand the prime factors that influence consumer satisfaction (post-complaint) and repurchase intention thereof (Sharma & Patra, 2021). Thus, this research would help in understanding/ measuring customer retention when consumer complaints are resolved successfully.…”

“…The lives of consumers have been simplified and sorted due to automated machines and a variety of household appliances. The manufacturer’s obligation does not end with the mere creation and delivery of the goods (Sharma & Patra, 2021). Consumer input or feedback also plays a vital role in the sustenance and growth of a company (Berry et al, 2014).…”