The in-store shopping experience: A comparative study of supermarket and clothing store customers

Abstract

Various developments continually pressurise retailers to find new and innovative ways to differentiate themselves from competitors and adapt to ever-changing and accelerating environmental circumstances. Positioning based on customers’ in-store shopping experience (ISE) offers retailers an alternative means of differentiation and is achieved by providing a superior in-store shopping experience. The ISE instrument that has been developed to measure customers’ in store shopping experience is used in this study to compare the in-store shopping experiences of customers of two diverse retailing environments (supermarkets versus clothing retailers) by assessing its impact on customer retention. A proposition is formulated and the findings reported. The implications of ISE and customer retention for retail managers are also dealt with.

Let us go shopping: exploring Northwest Chinese consumers' shopping experiences

“…Participants also cited services related to service systems, store policies and complaint handling, as suggested by the literature (Dabholkar et al ., 1996; Terblanche and Boshoff, 2004). Participants discussed the length of checkout lines, the ease of exchanging or returning unsatisfactory merchandise, the availability of store personnel when needed and the possibility of getting proper service when requested.…”

“…Special care should also be given to implementing other customer service components that are not directly related to store personnel. Store policy on handling returns, exchanges and complaints is essential for creating positive consumer experiences and forming customer loyalty (Dabholkar et al ., 1996; Terblanche and Boshoff, 2004). Although participants did not cite other service elements such as parking facilities and acceptance of credit cards, retailers may want to pay attention to those aspects because of the lifestyle changes in China.…”

“…Experience‐oriented shopping, also called hedonic or recreational shopping, focuses on fun and sensory excitement (Babin et al ., 1994), and the fulfilment of such needs as gaining ideas, improving personal well‐being and socializing with others (Arnold and Reynolds, 2003). Modern consumers have become increasingly sophisticated and demanding with the availability of abundant products, services, information, technology, as well as retail stores and channels (Terblanche and Boshoff, 2004). The shopping experience becomes a central element of consumers' lives, and hedonic shopping value becomes essential (Babin et al ., 1994).…”

“…Such elements as opening and closing times, offering fresh water or coffee, parking facilities, accepting credit cards, as well as handling of returns, exchanges and complaints (Dabholkar et al ., 1996; Bäckström and Johansson, 2006), all affect consumers' shopping experiences. When it comes to merchandise elements, merchandise quality, price, assortment and variety are all identified (Jones, 1999; Terblanche and Boshoff, 2004). The trade‐off between product quality and price is often defined as merchandise value.…”

Consumers' value perceptions across retail outlets: shopping at mass merchandisers and department stores

“…Today, the great distance between the manufacture of goods and their actual consumption has made shopping -and the value consumers associate with shopping -a large part of consumers' lives. Shopping value research has included the different stages of shopping, the in-store shopping experience (Terblanche and Boshoff 2004), the shopping process (Mathwick, Malhotra, and Rigdon 2002), and the outcome of the shopping trip (Babin, Darden, and Griffin 1994). Babin, Darden and Griffin (1994) explored the broad concepts of hedonic value and utilitarian value as two fundamental value dimensions associated with shopping.…”