PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between several aspects of store flyers design (presence of a institutional slogan, type of product (national brand (NB) or store brand (SB)) featured on the cover page, the size of the flyer, number of featured NBs, type of brand (NB vs SB) on promotion, and price difference between the most expensive (NB) and the cheapest SB) and the consumer’s perceived variety of the retailer’s assortment, as a dimension of its global image.Design/methodology/approachA mixed laboratory experiment that combined a between-subjects experimental design and inter-subject conjoint analysis was conducted. A fictitious flyer from a fictitious supermarket was created that included both real NBs and fictitious SBs. In total, 12 scenarios (i.e. flyers) were tested using a sample of 406 participants.FindingsAnalysis suggests that longer flyers have the greatest influence on consumers’ perceived variety of a retailer’s assortment; a greater number of NBs in a category influenced consumers’ perceptions positively, and featuring SBs on the cover enhanced perceived variety. If a retailer features SBs on a flyer’s cover, longer flyers are recommended, and shorter flyers are recommended if NBs are featured on the cover. A retailer should promote its own brand only if the most expensive NBs are featured with SBs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses a single aspect of consumers’ purchasing behaviors – variety of a retailer’s assortment. Future research should examine other variables related to consumers’ purchasing behaviors. This study uses an online context to test hypotheses, but many aspects of flyer design are physical. Future research should test current findings in offline contexts to compare results. Research should also explore moderation by consumer variables such as brand and store loyalty.Practical implicationsTo researchers, the authors offer improved understanding of how a flyer’s design affects the first stage of purchasing. To practitioners, results offer better understanding of positive returns on investment of store flyers, and to retailers, results offer a guide to creating and organizing flyers.Originality/valueThis study is first to assess how a flyer’s design influences a dimension of store image. Unlike extant research that examines store flyers using econometric models at the aggregate level, this study uses a laboratory experiment that combines a between-subjects design with conjoint analysis.
How store flyers design affect perceived variety of retailers’ assortment