Retail atmospherics and retail store patronage of supermarkets in emerging economies: mediating role of perceived service quality

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to establish the mediating role of Perceived Service Quality on the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage of Supermarkets in Emerging Economies using empirical evidence from Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional research design and quantitative approach to understand stand the structured reality of Retail Store Patronage of supermarkets in context of emerging economies. In the context of this study, the data were drawn from Uganda's supermarkets. A sample of 1,504 customers were selected from 136,270 customers. Data was collected from supermarket customers using closed ended questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were derived to describe the behavior of customers and draw conclusions on population using sample statistics. Correlation analysis was used to establish the degree of association between the variables. Hierarchical regression was applied to assess the unique contribution of each variable; control variables-income and age, predictor variables – Retail Atmospherics and Perceived Service Quality on dependent variable – Retail Store Patronage. Mediation was done following the four-step procedures of mediation of Baron and Kenny (1986).FindingsThe results revealed significant positive relationship between Retail Atmospherics, Perceived Service Quality and Retail Store Patronage, confirming the direct hypotheses. Perceived Service Quality partially mediated the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage. The findings depict that Retail Store Patronage is influenced directly by Retail Atmospherics and indirectly through Perceived Service Quality as a mediating variable. However, in situations where the atmospherics is good but perceived service quality is poor, Retail Store Patronage may not be fully realized.Originality/valueThe study provides information that is relevant for filling the practical and theoretical gap in the Retail Store Patronage in Ugandan supermarkets. Previous research studies investigated patronage behavior of shoppers in single retail units yet there is paucity of research on patronage behavior across different retail formats in the world. This study can be generalized and have strategic implications to developing economies that seek to grow and sustain their businesses. It points to the gaps that are normally overlooked and could lead business failure. The focus of most previous studies were on developed economies more especially Europe and America. This study in particular focused on the role of perceived service quality in the relationship between retail atmospherics and customer retail store patronage in emerging economies like Uganda as a testing ground.

E-store brand personality congruence for multichannel apparel retail brands

PurposeThis study aims at examining the role of the e-store brand personality congruence/incongruence of a multichannel apparel retailer in the formation of consumers' perceived e-store brand fit and e-store patronage intention, based on the concept of image congruence.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted with a US national sample of 458 female consumers (20–50 years old) who had shopped for clothing online.FindingsResults revealed that e-store brand personality incongruence in three personality dimensions had a negative impact on consumers' e-store patronage intention directly as well as indirectly by reducing the consumers' global perception of the e-store brand fit. Further, the retailer's relevance to the consumer moderated the relationship between the perceived e-store brand fit and e-store patronage intention in that this relationship was significantly greater among consumers with a high (vs low) perceived self-relevance of the retail brand.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of symbolically integrated cross-channel brand management for multichannel apparel retailers by clearly identifying their brand personality and carefully crafting it into their e-store interface design and e-store visual merchandising to convey the brand personality.Originality/valueThis study expands the application of image congruence to the cross-channel image congruence phenomenon in multichannel retailing environments by examining the e-store brand image congruence employing both direct and indirect approaches.

The Influence of Visual Merchandising on Store Patronage in the Fast-Fashion Stores in Indonesia: The Role of Shopping Value and Self-Congruity

The study examined direct and indirect effects of visual merchandising on store patronage in a fast-fashion retail context. Adopting the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory, this study aimed to investigate the relationships of visual merchandising, self-congruity, consumers’ perceived shopping value in determining store patronage. While studies about fast-fashion and store patronage behaviour have been extensively conducted in various market regions, research in an emerging middle-income country like Indonesia is still in its scarcity. The study is therefore among a few attempts to better understand the Indonesian consumers’ buying behaviour of fast-fashion brands. A survey was completed to 250 fast-fashion store shoppers in Surabaya, the second largest city and well-known shopping tourism destination in Indonesia. Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modelling method was utilised to estimate the proposed structural model. The results revealed that visual merchandising, shopping value, and self-congruity had positive and significant effects on store patronage. The study has also found that the indirect effects of consumers’ perceived shopping value and self-congruity as mediating variables as to how visual merchandising affected store patronage, were stronger than the direct ones. Managerial implications based on the findings and recommendations for further research were described.

STORE ATMOSPHERE DAN STORE PATRONAGE PADA KITOZ DEPARTEMENT STORE

Survey yang dilakukan Katadata Indonesia menyimpulkan bahwa penjualan emiten ritel mengalami tren penurunan dalam lima tahun terakhir. Hal tersebut juga terjadi pada perusahaan keluarga KITOZ Department Store yang mengalami penjualan yang stagnant dalam lima tahun terakhir. Pada masa sekarang, pelanggan tidak hanya fokus kepada produk tetapi mereka mengharapkan keuntungan yang didapat dari store atmosphere. Store atmosphere memiliki beberapa komponen yang mencangkup kebersihan, musik, aroma, suhu, pencahayaan, warna dan tata letak. Store atmosphere berperan penting dalam memikat pembeli. Pelanggan memutuskan untuk kunjungan pada toko rirel berdasarkan dua hal yaitu kesenangan (pleasure) dan gairah (arousal). Keputusan pelanggan untuk berkunjung (patronize) berawal dari atribut atau karakteristik yang dirasa penting dan terjadi saat terpenuhi keinginan dan kebutuhannya pada sebuah toko. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Populasi dalam penelitian ini yaitu konsumen KITOZ Department Store. Jumlah sampel sebanyak 80 responden, dengan metode incidental sampling. Data dikumpulkan menggunakan kuesioner dan diukur dengan skala Likert. Hasil uji F menunjukkan bahwa kebersihan, musik, aroma, suhu, pencahayaan, warna, dan tata letak berpengaruh secara simultan terhadap store patronage. Hasil uji t untuk variabel warna berpengaruh secara parsial terhadap store patronage. Sedangkan variabel kebersihan, musik, aroma, suhu, pencahayaan dan tata letak tidak berpengaruh secara parsial terhadap store patronage.Kata kunci: Ritel, Store Atmosphere, Store Patronage.

The Role of Religiosity on Fashion Store Patronage Intention of Muslim Consumers in Indonesia

Religiosity covers all aspects of human life values. Consumer decision-making in Muslim product purchase needs to involve religiosity. Muslim fashion is increasingly popular and becomes a potential business for fashion entrepreneurs in Indonesia. This condition evokes a dilemma for the consumers as Muslim fashion users on whether they have to conform to the religious sharia or follow the trend. The purpose of this article is to identify the role of religiosity as a factor affecting Muslim consumers to revisit Muslim fashion stores. This research involved 243 Muslim consumers of several Muslim fashion stores. The results showed that religiosity of Muslim consumers had a direct effect on patronage intention and indirect effect on patronage intention of Muslim fashion stores through Customer Satisfaction. The research findings are directed to managerial implications for Muslim fashion entrepreneurs in relation to consumer religiosity and marketing of Indonesian Muslim fashion products.