Jason M. Carpenter

Consumer shopping value, satisfaction, and loyalty for retail apparel brands

Purpose – To examine the effect of utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication in a retail branded context.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of young adult consumers (N=276) was surveyed using a self‐administered questionnaire. Statistical techniques (confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling) were used to evaluate the data.Findings – Statistical models indicate support for significant, positive relationships between utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication.Research limitations/implications – Limitations of this study include the use of a college student sample and confinement to the specialty apparel retail branded purchasing context. The findings are useful because links between the delivery of shopping benefits (e.g. hedonic and utilitarian) and important outcome variables (e.g. customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication) ...

The effect of price as a marketplace cue on retail patronage

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of consumer price attitudes, which operate as marketplace cues, on retail format choice across a variety of store types in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – A cross‐section of US consumers (n=365) constitutes the sample for the study. The apparel category was selected as the studys context due to the variety of formats it offers to consumers. A telephone survey was used to investigate price perceptions and format choice across seven different retail formats. Respondents were grouped into high and low groups for each of the price cue factors. The groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each price construct at each level of the dependent variable for format choice.Findings – Findings suggest that price cues affect consumer format choice. Price consciousness and sale proneness tend to positively impact patronage of retail formats that implement low cost strategies, while prestige sensitivity and price/quality schema tend to ...

Intergenerational perceptions of market cues among US apparel consumers

Purpose – This paper aims to examine differences in generational perceptions of market cues related to price, quality and shopping enjoyment in the apparel retailing context.Design/methodology/approach – A cross‐section of US apparel consumers (n=342) constitutes the sample for the study. Analysis of variance and multiple comparisons are used to investigate differences in market cue perception among US generational cohorts.Findings – Results indicate significant differences in the cohorts in terms of their perception of quality related to country‐of‐origin, price consciousness, prestige sensitivity and shopping enjoyment.Research limitations/implications – The results should not be extrapolated to markets outside of the USA. Further, the sample characteristics should be considered for interpretation and application of the results for US markets.Practical implications – The findings related to the market cues provide both operational and strategic direction for apparel marketers and retailers in terms of c...

Consumer demographics, ethnocentrism, cultural values, and acculturation to the global consumer culture: A retail perspective

Abstract Globalisation creates threats and opportunities for retailers in both international and domestic markets. Recently, researchers established a framework for examining the development of supra national marketing segments to explain acculturation to the global consumer culture (AGCC) (Cleveland & Laroche, 2007). The research presented here extends their work by examining demographic and cultural drivers of AGCC and the impacts of global acculturation on ethnocentrism towards international retailers among a cross-section of US consumers (N = 492). Findings suggest that, to varying degrees, demographics and individualism impact four of the dimensions of AGCC, while the dimensions of AGCC impact ethnocentrism for food and fashion retailers. Cosmopolitanism and social interaction consistently reduce ethnocentrism towards retailers among the sample data.

Demographics and patronage motives of supercenter shoppers in the United States

Purpose – This paper seeks to provide an updated, general understanding of supercenter shopping behavior in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a sample generated from Retail Forward panel data to assess the impact of demographic variables, including gender, age, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, and household size, on supercenter shopping frequency across four product categories (apparel, health and beauty, home furnishings, and consumer electronics). Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (regression, ANOVA) are used to evaluate the data.Findings – The paper identifies demographic groups who frequent supercenters and examines patronage motives as drivers of supercenter shopping behavior.Research limitations/implications – Generalizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and retail formats available in various countries. Future research could compare shopping behavior within large formats a...

Retail format choice in the US consumer electronics market

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a general understanding of retail format choice among consumer electronics shoppers in the US market.Design/methodology/approach – US consumer electronics shoppers (n=252) were surveyed via telephone. Linear regression was used to evaluate the data.Findings – Profiles shopper groups who frequent specific retail formats (department stores, specialty stores, discounters, category killers, internet‐only retailers, and catalogs) based on demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, income) and desired retail attributes (price competitiveness, customer service, product selection, presence of new products, hours of operation, ease of access to the retailer, store atmosphere).Research limitations/implications – Although general observations and predictions about the demographic variables and important retail attributes for shopper groups are possible, future studies could expand upon this exploratory work by initiating comparisons of specific retail forma...

Exploring retail format choice among US males

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore retail format choice among male shoppers, using desired store attributes and shopping orientations as predictors of format choice.Design/methodology/approach – Male shoppers in the USA (n=560) were surveyed via the internet. Multiple regression was used to evaluate the data.Findings – The findings identify distinctive predictors of male patronage across several retail formats including department stores, discounters, category killers, dollar stores and internet only stores.Research limitations/implications – The findings identify desired store attributes and shopping orientations of frequent male patrons of several retail formats. The information provided is useful for advancing the retail format choice literature as well as for retailers to better understand male patrons. Future research could examine patronage of newly developed retail formats and include situational variables that could provide additional predictive power for retail format choice among ...

Acculturation to the global consumer culture: a generational cohort comparison

While on a global scale consumers are becoming more homogeneous, as a result of the increasingly globalized marketplace, researchers suggest that consumers within individual countries are becoming more culturally heterogeneous. Consequently, M. Cleveland and J. Laroche (2007. Acculturation to the global consumer culture: Scale development and research paradigm. Journal of Business Research, 60, 249–259) advocate segmenting consumers across markets on the basis of acculturation to the global consumer culture (AGCC) rather than segmenting at the individual country level. In this they anticipate AGCC will reflect demographic characteristics. However, little empirical work exists to validate or challenge the assertion that demographics moderate AGCC. This exploratory study uses generational cohort theory (GCT) to examine the relationships between cohort membership and level of AGCC among a sample of US consumers (N = 492). The findings suggest AGCC does identify differences between cohorts.

Consumer receptiveness to international retail market entry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a suggested framework for improving the understanding of consumer receptiveness to incoming international retailers. The consumer perception of country of origin against consumer receptiveness index (CRI) is proposed as a method to explore the receptiveness of consumers in the host market to incoming international retailers.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews the international retailing literature, highlighting the need for specific knowledge regarding consumer receptiveness to incoming international retailers. A method is proposed to explore how consumers in the host market respond to incoming international retail firms.Findings – The literature review indicates that the majority of the extant work investigates the process from the perspective of the internationalising retailer, while consumer receptiveness to the international retailer has not been fully considered.Research limitations/implications – This paper does not present an empirical ...

An Exploratory Study of Meeting Planners and Conference Attendees’ Perceptions of Sustainable Issues in Convention Centers

This exploratory study examines the importance of sustainable concerns at convention centers among meeting planners and attendees. Sectors impacting sustainability within convention centers were drawn from the Convention Industry Councils Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) / American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards. Results from a sample of meeting planners and attendees suggest planners are willing to pay more to plan meetings at sustainability certified facilities. Attendees are willing to pay more to attend meetings at facilities providing staff trained in aspects of sustainability. Results suggest no statistically significant differences between levels of importance attached to sustainable issues by groups, but levels do differ based on demographic characteristics.