Pauline Sullivan

How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention?

Consumers’ perceptions of visual merchandising can arouse consumers’ in-store merchandise exploration, such as interacting with products, differentiate a retail brand among competitors; contribute to brand preference; and encourage purchase intentions. However, the combination of topics, visual merchandising and cognition, remains relatively unexplored. Thus, Study I develops measures of visual merchandising cognition and Study II examines the impact of visual merchandising cognition on brand preference, with a focus on fashion brands. This research used mixed methods and an experimental design to empirically test the influence of visual merchandising cognition on fashion brand preferences. Confirmatory factor analysis finds three dimensions of visual merchandising cognition: in-fashion, attractiveness, and function. A structural equation model confirms a conceptual framework for the influence of visual merchandising cognition on brand preferences. In-fashion and attractiveness have a significantly positive effect on brand aesthetic attributes. Function has a significantly positive effect on brand utilitarian attributes. Favorable attitudes toward visual merchandising directly transfer to favorable brand attitudes that are positively associated with purchase intentions.

Retail place attachment: a qualitative study of apparel shoppers

This exploratory study proposes an empirical look at the meaning of place attachment for the retail consumer and studies its role in online shopping patronage. A theoretical framework was developed from a review of the literature, and guides this research. The dependent variable in this study was retail place attachment. The aim of the study was to validate constructs of retail place attachment and identify its influence on online retail patronage. A total of 429 participants were randomly chosen from a social-networking database and two professional organization databases using the snowball sampling technique. Inclusion criteria for this sample included gender, age range of 18 and up, and all ethnic backgrounds. Survey participants were recruited from Facebook, a social-networking database, and two professional organization databases. Identifying that consumers value both hedonic and utilitarian aspects of their shopping experience, this study assists in understanding the meaning of the term “retail place attachment.” Retailers should focus on increasing both the emotional and social bond to their stores while offering quality merchandise at affordable prices.

Are Farmers' Market Shoppers Different From Cross-Shoppers? The Case of Hawaiian Avocado Purchasers

Small- and medium-size growers use direct marketing and farmers’ markets to access customers and avoid supply chain intermediaries that increase costs of getting products to consumers. This study examined consumers’ use of agricultural product information sources and their shopping outlet patronage preferences for one type of locally grown produce: avocados. Two farmers’ market segments were identified: 1) shops only farmers’ markets and 2) cross-shops grocery stores. Product information came from a variety of sources: media, retailers, and organizations. “Buy Local” or “product origin” were considered in produce shopping decisions. One dimension, “Buy Local,” was significant in differentiating farmers’ market segments.

Effects of Label on Consumer Preferences: Focus on Hawaiian Avocado Industry

This study examines market challenges facing a local agriculture industry in a small island setting. Examination of the Hawai‘i local avocado industry indicates labeling can address the product information gap between consumers and producers, improve market share, and increase import substitution by local products. Currently, local avocados occupy only 33% of market share, compared with 67% captured by imports. Consumer preferences among local labeled, local unlabeled, and imported avocados were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. Statistical results showed that labels influence consumers’ decisions to buy local or imported avocados, and their preferences were also influenced by sociodemographic variables, avocado characteristics, and purchasing behavior. Key market segments to target and policy implications are also discussed.

Lifestyle retail internet marketing: how does it meet consumer needs

This study investigates how shopping centres communicate their market position to perspective shoppers. The content analysis of lifestyle shopping centre communications is framed in Fishbeins multi-attribute model. The purpose of this study is to investigate if lifestyle centre websites clearly communicate the identified retail attributes to customers. Nine attributes related to lifestyle centre retailing, identified in previous research, were used to create a multi-attribute model that provided the basis for this study. Fifty recently established life-style centres websites, identified by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) were used. The content analysis revealed the most frequently mentioned attributes on the lifestyle centre websites were tenant mix, centre events and convenient location. Parking and safety were the least mentioned attributes on the websites.