Vaughan Reimers

Retail concentration: a comparison of spatial convenience in shopping strips and shopping centres

Abstract The emergence of the Internet and a more discerning consumer has created the need for traditional retail centres to provide a more convenient shopping environment. A retail centre offers convenience when it minimises the spatial, temporal and effort costs of shopping. Existing strategies for spatial convenience include limiting the size of a retail centre by controlling the entry of non-retail firms, creating a compact physical design, and creating compatible clusters of shops. The authors’ propose an alternative method; the degree of retail concentration. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which shopping centres (also referred to as shopping malls) and shopping strips (also referred to as the high street, downtown or city centre) provide retail concentration. From the measures taken, this study provides insight into the degree of retail concentration offered by a sample of nine shopping centres (also referred to as a shopping mall) and nine shopping strips (also referred to as the high street, downtown or city centre). The findings yielded three important insights. Firstly, across the three measures of retail concentration, the shopping centre was found to offer consumers’ greater spatial convenience. Secondly, the findings add support to the notion that the demise of the shopping strip could be linked to its inability to satisfy the needs of a convenience-oriented society. And thirdly, while the shopping strip may be at a competitive disadvantage in terms of spatial convenience, market mechanisms such as Bid Rent Theory provided a better-than-expected spatial juxta-positioning of its businesses.

The role of convenience in a recreational shopping trip

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine the role of convenience in a recreational shopping trip. In an effort to address the shopping strip’s forfeiture of market share to the mall and the Internet, retail planners have utilised a variety of intervention strategies. One such strategy is to differentiate the strip by emphasising its hedonic attributes. An often overlooked alternative is to compete with both of these formats in a key area of competitive disadvantage – convenience. Whereas these two alternatives have traditionally been regarded as separate strategies, this study examines whether convenience actually serves as a source of satisfaction in a hedonic shopping context. Design/methodology/approach – A recreational shopping trip to a shopping strip (also referred to as Main Street or the High Street) in Melbourne, Australia, served as the context for this study. The study used a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it. Findings – ...

Permission email marketing and its influence on online shopping

Purpose – While the internet has emerged as a retail force to be reckoned with, its’ success is dependent, at least in part, on other promotional tools. One such tool is permission e-mail marketing (PEM). Operating within the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of PEM on the perceived value derived from internet shopping. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through an online survey in Melbourne, Australia. Utilising a sample of 338 consumers, the resulting data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings – The results of the study indicate that PEM positively influences the perceived usefulness, ease of use and enjoyment derived from shopping online. Furthermore, it also serves to reduce the perceived risk. PEM serves as an important extension of the TAM, with the findings from this study highlighting not only what the sources of online shopping value are, but also how they can be influenced. Research limit...

A consumer definition of store convenience (finally)

Purpose – Despite an increasingly convenience-oriented society, very few empirical studies have identified convenience as a salient determinant of store patronage. Such atypical findings could be due to the way in which academics have defined store convenience. The purpose of this study is to empirically develop an alternative definition of store convenience. Design/methodology/approach – A household mail-out survey was used to identify the attributes consumers associate with store convenience. Findings – Empirical analysis provides strong support for the alternative definition, with respondents indicating that 25 of the test attributes serve as convenience attributes in the context of a department store. Practical implications – In spite of the many things a store manager can do to make their store more convenient, academic studies have recognised very few of these as convenience attributes. This study provides store managers with a list of 25 tools they have at their disposal to help save their customer...

Spatial convenience: bridging the gap between shopping malls and shopping strips

Purpose – Due to rising obesity levels, declining fitness levels, an aging population, and shopper lethargy, retail planners must give serious consideration to the physical demands retail centres place on their patrons. The purpose of this paper is to determine the importance consumers assign to spatial convenience, measure how consumers perceive shopping malls and shopping strips (also referred to as the downtown area, central business district, Main Street or the High Street) in relation to it, and compare them in their provision of it. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises a household survey of consumers and as well as a retail audit. The survey was used to identify the importance consumers assign to spatial convenience, while the retail audit was used to establish how malls and strips compare in their provision of it. Findings – The results of the survey indicate that consumers regard spatial convenience as important and believe that malls are superior in providing it. The retail audit confirmed the accuracy of these perceptions, with the mall providing greater store compatibility, and a more compact shopping environment. Originality/value – The influence of spatial convenience on shopping behaviour has been largely overlooked at the level of the retail centre. Moreover, those studies that have focused on this topic, have typically done so from the singular focus of either malls or strips. This study incorporates both, and does so via an empirical analysis of consumer attitudes and a spatial comparison of both retail formats.

The academic conceptualisation of ethical clothing: Could it account for the attitude behaviour gap?

Purpose Despite supposed widespread consumer support for ethical clothing, it still often fails to translate into actual purchase. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the way in which academics have defined and measured ethical clothing could account for this. Design/methodology/approach An over reliance on convenience sampling and the use of student samples has also been touted as a possible reason for this attitude-behaviour gap. To address this, this study employed a consumer household sample. It also used a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it. Findings In contrast to the way in which academics have conceptualised the construct, consumer perceptions of ethical clothing were found to be influenced by four dimensions: environmental responsibility, employee welfare, animal welfare and slow fashion attributes. Originality/value Ethical clothing has typically been operationalised using just two of these four dimensions. Ironically, one of the two dimensions often overlooked by academics – animal welfare – had the strongest influence on consumer perceptions. Previous academic efforts had never employed more than three dimensions, and yet the results of this study suggest that all four must be present if an item of clothing is to be regarded as “ethical”.

Happiness, altruism and the Prius effect: How do they influence consumer attitudes towards environmentally responsible clothing?

Purpose Academic research and consumer polls often report strong consumer support for environmentally responsible products (ERPs), and yet the proportion of sales they account for is often comparatively small. The purpose of this paper is to address one of the purported reasons behind this “attitude-behaviour gap” by measuring the influence of six relatively untested factors on consumer attitudes towards environmentally responsible clothing (ERC). Design/methodology/approach This study employed a consumer household sample. It also used a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it. Findings Of the six factors, four were found to have a significant influence on consumer attitudes: altruism, status enhancement, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and happiness. Originality/value Altruism, environmental concern, PCE and self-identity have consistently featured in other environmental contexts, but less so in the specific context of ERC. Happiness and status enhancement have yet to appear in any study relating to the purchase of ERPs.

Re-visiting an old topic with a new approach: the case of ethical clothing

Purpose A recent study by Reimers et al. (2016) suggests that the attitude-behaviour gap, as it applies to ethical clothing, may be due to academics having defined it differently to the way that consumers do. The purpose of this paper is to serve as a direct follow-up to that study by employing their consumer-based definition in order to help identify the clothing attributes that influence the purchase of ethical clothing. Design/methodology/approach A consumer household sample in combination with a quantitative survey approach was used to collect the data, while structural equation modelling was used to analyse it. Findings In spite of the ethical clothing context, only two of the four ethical clothing dimensions were found to influence consumer attitudes. In contrast, all three conventional dimensions were found to be significant. Originality/value Ethical clothing has typically been operationalised using just two of these four dimensions. Ironically, one of the two dimensions often overlooked by academics, slow fashion, had one of the strongest influences on consumer attitudes. In addition, the cost of buying ethical clothing has often been defined in unidimensional terms; typically price. This study adopted a broader conceptualisation, defining it in terms of price, time and effort, and found it to serve as a salient influence over consumers’ attitudes to ethical clothing.

Identifying attendance motives for an international league fixture

Purpose Whilst the impact of motives on sports attendance has received due scholarly attention, one context that appears to have been overlooked is the growing trend towards playing domestic league fixtures in an international setting. The purpose of this paper is to address this oversight by exploring how four different categories of motives distinguished attendees from non-attendees for an Australian Rules football game played in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach A stadium-intercept method at a St Kilda home game was used for the purposes of data collection. In total, 2,000 survey invitations had been distributed. Of these, 381 usable online surveys were received. The resulting data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings This study found that the lower fans’ expectations of their team winning, the less likely they were to travel internationally to watch their team play. Furthermore, it also support that sport tourism is influenced not only by the event itself but also non-event attractions offered by the host destination image. Research limitations/implications The limitation applies to the research context in which the respondents were selected from one of the two competing teams. Practical implications This study confirms the importance of “special occasion” and highlights that an Australian Football League game played in New Zealand on ANZAC Day should continue to serve as a special occasion due to the historical significance of that day. Originality/value The results from this study confirm the importance of adding a fourth category of motives – contextual factors – to the existing list of push, pull and sports motives. The findings also support the obvious distinction between attending a domestic event vs attending an international one.