- Title
- The role of convenience in a recreational shopping trip
- Creator
- Reimers, Vaughan; Chao, Fred
- Relation
- European Journal of Marketing Vol. 48, Issue 11/12, p. 2213-2236
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EJM-12-2012-0734
- Publisher
- Emerald Group Publishing
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2014
- Description
- Purpose: 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 uses a quantitative survey approach to collect its data and structural equation modelling to analyse it. Findings: Surprisingly, the hedonic attributes of a shopping strip do not influence trip satisfaction in the context of a recreational shopping strip. Contrary to a significant body of academic research, it is instead the time-saving and distance-minimising properties of a shopping strip, as well as its overall convenience, which determine satisfaction. Originality / value: The results have important implications for Town Centre Management schemes by suggesting that responsibility for providing a hedonic shopping experience rests with its individual retailers. Instead, the role of strip planners is to facilitate the other side of the value-equation by minimising the hassles involved in strip shopping. The results of this study also question the traditional belief that hedonic- and convenience-based rejuvenation strategies should be treated as two distinct strategies. Instead, convenience should be regarded as a prerequisite to a satisfying recreational shopping trip.
- Subject
- retailing; shopping; shopping centres; convenience; hedonic
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1294805
- Identifier
- uon:18874
- Identifier
- ISSN:0309-0566
- Language
- eng
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