Analysing The Key Attributes of Store Image and Store Loyalty That Influences Consumer Shopping Behaviour and Identifying the Relationship Between Store Image and Store Loyalty – An Investigative Study

Abstract

Consumers use store image as an evaluative criterion in the decision-making process concerning retail selection. In concentrated and relatively saturated retail markets, the position that a retailer score out in the consumer mind is a vital element of its strategy.Store image should be viewed from both the consumer's and the retailer's perspective. Consumers' perceptions of stores are determined by the messages and cues they receive from the store as well as their perceived importance of store attributes moderated by previous experiences. In conceptualising store loyalty, it is anticipated to develop a peculiarity between repeated visits to the store or its website. Store loyalty can be operationalised as the proportion of purchases of a specified product category at a chosen store. Store Image has been widely studied across the world, yet there is still a immense scope for research and analysis are available since the retail setting is transforming to new dimensions daily, leading to changed shopper outlooks and repositioning of the image and choice set of stores. This paper aims at identifying the key store image attributes that influence the consumer shopping behaviour at First Cry.Com Stores and also to observe the extent to which the image factors are related with store loyalty factors. Evidently, there is not much of the research work done on store image and store loyalty in the Indian retail consumer behaviour context. Keeping these things in mind such a timely study was conducted to provide important inputs to baby product retailers in particular and academicians in general.