Assessing Flagship Store Effectiveness

Abstract

This thesis covers (i) the application of the flagship store in the fast-moving consumer goods industry as a communication tool, (ii) the inclusion of future brand-directed consumer behavior (i.e., future brand loyalty, word-of-mouth advertising, standard and special product sales in the flagship store), (iii) the inclusion of moderators that affect brand experience creation or dilution (i.e., number of prior visits, visit intentionality, pre-existing brand loyalty), (iv) the effect of in-store attractions on brand experience creation or dilution (i.e., augmented brand display, interactive attractions, informative attractions, service), and (v) the dynamic process of updating pre-existing brand experience into flagship store-fueled brand experience, revealing the consumer’s learning process in flagship stores. In doing so, the three papers of this thesis contribute to both academic marketing research as well as business practice. The relationships portrayed and effects verified add a quantitative element to the existing qualitative results of current publications, while extending the knowledge about fostering beneficial (pre-) economic consequences to the flagship store-operating brand. In particular, the findings of this thesis indicate that the postulated positive, majorly qualitative effects of flagship stores on brand experience, brand-consumer relationships, and future consumer behavior towards the brand do exist. Therefore, flagship stores are indeed a suitable communication tool to meet the challenges of today’s experiential marketing necessity. However, it is noteworthy that in certain circumstances flagship stores might be less effective than expected on creating brand experience, strengthening brand-consumer relationships, and fostering beneficial future consumer behavior towards the brand. The applied quantitative methods enable a pathway to replicate the models for assessment of flagship stores, while enabling future research directions for experiential marketing in physical stores of a brand.