Mediating Role of Self Congruity on Retail Patronage Decisions among Supermarket Shoppers in Kenya

Abstract

Self-congruity results when a consumer’s self-image matches their image of a typical store shopper with respect to how they would look like and behave. The objective of this study was to determine the mediating effect of self-congruity on the relationship between store image and retail patronage among supermarket customers in Nairobi, Kenya. The research was based on integrated theory of patronage preference and behavior, self-determination theory and integrative model of retail environment, self-congruity and retail patronage. The positivism research philosophy and exploratory research design were deployed. Supermarkets were selected from Nairobi County as a representative of the whole country with 30% of the supermarkets participating. Every 4th random customer was chosen from the 30 supermarkets for a desired sample size of 384. Primary data was collected from 311 customers using structured questionnaire and data was analysed using path analysis. The results of the study showed that self-congruity mediate the relationship between store image and retail patronage among supermarket customers in Nairobi, Kenya. This indicated that supermarkets in Kenya should consider updating their stores to match with the consumer’s self-image and image of a typical store shopper. This study concludes that self-congruity is an important predictor of retail patronage and that managers should be on the lookout for the self-concepts of their shoppers and try to provide environments that would maximize shopping experiences.