Retail shopper confusion: Conceptualization, scale development, and consequences

Abstract

Although considerable research discusses the phenomenon of consumer confusion, extant literature lacks a validated scale to assess confusion experienced in shopping situations. The present research conceptualizes the construct retail shopper confusion and develops a scale that assesses confusion as expressed through the affective, cognitive, and conative subsystems. Five studies analyzed with multiple methods confirm the reliability and validity of the retail shopper confusion construct. Furthermore, this research provides empirical evidence that retail shopper confusion leads to avoidance behavior. The results of this study provide a new measurement instrument that explains negative consumer in-store reactions and offer several theoretical and practical implications.