Risk- and Personality-Related Dimensions of Store Choice

Abstract

A REVIEW of the retail and general marketing literature suggests that most studies dealing with store choice have focused on store image, and that the majority of these studies compared competing department stores in terms of store attributes, such as price of merchandise, convenience of store location, and expertise of store personnel.' While store image research is of considerable merit, it does not generally answer such questions as: What psychological factors account for store choice? Do different types of stores fulfill unique risk-related needs for consumers of a particular class of merchandise? and Why do some shoppers purchase from one type of retailer, while others purchase similar merchandise from another type of retail establishment? To examine these questions, the present research was designed to investigate how selfconfidence, perceived product risk, and product importance-three risk-perception variables-affected store choice for two groups of shoppers: those who purchased audio equipment from a specialty store and those who purchased similar products from a department store. It was anticipated that the findings would add a new dimension to the work that has already been reported and synthesized on' product choice decisions, thereby giving retailers and other marketers a richer understanding of shopping behavior.2