The determinants of retail customers' purchase intent

Abstract

AbstractDespite the growing attention on enhancing purchase intent, there is no coherent framework for determining retail customers’ purchase intent. This study aims to contribute to marketing theory and practice by proposing and testing a comprehensive theoretical model that incorporates direct, mediating, and moderating relationships among preeminent constructs to produce decisive insight into purchase intent. Partial least squares‐based structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM) was deployed to test research hypotheses and analyse the data collected from 515 customers. The findings reveal that customer relationship proneness has a positive impact on customer satisfaction, customer trust, and purchase intent. In addition, customer satisfaction is found to have a positive effect on customer trust. Customer trust, in turn, positively affects customer purchase intent. Customer trust fully mediates the association of customer satisfaction and purchase intent and partially mediates the association of relationship proneness and purchase intent. Of our seven selected moderators, only marital status and income moderate the association of customer relationship proneness and customer satisfaction. A customer's tendency to engage in relationships with retailers or brands depends on various factors that are related to customer characteristics. To develop customer loyalty and cultivate long‐term relationships, retailers are recommended to segment their customers based on their respective relationship proneness and relevant demographic characteristics, in particular, marital status and income, and target each segment with customized relationship marketing activities.