THE INFLUENCE OF RETAIL STORE IMAGE AND INDIVIDUAL FACTORS ON CONSUMER BUYING DECISIONS

Ioana Olariu

doi:10.29358/sceco.v0i23.359

Abstract

In this article is examined the relationship between store image, individual factors and consumer purchase behavior. First link is made between consumer attitudes and his buying decisions. Second, the relationship between store image and consumer purchase behavior is mediated by attributes of retailer that include merchandising, store atmosphere, in-store service, accessibility, reputation, promotion, facilities and post-transaction service. This article is a theoretical approach on what is known about how people decide whether or not to buy something and then how they decide which item or items to buy and what retailer is the best choice. In the process of doing this, we will discover that the process of making a buying decision is not nearly as simply as it may seem. A good understanding about how consumers make buying decisions is very important in developing effective marketing plans. Marketers can change the design of the store interior, aisle layout, carpet and wall textures, scents, colors, shapes, and sounds experienced by the customers. Thus store image is a result of many variables which can be manipulated by the retailer to influence consumer mood and, subsequently, the buyer's behavior.

Highlights

A great many purchases are not based as much on what people are like as they are on what people want
Good marketing planners do not take anything for granted when it comes to understanding their customers’ motives, and product preferences, buying decision making. They want to know as much as possible, since any small insight can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. This means that market planners need to understand the basic principles of consumer behavior in order to get an in-depth understanding of how people go about making a purchase
Attitudes are defined as ”a person’s enduring evaluations, feelings, or action tendencies toward some object or idea” (Krech, Crutchfield and Ballachey, 1962). This definition shows that attitudes encompass all three major components of the human mind: evaluations, feelings and action tendencies

Summary

Introduction

A great many purchases are not based as much on what people are like as they are on what people want. Good marketing planners do not take anything for granted when it comes to understanding their customers’ motives, and product preferences, buying decision making They want to know as much as possible, since any small insight can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. One reason is because they buy many different types of products and services, ranging from very cheap and simple to very expensive and complex Another reason is that there are sometimes a THE INFLUENCE OF RETAIL STORE IMAGE AND INDIVIDUAL FACTORS ON CONSUMER BUYING DECISIONS great many factors which might affect any particular purchase. This definition shows that attitudes encompass all three major components of the human mind: evaluations (cognitive: thought processes), feelings (affective: liking or disliking) and action tendencies (conative: motivations) They reflect a person’s overall inclinations toward a product or service offering. Strategic marketing plans designed to improve people’s attitudes toward a product will emphasize different things than those designed to accomplish other objectives, such as making people aware that the product exists, telling them how and where to get it, or opening up many new distribution outlets so they can more obtain the item

Consumer behavior and store image The store image

Conclusions