Abstract
Purpose: Based on an experimental study, this paper studies hypermarket shoppers in order to evaluate how well the customer experience offered in-store matches the needs of customers and creates value for them. The findings of this study contribute towards customer value theory and develop future research topics for marketing researchers as well as business opportunities for retailers who amidst increasing price competition are in need of new tools for creating long-term relationships with their customers
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is qualitative in nature in order to understand the subjective thoughts, emotions and feelings of grocery shoppers. Customers from a Finnish hypermarket store were recruited for 3 Focus Group discussions as well as 1 in-depth interview held between October and November 2015.
Findings: Customer value theory is extended in order to show that in grocery retail customer experience creates value for consumers. The key theoretical contribution of this paper is identifying the role of trust in the relationship between
consumers and retailers as well as its relevance to the retailers’ customer experience. According to the empirical findings of this study, trust combines the economic, functional and emotional value dimensions together meaning that
the consumers are able to trust various factors in the store including the pricing, quality and selections. The lack of trust can also potentially alienate some customers and end the customer relationship.
Practical implications: The practical implications are related to enhancing retailers’ communication with customers and creating trust through an integrated in-store offering. Most importantly by redefining the communication and marketing strategies retailers can better emphasize the human aspect behind the store management that according to this study’s findings customers enjoy, especially in an entrepreneur retailer run store where this study is conducted.
Originality/value of the study: This study is an extension to the prior research on customer value; first of all it explores the relationship between customer value and customer experience in-store and secondly it identifies new combinations of value that is created through the customer experience.
Keywords: Retailing, Trust, Customer Experience, Customer Value, Grocery Retail, Customer Loyalty, Customer Relationship Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Hypermarket, B2C
Article Classification: Research Paper
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is qualitative in nature in order to understand the subjective thoughts, emotions and feelings of grocery shoppers. Customers from a Finnish hypermarket store were recruited for 3 Focus Group discussions as well as 1 in-depth interview held between October and November 2015.
Findings: Customer value theory is extended in order to show that in grocery retail customer experience creates value for consumers. The key theoretical contribution of this paper is identifying the role of trust in the relationship between
consumers and retailers as well as its relevance to the retailers’ customer experience. According to the empirical findings of this study, trust combines the economic, functional and emotional value dimensions together meaning that
the consumers are able to trust various factors in the store including the pricing, quality and selections. The lack of trust can also potentially alienate some customers and end the customer relationship.
Practical implications: The practical implications are related to enhancing retailers’ communication with customers and creating trust through an integrated in-store offering. Most importantly by redefining the communication and marketing strategies retailers can better emphasize the human aspect behind the store management that according to this study’s findings customers enjoy, especially in an entrepreneur retailer run store where this study is conducted.
Originality/value of the study: This study is an extension to the prior research on customer value; first of all it explores the relationship between customer value and customer experience in-store and secondly it identifies new combinations of value that is created through the customer experience.
Keywords: Retailing, Trust, Customer Experience, Customer Value, Grocery Retail, Customer Loyalty, Customer Relationship Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Hypermarket, B2C
Article Classification: Research Paper
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Colloquium on European Research in Retailing, 2-4 June 2016 |
| Subtitle of host publication | Abstracts and articles presented at the third Colloquium on European Research in Retailing |
| Place of Publication | Toulouse |
| Pages | 157-171 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-2-9549997-1-5 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| MoE publication type | A4 Article in a conference publication |
| Event | Colloquium on European Research in Retailing - Toulouse Business School, Toulouse, France Duration: 2 Jun 2016 → 4 Jun 2016 http://cerr.sciencesconf.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | Colloquium on European Research in Retailing |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | CERR |
| Country/Territory | France |
| City | Toulouse |
| Period | 02/06/2016 → 04/06/2016 |
| Internet address |
