An analysis of the relationship between store image, satisfaction and loyalty behaviors exhibited by older shoppers: the case of England's grocery market
RIS ID
111862
Link to publisher version (URL)
Abstract
In many of the World's developed countries, the proportion of people aged 60 years and above is growing. Research has shown that this age group is larger, healthier and more willing to spend than preceding generations (e.g. Drolet et al, 2010). Hence, it is fundamentally important that organizations adopt strategies which better reflect and satisfy the needs of this segment. This paper presents an empirical model of satisfaction with application to the grocery retail sector. The proposed model builds upon recent developments in the literature by integrating a contextually specific newly developed scale for store image with well established measures of satisfaction (i.e. Fornell, 1992; Fornell et al, 1996) and loyalty components; future intentions, word-of-mouth and price tolerance (Fullerton, 2003; Soderlund, 2005). Using data collected from 524 postal surveys the model was assessed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings revealed six distinct components of store image, each influencing satisfaction to varying degrees. Of the three loyalty components, satisfaction was found to have the largest effect on positive word-of-mouth. The study provides an innovative and tailored framework for both researchers and grocery retailers to follow.
Publication Details
Angell, R., Memery, J., Megicks, P. & Heffernan, T. W. (2011). An analysis of the relationship between store image, satisfaction and loyalty behaviors exhibited by older shoppers: the case of England's grocery market. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings (pp. 272-284). The Institute for Business and Finance Research.