Magister Commercii - MCom / This study aimed to shed insight on how store image influences customer perception. Everything customers see, hear and experience is linked together and forms their overall perception of a store. The first objective of the study was to analyze whether a relationship exists between the store choice and customers biographical details. The second objective is to identify components of store image that shoppers may consider important in store selection process; how the case company can use this knowledge and develop the business and customer service even further. Eight dimensions of shopping enjoyment are proposed and a 47-item measure was developed to measure 155 consumer perceptions from various malls in the geographical area of Cape Town. Findings indicate that there are no statistically significant relations between store image and consumers demographic factors such as age, gender, level of education, marital status, occupation and income. Furthermore, respondents rated physical characteristics of the store which included factors such as the neatness and cleanliness of the store, its decor, the wideness of the aisles, air-conditioning and lighting as the most important element when making a store choice. The implications of these results are discussed, together with practical and theoretical implications, study limitations, and future research directions.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka kunders erfarenheter av och önskemål kring interaktionen med klädbutikers personal. Vidare undersöker studien på vilket sätt kunder vill att interaktionen ska ske samt inom vilka zoner och vid vilka tillfällen. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och den empiriska datan är framtagen genom 15 semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga konsumenter. Studien har till en början en deduktiv ansats som sedan övergår i inslag av induktiv ansats inom vilka studien sedan växlar mellan. Slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar att kunder har önskemål om ett individanpassat bemötande under interaktion med personal samt att kunder lägger vikt vid personalens beteende och tillgänglighet. Studien visar även att kunders erfarenheter av interaktion med personal i klädbutiker inte överensstämmer med kunders önskemål kring detta fenomen. Många kunder har visat sig ha relativt låga förväntningar gällande denna interaktion men trots detta har det visat sig att personal i många fall inte lyckas leva upp till dessa förväntningar. Interaktionen med personal i klädbutiker har även visat sig vara av stor vikt för såväl kundens image av företaget som för kunders upplevelse av ett butiksbesök. Det framgår att denna interaktion har stor inverkan på kunders fortsatta beteende gentemot företaget vilket visar på att interaktionen utgör en viktig del av klädbutikers konkurrenskraft. / Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to examine customers' experiences and wants regarding the interaction with clothing store personnel. Furthermore, the thesis explores how customers would like this interaction to occur as well as in what zones and in which situations. Method: The study in this thesis follows a qualitative research method and the empirical data is gathered through semistructured interviews with 15 female consumers. Conclusion: The thesis' results show that customers have the desire for an individualized response in interaction with personnel, and that customers attach importance to the personnel behavior and availability. The thesis also shows that customers' experiences of interaction with personnel in clothing stores do not match customer wants concerning this phenomenon. Many customers have been shown to have relatively low expectations regarding this interaction, but in spite of this, it has been found that in many cases personnel fail to live up to these expectations. The interaction with personnel in clothing stores has also proved to be of great importance to both the customer's image of the company and the customer's experience of a shop visit. It appears that this interaction has a major impact on customers' continued behavior towards the company, which shows that interaction is an important part of clothing stores' competitiveness.

Globalization has influenced the grocery retail industry and the most impactful changes are the preferences and habits of consumers. The increased consumption of consumers is one of the habits that have created a demand for sustainable products. The sustainable products can be marketed towards consumers by the frontline employees. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how grocery retail store personnel can be used as ambassadors toward consumers that will result in sustainable purchase behaviour. To answer the research question, several interviews have been conducted. The interview with the grocery retail expert aided us in the formulation of interview questions. The four interviews with two ICA stores’ personnel provided us with the empirical data needed for reaching the conclusions. Findings reveal that the involvement of personnel in communication with the consumers has positive a positive outcome. In this way, they can be seen as CSR ambassadors and, therefore, efficiently market the organization. To achieve CSR ambassadorship, employees and consumers must enhance organizational identification. One conclusion is that consumers may reach sustainable purchase behaviour when CSR ambassadorship is developed in coherence with a grocery retail store.