A thesis
Submitted in full fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing)
at the
University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / With an increase in competition, the retail industry is experiencing a paradigm shift as marketers
revert to innovative retail experiences to influence consumer buying behaviour. Therefore, it is
of interest to examine how consumers experience store environments in order for retailers to
design atmospherics that are conducive to influencing purchase decision-making. Although
several studies have explored store environment and consumer buying behaviour, few studies
have explored atmospheric cues as a holistic construct to investigate the effect of these on brand
loyalty and purchase intention. More specifically, few studies have explored this topic in a
fashion retail context among the black middle class woman in South Africa. This paper aims to
determine whether store environment influences consumers’ purchase intention and brand
loyalty of fashion products. By means of a proposed conceptual model, store environment is the
predictor variable, with brand experience, brand trust, brand satisfaction and brand attitude as the
mediating variables, and purchase intention and brand loyalty as the outcome variables. The
present study undertakes a quantitative approach in which 501 online surveys are distributed
among black middle class woman to explore the influence of store environment on purchase
intention of fashion brands. The findings support all nine proposed hypotheses. Therefore
indicating that store environment influences consumers’ brand experience, brand trust, brand
satisfaction and brand attitude. Likewise, the latter branding variables have a significant
influence on brand loyalty, and ultimately purchase intention. The contribution of this paper is
threefold. Firstly, by exploring the importance of store environment on consumer behaviour, this
study adds to contextual knowledge on experiential retailing, fashion consumption and the
buying behaviour of the emerging black middle class. Secondly, it adds to existing literature in
retail management and fashion marketing. Theoretically, it is positioned in experiential
marketing and contributes to empirical literature that focuses on consumer behaviour, branding,
and retail. Lastly, by investigating store environment and it’s influence on consumers’ purchase
intentions, the findings provide marketing practitioners with a better understanding of strategies
that can be employed to influence consumers buying behaviour through the design of a
conducive store environment. / MT2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/22117 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Venter, Marike |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (x, 223 leaves), application/pdf |
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