Inherent in the process of marketing is the notion that consumption requires both time and effort. While shopping, consumers may spend time and effort to complete several tasks such as searching for information, traveling to the store?s location, searching for a parking spot, traveling through the store, locating the product they wish to purchase, and completing the checkout process. Convenience is defined as anything that reduces consumer time and effort expenditures and is becoming increasingly important to consumers in the United States. This dissertation provides insight into an emerging consumer need--the need for retail shopping convenience (NRSC). Specifically, this dissertation has four distinct purposes: 1) to examine the nature of the NRSC construct; 2) to investigate time pressure, role overload, various timestyle dimensions, and the willingness to trade money for convenience as antecedents to the NRSC; 3) to examine the role that culture plays in moderating the relationship between selected antecedents and the NRSC; and 4) to identify the consequences and/or retailer benefits of satisfying a consumer?s NRSC. Cross-cultural comparisons were made by examining data collected from two consumer groups--white, non-Hispanic Americans and Mexican Americans. For each respondent, data were collected across three shopping situations: grocery shopping, mall shopping, and online shopping. In an empirical examination of the NRSC, it was found that this consumer need varies across shopping situations. Antecedents significant in influencing this consumer need include time pressure, temporal orientation, planning orientation, and polychronic orientation. Findings show that culture plays an important role in determining the NRSC. When compared to white, non-Hispanic American consumers, Mexican-American consumers experienced more time pressure. In addition, the influence of temporal orientation and polychronic orientation on the NRSC was stronger for Mexican Americans. White, non-Hispanic American consumers were found to have a stronger relationship between planning orientation and the NRSC than Mexican-American consumers. Additional findings confirm the importance of the NRSC to consumers, showing that retailers who satisfy this emerging consumer need are rewarded with higher levels of commitment, stronger repurchase intentions, and positive word-of-mouth communications. Taken together, these findings show the importance of the NRSC in determining consumer behavior.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-5573 |
| Date | 05 May 2007 |
| Creators | Beauchamp, Michelle Bednarz |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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