With the rapid growth and competitiveness in the South African apparel retail industry,
retailers and marketers face numerous challenges to remain competitive. Contributing to
the dynamic nature of this phenomenon is the impulsive nature and individual
preferences of consumers when buying apparel, which necessitate retailers to be more
responsive towards consumer needs and preferences in order to attract potential, and
retain existing, customers. This can be done by formulating a retail strategy that will
enrich consumers' total retail experience. When developing a total retail experience, all
the elements that would encourage or inhibit the consumer to buy from the retailer should
be considered, which among others include the store attributes applied within the store
environment. This implies that apparel retailers, and especially those selling casual
wear, should identify the importance attached to store attributes of their particular target
market and how satisfied they are with the attributes offered. Since consumers use store
attributes during store selection, it is essential for retailers and marketers to understand
consumer behaviour, and more specifically the consumer decision-making process, since
store attributes are used as evaluative criteria during this process.
To satisfy consumer needs, retailers should meet consumer expectations in order to
generate a positive attitude towards the store, which will increase the chances of repeat
patronage. Consumer expectations form an essential part throughout the consumer
decision-making process, which in the end will determine whether consumers experience
post-purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Since consumer expectations are formed
by previous experiences, marketers should ensure that they offer the necessary store
attributes consumers perceive as important when purchasing products, services or
selecting a store. Evidently, this will influence both consumers' satisfaction towards a
certain retail store, as well as future store selection.
The primary objective of this study was to determine the importance of, and satisfaction
with, store attributes to black Generation X consumers when choosing a store selling
casual wear. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to survey 252 black
respondents at a mall in Soweto. The questionnaire aimed to determine which store
attributes are important to black Generation X consumers when selecting a store selling
casual wear, and how satisfied they were with the store attributes offered by the store they most often buy casual wear from. Results identified 10 reliable Importance factors when determining which factors black Generation X consumers consider when selecting a store selling casual wear, namely service provided by salespeople; check-out points, dressing. rooms, store hours and proximity to store; display of casual wear and in-store advertising; store appearance, styles, sizes and quality of casual wear; physical facilities to enhance shopping convenience; offering cell phones and accessories; music played; price of casual wear; variety of brand names and credit card facilities; and the alteration of clothing and lay-buy services. It was also found that respondents were less satisfied with certain store
attributes offered by the store they most often buy their casual wear from when compared
to how important these factors were to them, including service provided by salespeople,
check-out points, dressing rooms, store hours and proximity to the store.
It is recommended that retailers who sell casual wear to black Generation X consumers
should determine which attributes are considered as important to their target market and
apply it in their retail and marketing strategies accordingly. It is also recommended that
stores selling casual wear should conduct research to determine whether differences
exist between their target markets' demographic profile with regard to the importance of
store attributes as well as their satisfaction with those attributes offered by the store.
Based on these results, marketers will be able to identify the attributes consumers are
not satisfied with, which gives the opportunity for improving and amending strategies and
gaining a competitive advantage. Future research can focus on the importance of store attributes to black Generation X consumers or other groups in other units of analysis, such as different retail formats and industries, as well as expanding the study to include more geographic areas. / Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4274 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Beukes, Martie |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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