Am I cheap? Testing the role of store personality and self-congruity in discount retailing
This study examines whether consumer perceptions of store personality (SP) differ according to the store's format (hard-discount versus soft-discount and value retailing). A consumer survey (n = 306) is conducted in which respondents are asked to rate these retail formats
on five SP dimensions and in terms of self-congruity (SC). The findings of both repeated measures ANOVA and hypothesis testing of proportion difference indicate that the three formats differ significantly in terms of all five SP dimensions. Moreover, consumers perceive a greater match between
their self-concept and the value retailer's personality than the discounter's. A PLS model is estimated linking SP and SC to store loyalty and word-of-mouth intentions (WOM). The SP measurement model is only partially confirmed by the data. The effect of SC is found to dominate in explaining
loyalty and WOM. These results provide valuable insights for optimising retail positioning strategies.
Keywords: PLS analysis; discount retailing; self-congruity; store personality; symbolic value; value retailing
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Department of Marketing and Strategy,Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
Publication date: 01 December 2011
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