IN-STORE CUSTOMER SHOPPING EXPERIENCES IN A SUPERMARKET AND THE OUTCOMES THEREOF

Customers experiences is a Tier 1 Priority of the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) whilst value, an outcome of marketing activities as defined by the AMA, is a Tier 2 Priority of the MSI for 2014-2016. Today’s South African... [ view full abstract ]

Customers experiences is a Tier 1 Priority of the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) whilst value, an outcome of marketing activities as defined by the AMA, is a Tier 2 Priority of the MSI for 2014-2016. Today’s South African supermarkets, compared with those of two decades ago, offer more amenities to attract customers to spend more time and money at the supermarket. “Recent additions” to supermarket offerings include fresh fruit and vegetables, a bakery offering baked products, a delicatessen counter with local and imported products, take-away meals prepared by chefs and a section offering local and imported wines. These “additions” aim to enhance a superior in-store customer shopping experience (ISCSE) than competitors and value to customers. This paper’s purpose is to identify the current ISCSE dimensions important to supermarket customers and test the relationship of ISCSE with customer satisfaction and value for customers. A literature review and a focus group produced six dimensions that represent an ISCSE. These dimensions were subjected to exploratory factor analyses. A confirmatory factor analysis found ISCSE to consist of three dimensions, namely Interaction with staff, Store layout and atmospherics and Merchandise quality and variety. Strong relationships between customer satisfaction and value and ISCSE dimensions were found.