| dc.description.abstract | South Africa has a diverse population with almost 80% being black. It is therefore necessary that retailers understand this population group as the black population is responsible for the majority of consumer purchasing power in South Africa. To understand this population group and how they make purchasing decisions, it is necessary for retailers to gain a better understanding of the consumer decision-making process and retailing as well as the store attributes they consider important when making purchasing decisions. This understanding is needed since store attributes influence consumers' store perceptions and are thus one of the main reasons why consumers will decide to purchase from a store. Therefore, store attributes are important when consumers decide where to shop and thus the challenge for retailers is to determine which store attributes are more important to their targeted consumer so as to create store patronage and store loyalty. Many scholars researching store image have identified a number of store attribute categories, including merchandise, service, store atmosphere, post-transactional satisfaction, promotion, physical facilities and convenience. Despite the identification of these attributes to form store image, limited research has been done on the specific store attributes consumers consider when selecting a store to purchase from. The primary objective of this study was to determine the store attributes black consumers consider important when selecting a store selling casual wear. The study included a literature review in which main categories of store attributes were identified, which aided in the development of the questionnaire. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were distributed to 16-35 year old black consumers buying casual wear in a mall in Soweto by means of a non-probability convenience sampling method.
A total of 513 respondents participated in the study. By means of an exploratory factor analysis, 10 factors were identified that were considered as important by black respondents when choosing 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 of cell phones and accessories; Music played; Price of casual wear; Variety of brand names and credit card facilities and Alterations of clothing and lay-buy services. From the results obtained, it is recommended that retailers implement these 10 identified store attribute factors in their marketing strategies in order to attract black consumers to the store, which can aid the retailer to increase store patronage, thereby resulting in the development of a competitive advantage.
Recommendations for future research. include conducting a similar study among other population and age groups to determine whether differences or similarities can be observed between population and age groups in terms of the importance of store attributes when selecting a store. Future research could also include more geographic areas and include other retail types. This would enable similarities and differences to be identified in the retail industry in terms of the store attributes black consumers consider when selecting a store. | en_US |
