Cunsumers' expectations of personal service at retail outlets in Mahikeng

Abstract

Consumers' expectations of personal service at retail outlets is considered an important subject in the retail business environment. Also, it is considered an intriguing question for retailers as it provides a competitive advantage over other retail outlets in the market, and its implication contributes towards consumers' satisfaction which stands as retailers' second goal after making profit. In order to identify, meet, satisfy, and exceed the expectations of consumers regarding personal service at retail outlets, retailers should investigate, design and implement effective marketing strategies in order to thrive in today's demanding business environment. According to the literature review, it has been found that expectations of consumers regarding personal service at retail outlets (a) is related to their shopping goals, (b) reflects on consumers' shopping experience which determines their perceptions and evaluation of retail outlets, and (c) contain factors and/or dimensions inclusive of tangibility/physical aspects, reliability, responsiveness/personal interaction, assurance/problem solving, and empathy/policy. However, the underlining nature of consumers' expectations in terms of personal service at retail outlets is to provide consumers with an enjoyable shopping experience (such as excitement, satisfaction, entertainment, personal interaction, and so forth). The purpose of this study, and to be in line with the primary objective, was to research consumers' expectations of personal service at retail outlets in the Mahikeng area. A statistical analysis inclusive of frequencies, cross-tabulations, and factor analysis were utilized with a sample of 384 respondents. The questionnaire was based on four fundamental sections in line with the secondary objectives by focussed on the respondents' demographic description, the reasons why they shop at retail outlets in Mahikeng, their shopping experience related to personal service at retail outlets in Mahikeng, and lastly the importance they place on various dimensions regarding personal service at retail outlets. The results obtained in this study were analysed using a statistical software (SPSS, version 24) and the frequency analysis were firstly dealt with. This analysis indicated the percentages of respondents' demographic descriptors which included six descriptors, their reasons for shopping (the 4 main reasons were identified), their shopping experience related to personal service at retail outlets (indicated as satisfactory), and the importance consumers place on various dimensions regarding personal service at retail outlets (respondents indicated all of these as very important). The second set of statistical analysis was the factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis for shopping experience and the importance of the various dimensions were used to determine the underlying factors of the variables. With regard to shopping experience, the results presented two main factors: responsiveness/personal interaction with 6 items included, and tangibility/physical aspects (7 items). The importance of various dimensions indicated 3 factors: responsiveness/personal interaction (7 items), reliability (4 items), and tangibility/physical appearance also with 4 items. The results also indicated that are statistical significance relationships between gender and level of education descriptors with consumers' expectations of personal service at retail outlets. The Chi-Square test was used to answer the fifth objective of this study related to determining statistical significance. The underlining significance of this study is to provide retailers and/or marketers with valuable information they can use to improve their personal service rendered to consumers at their retail outlets in the form of the practical recommendations made.