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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The introduction chapter brings an interest to the subject of the study by

starting with a discussion on the background information. The definition of the

research problem and the purpose of the study are also presented. This

chapter also presents the significance and scope of the study. Finally, the

organization of the report is presented to give the reader an overview of the

structure of the thesis.

1.1 Overview of the Grocery Industry

Retail is the largest single industry in most countries throughout the world,

with the grocery sector being most important in terms of value and volume

(Burt and Sparks, 1994). The sale of groceries has traditionally been the

venue of the traditional provision shop located in the neighbourhood.

However, much to the dismay of traditional retailers, most of the grocery

products can now be found at many places such as discount stores,

supercentres, specialty grocers, warehouse clubs, convenience stores,

Internet retailers and drug stores (Morganosky, 1997; Kim and Jin, 2001;

Carpenter and Moore, 2006).

In addition to grocery products, some of the retailers such as hypermarkets,

supercentres, and discount stores also offer a wide variety of other product

categories such as apparel, household goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,

home furnishing and sporting goods in the same place. This move offers the

consumers the convenience of ―one-stop shopping‖ as they no longer need to

shop at various places or stores for several products. Thus, the consumers

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fulfill as many shopping needs as possible when visiting the same store. As a

result, most consumers prefer to shop at the new retail formats such as

hypermarkets or supercentres.

Changes in the grocery sector are evidenced by the popularity of

hypermarkets, supercentres, large scales supermarkets and convenience

stores. It is found that the new retail formats pose a serious threat to

traditional grocery stores (Morganosky, 1997; Farhangmehr et. al., 2000;

Seiders and Tigert, 2000). According to Seiders and Tigert (2000),

hypermarkets in Europe have replaced thousands of small neighbourhood

grocery stores, as the hypermarkets are able to offer a large assortment and

competitive pricing.

Morganosky (1997) found that consumers are making fewer visits to

traditional grocery stores and are spending less per trip. In contrast, the

percentage of shoppers visiting warehouse clubs, supercentres and

convenience stores for grocery items continue grow. This shows that

consumers are no longer depending on the traditional grocery stores for their

groceries. Instead, they are visiting other retail formats for the purchase of

their groceries.

Although consumers have changed their store choice decision by shopping at

the new retail format, no research has found that consumers rely on a single

format for their shopping needs. This indicates that the shoppers are relying

on multiple retail formats to accommodate their lifestyles and to meet their

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shopping needs. They prefer to shop at different formats as each type of

format has various store attributes, which they perceive as important. Store

attribute such as low price, a wide variety of merchandise, convenience, good

quality and services are factors that will contribute to consumers‘ image

formation and will affect their store choice decision. (Farhangmehr et. al.,

2000; Seiders and Tigert, 2000; Jin and Kim, 2003; Carpenter and Moore,

2006; Carpenter, 2008).

However, Rhee and Dell (2002) found that while shoppers often shop at more

than one store, they typically have a primary affiliation to a ―main store‖ that

captures the majority of their purchases. Being the first choice store is

important for retailers, because consumers tend to shop at the store more

often and will spend twice as much in the store compared to others (Knox and

Denison, 2000). Thus, it is important for the retailers to understand the factors

that affect consumers store choice decision. This information is vital in turning

the consumers into loyal customers.

1.2 Research Problem

Malaysia has also experienced the format change in retailing in recent

decades, with the emergence of large-scales retailer in the early 1990s. Retail

formats in Malaysia include the traditional grocery retailers, hypermarkets,

supermarkets, convenience stores, and specialty stores. Traditional stores still

dominate the grocery market, but it can be seen that the new retail formats

such as hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores are slowly

replacing traditional retail outlets. Table 1.1 summarizes the market share of

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Table 1.1: Market sizes

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

RM % RM % RM % RM % RM % RM %

Grocery Retailers 14,464.10

15,655.10

16,817.90

18,745.80

19,538.00

21,311.90

Hypermarkets 1,711.60 11.8 2,396.40 15.3 3,156.00 18.8 4,295.90 22.9 4,826.10 24.7 6,217.00 29.2

Supermarkets 1,478.70 10.2 1,611.80 10.3 1,748.80 10.4 2,173.70 11.6 2,356.30 12.1 2,497.70 11.7

Convenience Store 635.20 4.4 882.10 5.6 1,098.30 6.5 1,350.50 7.2 1,450.40 7.4 1,627.80 7.6

Small grocery 8,800.00 60.8 8,965.70 57.3 9,060.70 53.9 9,201.30 49.1 9,207.00 47.1 9,306.90 43.7

Specialty Store 1,189.90 8.2 1,199.00 7.7 1,211.00 7.2 1,235.20 6.6 1,257.40 6.4 1,277.60 6.0

Others 648.70 4.5 600.10 3.8 543.10 3.2 489.20 2.6 440.80 2.3 384.90 1.8

Source: Euromonitor, 2008

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the grocery industry in Malaysia. The market share of traditional stores (small

grocery) has dropped from 60.8 percent in 2002 to 43.7 percent in 2007.

However, a few studies (see Lim et. al, 2003; Nielsen Company, 2007) found

that the traditional retailers still have an advantage in rural areas and smaller

towns. They are losing their market share in larger towns and cities only. Due

to the rapid growth of the modern retail format, retailers need to react to the

changes in order to continue to survive in this competitive industry.

Although there are various types of retail formats that offer similar products, it

was determined that each type of retail format has different store attributes,

which can drive the store choice process for at least one major market

segment. For instance, hypermarkets and supercentres are well-known for

their low price and large assortment, while convenience stores, as the name

implies, are a convenience oriented store. Following that, it is very important

for grocery retailers to use a different strategy to differentiate from their

competitors.

Although consumers often show patronage to various stores, they do have a

primary connection to a ―main store‖ that captures the majority of their

purchases. Woodside and Trappey (1992) found that consumers decide their

primary store based on the attributes of the store. They found that consumers

could quickly name a store when asked what store comes to their mind for

specific attributes such as ―lowest price‖, or ―most convenient‖ to them. Thus,

it is important for the retailers to delve into the factors that will affect

consumers shopping behaviour.

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Store image attributes are important as they will affect consumers‘ behaviour

towards the store (Woodside and Trappey, 1992). Consumers will prefer to

shop at stores that have attributes that can satisfy their needs. For example,

busy people will prefer to shop at convenience stores, as this retail format is

known for its long operating hours such as open 24 hours per day. On the

other hand, those who prefer low price tend to shop more at hypermarkets as

this format is known for its low pricing. The consumers are more likely to shop

and buy at the store if they are satisfied with the store attributes. Hence, it is

important for the retailers to know which store attributes are important and

how it will affect the consumers‘ behaviour.

1.3 Research Objective

The Malaysian grocery sector has experienced dramatic changes in the last

few decades with the emergence of new retail formats such as hypermarkets,

large scale supermarkets, and convenience stores. As a result, it has affected

the way consumers shop as they have more choices to choose from. Thus, it

is important for the retailers to know the reasons why consumers choose to

shop at a particular store, and also the factors that will influence their

subsequent behaviour. The objective of this study is to investigate consumer

behaviour in the grocery industry. Specifically, this research aims to:

1. understand consumer grocery shopping pattern

2. examine the impact of store attributes on store choice

3. identify the factors that affect consumer behaviour towards the store

4. examine the relationship between store attributes, consumer

satisfaction towards the store and store loyalty

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1.4 Research Questions

This study attempts to answer the following questions:

1. Which retail format is shopped at most often by consumers?

2. Which store attributes are perceived as most important by consumers

when making their store choice decision?

3. What are the factors (store attributes) that affect consumers‘

satisfaction and loyalty behaviour?

1.5 Significance of the Study

There have been a significant amount of studies that examine the issues of

consumer shopping behaviour and retail marketing strategies to tackle the

intense competition in the present retail channel in the grocery industry.

However, most of the studies have been conducted in Western countries such

as the United States of America, United Kingdom and European countries.

Thus, it is crucial for the retailers to gain a better understanding of the grocery

consumers in Malaysia.

In light of the emergence of many new grocery formats, consumers now have

more choice to compare and decide where to shop for their groceries.

However, most previous studies focus on one or a limited perspective only.

For example, Farhangmehr et. al. (2000) examined the consumers perception

of hypermarkets and traditional retail stores in Portugal; Seiders and Tigerts

(2000) on the supercentres; Koo (2003) and Jin and Kim (2003) have

examined the discount retail environment in Korea. As such, this study will be

helpful in giving a better picture of the retail industry as it has focused on four

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main channels (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store and traditional

stores) found in Malaysia.

In addition, this study highlights the importance of store attributes in the

retailing environment. Many researchers have identified that store attributes

play an important role in affecting consumer‘s store choice decision. Thus,

through the identification of the store attributes perceived by consumers,

retailers can establish better marketing strategies for their store.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The grocery sector is used in this study to measure consumer‘s behaviour in

the industry. This is because, as mentioned at the beginning of this chapter,

grocery is the most important sector in terms of volume and value in the

retailing industry. Based on Euromonitor‘s Retailing Report in Malaysia

(2008), four main retail formats (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience

store, and traditional grocery store) are selected to determine the preferred

grocery store format in Malaysia.

The study was conducted in the Klang Valley using non probability and

convenience sampling. The Klang Valley was chosen due to the number and

large variety of choice of formats available and also its highly dense

population (KPMG, 2006).

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In order to understand the factors that will drive consumers to revisit the store

again, store attributes have been chosen as the factor that will determine

consumer‘s loyalty towards the store.

1.7 Organization of the Report

This report consists of six chapters. It is organized as follows:

Chapter 1: The introduction chapter brings an interest to the subject of the

study by starting with a discussion on the background information. The

definition of the research problem and the purpose of the study are also

presented in this chapter. In addition, the significance and scope of the study

is also discussed. Finally, the disposition is presented to give the reader an

overview of the thesis.

Chapter 2: The chapter explains about the retailing industry. The chapter

starts with an overview of the retailing industry. The definition of various types

of retail channels are also presented here. It is then followed by a discussion

on the retail sector in Malaysia. Finally, the development of the grocery

market in Malaysia is also presented.

Chapter 3: This chapter will review the literature that is related to this study.

The chapter starts with the introduction about consumer behaviour in the

grocery industry. It is followed by store image, customer satisfaction and store

loyalty. Finally, the relationship of store image, customer satisfaction and

store loyalty is discussed.

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Chapter 4: This chapter outlines the methodology employed in the study. It

begins with a review of the research framework. Then, it provides the

hypotheses developed in this study. Thereafter, the design of the research

instrument and measurements instruments will be discussed. Finally, the data

analysis techniques used are also presented.

Chapter 5: This chapter presents the findings of the survey. It begins with a

description of the general characteristics of the respondents. This is followed

by an analysis on the shopping habits of the respondents. The results of the

validity test and reliability test are also discussed. It is followed by a test on

the hypotheses developed in the previous chapter. After that, the effect of

store attributes on consumer behaviour is also discussed. Finally, the

consumer preference structure of the retail channel is presented.

Chapter 6: The final chapter will provide the conclusion for this research. First,

an overview of the study will be provided. Thereafter, the summary of the

major findings, marketing implications, limitations of the study and further

suggestion are presented. Finally, the chapter ends with the concluding

remarks of the study.

1.8 Conclusion

This chapter discusses the introduction of the study, which includes the

research problem, purpose of the study, importance of the study, research

scope and the thesis organization. Following that, in Chapter 2, an overview

of the retailing industry will be provided.

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Figure 1.1: Organization of the Report

Chapter 1

Introduction

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Retailing 2.2 Retail Sector in Malaysia 2.3 Development of the Grocery Sector In

Malaysia 2.4 Conclusion

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Overview of the Grocery Industry 1.2 Research Problem 1.3 Research Objectives 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Scope of the Study 1.7 Organization of the Report 1.8 Conclusion

Chapter 6

Conclusion & Implications

6.0 Introduction 6.1 Overview of the Study 6.2 Summary of the Research Result 6.3 Marketing Implication 6.4 Limitation of the Study 6.5 Suggestion for Future Research 6.6 Concluding Remarks

5.0 Introduction 5.1 Demographic Profile of Respondents 5.2 Consumers‘ Grocery Shopping Pattern 5.3 Validity Test 5.4 Reliability Test 5.5 Test of Hypothesis 5.6 Multiple Regression Analysis 5.7 Consumer‘s Preference Structure 5.8 Conclusion

Chapter 5

Data Analysis

4.0 Introduction 4.1 Research Framework 4.2 Hypotheses Development 4.3 Research Design 4.4 Measurement Instrument 4.5 Data Analysis Techniques 4.6 Conclusion

Chapter 4

Research

Methodology

3.0 Introduction 3.1 Consumer Behaviour in Grocery Shopping 3.2 Store Image 3.3 Store Attributes 3.4 Customer Satisfaction 3.5 Customer Loyalty 3.6 The Relationship of Store Image,

Customer Satisfaction and Store Loyalty 3.7 Conclusion

Chapter 3

Literature Review

Chapter 2

Retailing Industry

in Malaysia

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CHAPTER 2- RETAILING INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA

The chapter explains about the retailing industry. The chapter starts with an

overview of the retail industry. The definition of various types of retail

channels are also presented here. It is then followed by a discussion on the

retail sector in Malaysia. Finally, the development of the grocery market in

Malaysia is also presented.

2.1 Retailing

Retailing refers to business activities that are involved in selling goods and

services to consumers for their personal, family and household consumption

only, and not used for business purposes (Miller and Layton, 2000). This

includes every sale to the final consumer, ranging from food to household

items to movie tickets. It can be large, sophisticated chains of specialized

stores, like Toys ―R‖ Us, to individual merchants like fruit sellers at the wet

market.

Retail trade has been categorized in many ways. Guy (1980) has classified

retail trade into three groups: (1) convenience goods, which includes

groceries and daily provisions, (2) shopping or comparison goods, which

refers to more expensive products that are bought at less regular intervals,

and (3) specialty goods, which are unique items that appeal to the higher

income level segment. Other scholars (see Lamb et al, 2004; Armstrong et al,

2005) have classified the retail establishment based on ownership, level of

service, product assortment, and price. Goldman and Hino (2005) have

divided the retail trade depending on size – large scale or small scale. The

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small scale retailers are also referred to as the traditional retail store where

they include the single propriety stores, wet market, and mini market. Whilst

the large scale retailers, which are also known as the modern retailers include

superstores, department stores, hypermarkets, and discount stores.

Traditionally, there were only various distinct types of retail store, with each

offering different product assortments, types of service, and price level,

according to its customers‘ shopping preferences. Thus, it was easy to

categorize them. However, in recent decades, retailers have experimented

with alternative formats that make it harder to classify them, as they are

offering similar product ranges. For instance, supermarkets are expanding

their non-food items, drugstores are becoming more like convenience stores,

and discounters are adding groceries. Nevertheless, many stores can still be

grouped into the following retail types.

A department store carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods,

including apparel, cosmetics, house wares, and electronics products. Some

departmental stores even attached a supermarket (Miller and Layton, 2000).

A superstore or hypermarket is a very large store that aims at meeting

consumers‘ total needs for routinely purchased food and non-food items. It

carries personal care products, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products,

stationary and sewing supplies, hardware items, garden products, some

clothing some leisure-time products and offers household services such as

dry cleaning, laundry and shoe repairs (Miller and Layton, 2000).

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A discount store is a retailer that competes on the basis of low price, high

turnover and high volume (Miller and Layton, 2000).

Supermarkets are large, low cost, low margin, high volume, self-service stores

that cater to serve the consumer‘s total needs for food and household

products (Miller and Layton, 2000).

Specialty stores are stores that carry narrow product lines with a deep

assortment within those lines. They specialize in a given type of merchandise.

Examples include children‘s clothing, candy, baked goods, gourmet coffee,

and organic foods (Miller and Layton, 2000).

Convenience stores are small stores that are located near residential areas,

open long hours seven days a week, and carry a limited line of high turnover

convenience products at slightly higher prices (Miller and Layton, 2000).

2.2 Retail Sector in Malaysia

The rapid expansion of the Malaysian economy over the last few decades,

combined with external and social influences has led to a boom in the retail

industry. Consequently, the retail industry in Malaysia is highly fragmented, as

there are a lot of retailers entering the competitive market each year.

Moreover, more and more international companies are aiming at having a

share in this industry by opening more outlets to strengthen their position in

the world.

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In Malaysia, retailing continues to be dominated by store based retailing, as

the concept of non-store retailing is far less established. The store based

retailing was reported to be worth about RM80 million in 2007, which is about

89% of the market share (Table 2.1). The non-store retailing includes vending,

catalogue shopping, Internet shopping and direct selling, which are less

established and less acceptable in Malaysia.

Table 2.1: Sales in Retailing by Sector: Value 2002-2007

RM Million 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Retailing 57475.3 59048.3 63152 68643.8 73516.6 79415.5

Store based retailing 52131.8 53296.4 56832 61637.7 65620.7 70553.3

Non-store retailing 5343.5 5751.9 6320 7006.1 7895.9 8862.2

Source: Euromonitor, 2008

The retailing industry in Malaysia can be categorized into the grocery and

non-grocery sector. The grocery retail market is reported to be worth about

US $9.8 billion in 2004 as compared to US $7.6 billion in 1999 ( KPMG,

2006). The market share of the grocery sector has decreased from 37.1

percent in 2005 to 26.4 percent in 2007 (see Table 2.2), but there are still a

huge number of grocery retailers, large domestic and multinational retailers

have entered the fray with relative success.

Table 2.2: Sales in Retailing by Grocery vs non-grocery 2005-2007

% retail value exclude sales tax 2005 2006 2007

Grocery 37.1 36.5 36.4

Non Grocery 62.9 63.5 63.6

Source: Euromonitor, 2008

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2.3 Development of the Grocery Retailing in Malaysia

Malaysia has witnessed the emergence of different types of grocery retailing

formats in recent decades. The grocery industry is made up of a variety of

formats such as wet markets, night markets, convenience stores, specialty

stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. The different channels cater to the

different segments of the Malaysian population, as each channel has different

store attributes, and is able to attract a different market segment to visit the

store.

The structure of the industry has changed with the increasing presence of

hypermarkets, supermarkets and non-store based retailing. This move has

provided the consumers more places to consider for their grocery shopping.

As a result, Malaysian consumers‘ behaviour has also been affected. A

survey of Malaysians‘ shopping habits in 1997 indicated that supermarket

shoppers increased by 1.5 times, while hypermarkets shoppers have more

than doubled since 1995 (Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001-2005).

2.3.1 Traditional Grocery Stores

The traditional store was the first type of retail format to exist in Malaysia. It

includes non-permanent retail facilities such as hawkers, provision shops,

grocery shops, Chinese medical halls, wet markets, mini markets and other

similar retail outlets, which sell a limited range of grocery products on a small

scale. The traditional stores sub-sector is large but highly fragmented. The

traditional store has been affected badly by the emergence of new entrants,

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as they are unable to compete with the large retailers in terms of pricing and

product assortment.

A research by the Nielsen Company (2007) found that the market share of the

traditional trade has slipped by 5% within three years, from having 55% of the

market share in 2004 to 50% in 2006. This shows that the majority of

Malaysians still continue to shop at traditional stores as this type of outlet is

located near to their homes and still commands a significant share of the retail

market. It was found that although the traditional retailers are still holding on

to customers in rural areas and smaller towns they are losing customers in

larger towns and cities (Lim et. al, 2003; Nielsen Company, 2007).

2.3.2 Supermarkets

Supermarkets were introduced in the early sixties. They soon became a norm

in the Malaysian retail landscape and have been the dominant grocery stores.

The introduction of the hypermarket in the 1990s had an adverse impact on

the growth of supermarkets. Supermarkets are mainly found within in

shopping malls or secondary towns in Malaysia. Hence, this retail format is

especially popular for spontaneous shoppers as well as consumers who shop

for essential items in small volume.

A research by Euromonitor (2008) revealed that the sales of supermarkets

increased 68.9 percent from 2002 to 2007 and forecasted that it will grow

about 30 percent in the following five year period. The supermarket industry in

Malaysia can be divided into two channels – standalone supermarkets such

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as Giant Supermarket, Econsave and Cold Storage or those located in

department stores such as Isetan and Jusco. Multinational retailers such as

Giant, Cold Storage and Jusco dominate the supermarket environment.

Nonetheless, domestic players such as Billion and Econsave are also

flourishing in the supermarket sector. The success of the domestic players is

largely due to their strength in rural areas, as they only compete with a small

number of supermarket operators.

Despite stiff competition in the grocery industry, the supermarket operators

are using a different strategy to position themselves. Some of the

supermarkets focus on targeting the different consumer segments. Instead of

competing with the hypermarkets to target the price-conscious segment, Cold

Storage, Isetan and Jaya Jusco offer a superior product range and customer

services. These supermarkets focus on the middle and high-income

consumers and also the expatriates. They are also offering an international

shopping experience where food from all over the world is made available.

For example, Cold Storage offers a wide variety of international grocery items

which are unavailable in other grocery stores. Conversely, Isetan offers a

wide variety of Japanese items.

On the other hand, Jusco and Isetan have a better advantage as they are

located within the department stores. This encourages their consumers to

shop under one-roof. At the same time, they also have loyalty programmes

that can be used throughout the department store. Besides operating the

Jusco departmental stores, AEON Co. (M) Bhd is also aggressively

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expanding in the standalone distribution channel. The company has opened

up Max Valu supermarkets in the residential areas to provide convenience

services for the neighbourhood.

2.3.3 Hypermarkets

In Malaysia, the hypermarket has grown rapidly since the 1990s. The

emergence of hypermarkets has altered the structure of the distributive trade

in Malaysia to some extent. The existence of hypermarkets has allowed the

consumers to do their shopping easily with less hassle as they can purchase

the grocery products and mass merchandise under one-roof. A research

carried out by Euromonitor (2008) revealed that hypermarkets recorded sales

of RM6,217 million in 2007, which represents a 263.2 percent increase since

2002. Euromonitor has forecasted that the sales in hypermarkets will reach

RM11,199.5 million by 2012. The success of the hypermarket chains is largely

due to their low price, wide range of offerings, customer service and strategic

location (Seiders and Tigert, 2000; Carpenter, 2008).

The hypermarket industry is dominated by the foreign retailers, namely,

Carrefour, Giant, and Tesco. This is because multinational companies have a

greater capability in terms of outlet expansion, development of private label

products, and offer extensive ranges of products and value-added services. In

2007, the hypermarket market was led by Giant, followed by Carrefour and

Tesco (Euromonitor, 2008). The dominance of Giant is largely due to the high

number of outlets available in Malaysia.

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Despite there being only a few key players, the hypermarket environment is

highly competitive. This is because the retailers employ similar positioning

strategy in order to attract more consumers. Most of the hypermarket

operators compete on pricing and promotion to attract more customers. Some

retailers even reduce prices permanently in order to attract more people to the

stores. Major promotions and advertisements are some of the key growth

strategies utilized. For instance, Tesco‘s introduced their famous Clubcard

loyalty programme in 2007. Meanwhile, in order to compete with Tesco, some

of the hypermarket retailers have tied-up promotions with credit card providers

in order to attract the customers and turn them into a loyalty consumer. For

example, Citibank-Giant card holders are able to enjoy a two percent rebate

on the products that they purchase at Giant.

The hypermarket is still in the progress of expansion. However, it is expected

to slow down as the Government has introduced new guidelines on the

opening of new hypermarkets in an attempt to slow down their rapid growth

and to provide some level of protection for small retailers. With the freeze on

hypermarket expansion in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor, foreign

players are now expanding in urban cities. Nonetheless, with a minimum

population requirement of 350,000, only a few cities qualify for the opening of

new hypermarkets.

2.3.4 Convenience Stores

As the lifestyle of Malaysian consumers becomes more hectic, they are

demanding more convenience-oriented retailing to the benefit of convenience

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stores. Malaysians are increasingly switching their spending patterns from

traditional grocery stores to modern convenience stores. Consumers are

patronizing convenience stores largely due to the longer opening hours, as

well as the wide range of products and services offered at fair prices.

Convenience stores registered strong growth, largely due to vigorous

expansion in terms of outlets by chained and independent players, coupled

with promotions by chained convenience store operators. According to

Euromonitor (2008), the sales in the convenience stores grew 168 percent

between 2002 and 2007, and it has predicted that it will grow another 55.2

percent in the following five years.

The convenience store market is dominated by 7-Eleven, which is the largest

24 hours convenience store available in Malaysia. It captured almost half of

the convenience store value share in 2007. This is largely due to steady outlet

expansion as well as the creation of greater brand awareness through strong

marketing efforts, such as contests and promotions. For instance, the

company spent around RM1 million on advertising and promotions for one of

the promotions ―Balik Kampung Bonanze contest‖ in 2007.

The positioning of 7-Eleven is to supply essential products at anytime and

anywhere the consumer wants it. In contrast, competitors such as KK Mart

and 99-Speedmart have a low price positioning and tend to be located in

neighbourhood areas. All these players offer a wider range of products at fair

prices in order to compete with others grocery retailers. Besides selling

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impulse products such as tobacco, ice cream, bread, snacks, and non-

alcoholic drinks, high value products such as rice, baby milk formula and

disposable products are also appearing in some of the convenience stores

such as 99 Speedmart and KK Mart,

2.4 Conclusion

This chapter explains the retailing industry in Malaysia. Four main channels

(hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store and traditional store) found in

Malaysia have been identified and discussed. In the following chapter, the

relevant literature will be reviewed.

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CHAPTER 3 - LITERATURE REVIEW

Substantial research has been conducted in relation to the retailing field. This

chapter will review the literature that is related to this study. The chapter starts

with an introduction to consumer behaviour in the grocery industry. It is

followed by store image, customer satisfaction and store loyalty. Finally, the

relationship of store image, customer satisfaction and store loyalty is

discussed.

3.1 Consumer Behaviour in the Grocery Industry

Numerous researches have been conducted in the field of grocery industry to

understand consumer behaviour. Table 3.1 summarize the relevant research

in the field of grocery in the past two decades.

In the process of evaluating which stores to patronise, consumers consider a

variety of factors, often referred to in the retailing literature as store choice

evaluative criteria. The central issue for retailers is, therefore, ―choice‖. As the

outcome of the choice can only be known in the future (after using the store),

it is important for retailers to understand how consumers make decisions.

According to Hawkin et al (2007), there are five steps in the consumer

decision process, which consist of a sequence of activities: problem

recognition, information search, alternative evaluation and selection, outlet

selection and purchase, and post-purchase processes. In the process, outlet

selection is obviously the most important to the retailers. Retailers will want to

know the attributes that will affect the consumer‘s store selection. Thus, many

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Table 3.1: Summary of recent researches in the field of grocery shopping

Arthurs Years Topic

Country where the research was

conducted

Aylott, R. and Mitchell, V.W. 1998 An exploratory study of grocery shopping stressors UK

Baltas, G. and Papastathopoulou, P. 2003

Shopper characteristics, product and store choice criteria: a survey in the Greek grocery sector Greece

Carpenter, J.M. 2006 Demographics and patronage motive of supercenter shoppers in the United States US

Carpenter, J.M., and Moore, M. 2006

Consumer demographics, store attributes, and retail format choice in the US grocery market US

East, R., Harris, P., Willson, G. and Lomax, W. 1995 Loyalty to supermarket UK

Farhangmehr, M., Marques, S. and Silva, J. 2000

Consumer and retailer perceptions of hypermarkets and traditional retail store in Portugal Portugal

Goldman, A. and Hino, H. 2005

Supermarkets vs traditional retail stores" diagnosing the barriers to supermarkets' market share growth in an ethnic minority community Isreal

Jin,B. and Kim, J.O. 2003 A typology of Korean discount shoppers: shopping motives, store attributes and outcomes Korea

Kim, B.D, and Park, K. 1997 Studying patterns of consumer's grocery shopping trip Korea

Knox, S. and Walker, D. 2003 Empirical developments in the measurement of involvement, brand loyalty, and their relationship in grocery market UK

Koo, D.M 2003 Inter-relationships among store image, store satisfaction, and store loyalty among Korea discount retail patrons Korea

Li, W.M. and Hui, Z. 2004 The characteristics of supermarket shoppers in Beijing China

25

Table 3.1: Continued

Arthurs Years Topic

Country where the research was

conducted

Miranda, M.J, Konya, L. and Havrila, I. 2005

Shoppers' satisfaction level are not the only key to store loyalty Australia

Mitchell,V.W. and Kiral, R.H. 1998

Primary and Secondary store-loyal customer perceptions of grocery retailers UK

Morganosky, M.A. 1997 Format change in US grocery retailing US

Moschis,G., Curasi, C. and Bellenger, D. 2004

Patronage motives of mature consumers in the selection of food and grocery stores US

Nguyen, T.T.M.,Nguyen, T.D. and Barrett, N.J. 2006

Hedonic shopping motivations, supermarket attributes, and shopper loyalty in transitional markets: Evidence from Vietnam Vietnam

Putrevu, s. and Lord, K.R 2001 Search dimensions, patterns and segment profiles of grocery shoppers US

Richbell, S. and Kite, V. 2007 Night shoppers in the "open 24 hours" supermarket: a profile UK

Seiders, K. and Tigert, D.J. 2000 The impact of supercenters on traditional food retailers in four market US

Sirohi, N., Mclaughlin, E.W., and Wittink, D.R. 1998

A model of consumer perceptions and store loyalty intentions for a supermarket retailer US

Sullivan, P. and Savitt, R. 1997 Store patronage and lifestyle factors: implications for rural grocery retailers US

Uusitalo, O. 2001 Consumer perceptions of grocery retail formats and brands Finland

26

retailers have used attributes as a marketing tool to attract consumers to the

store. Researchers have also started to study the effect of store image or

attributes in the grocery industry (Seiders and Tigert, 2000; Jin and Kim,

2003; Koo, 2003; Carpenter and Moore, 2006; Nguyen et al, 2006).

The retailers or marketers‘ job does not end with the consumers‘ decision to

shop at the store. It is important for the retailers to continue to monitor

consumers‘ post-purchase behaviour such as satisfaction level, which will

eventually lead to his or her subsequent behaviour, such as willingness to re-

patronize the store, or become a loyal, committed customer. Thus, some

studies also study the relationship of store attributes, customer satisfaction

and store loyalty (Blomer, Ruyter, 1998; Doreen and Benjamin, 2003; Koo,

2003; Nguyen et al, 2006).

3.2 Store Image

Store image, has been used interchangeably with attitude towards the store to

describe the overall impression a consumer has of it (Farhangmehr et al,

2000). It is the way in which the store is defined in the shopper‘s mind, based

on its functional qualities and psychological attributes (Martineau, 1958).

Store images are not only formed because of the advertising and promotion

efforts of the company, but also include all tangible and intangible attributes

such as merchandise selection, store layout, sense of belonging, and feeling

towards the store. A unique store image is one of the retailer‘s most valuable

marketing assets, as it will help to create a competitive advantage that is not

easily duplicated by its competitors.

27

The importance of studying image is based on the assumption that the store

processing the most congruent attributes with the image preferred by the

consumer will have a better chance of being selected and patronised

(Martineau, 1958). The consumers will only choose to shop at the store if they

perceive the store has the same image desired by them. However, store

image or attributes cannot be determined unless the store dimension is

important to the consumers and there is a noticeable difference across the

chain (Seiders and Tigert, 2000).

However, Lindquist (1974-1975) emphasizes that store image is complex as it

consists of everything that people associate with the store. This is because

image is formed through personal experience with the store and it can be

modified over time. Not only will different consumers perceive the importance

of store attributes differently, but they will also have different perceptions of

the store even if they visit the store at the same time. Consumers will be more

likely to shop at the store when they have a favourable perception of the store

image or attributes. Thus, market segmentation is important in building store

image, and the retail store image should be based upon the priorities of the

store target market (Ortinau and Robert, 1989). In order for a retailer to

sustain itself in this competitive market, they must use those attributes that

can drive the store choice process for at least one major market segment.

3.3 Store Attributes

As mentioned earlier, store attributes are viewed as part of the overall image

of the store. Attributes are those factors that characterize a product or service,

28

what the consumer thinks of the product or service, and what is involved with

its purchase or consumption (Koo, 2003). Past literature has presented

various and varying conceptualizations of store attributes. By summarizing the

key image dimensions of 26 scholars and 19 separate researches from the

field of retail image, Lindquist (1974-1975) determined nine key attributes:

merchandise, services, clientele, physical facilities, convenience, promotion,

store ambience, and institutional factor satisfaction.

On the other hand, Koo (2003) proposes seven components: store

atmosphere, location, convenience facilities, value, employee services, after

sales service, and merchandising, which are important for the formation of

store image. Based on Lindquist and Koo‘s studies, Nguyen et al (2007) also

proposes four components: facilities, employee services, after sales service

and merchandise. Engel et al (1993) also identifies seven store

characteristics: location, assortment breadth and depth, services, store

personnel, price, advertising and sales promotion, and proximity to work.

As can be seen, researchers conceptualize the store images based on

various dimensions. The following section will explain some of the attributes

in detail.

3.3.1 Location

The location of a store is important to the type of customer that the retailers

want to attract. Clarkson et al (1996) and Wood and Browne (2007) focussed

on the conceptualization of techniques for determining the optimal location

29

and sales of the stores. Both studies conclude that location is the most

important decision that a company has to make, as it is the critical factor for

success.

A few researchers found that store location plays an important part in

determining the store choice (Kolodinsky and Cranwell, 2000; Fox et al, 2004;

Singh, et al, 2004). Location suggests customers‘ accessibility to the store

and includes factors such as distance, and time travelled to the store. It was

found that consumers prefer to shop at stores that they have easy access to

and are convenient for them (Fox et al, 2004; Moschis et al, 2004). Thus,

time sensitive shoppers are more willing to shop at drug stores compared to

other formats (Fox et al, 2004).

3.3.2 Products

A number of researchers also examined product assortment issues, as the

products offered in a store are one of the most important attributes that will

attract customers. Morganosky (1997), Seiders and Tigert (2000) and

Carpenter (2008), found that consumer preferences are affected by the

perception of variety within a selection and the store itself. Thus, more and

more retailers are opening new stores with a large footprint in order to be able

to offer a wide variety in their product range. This is because retailers are

afraid that shoppers will be less likely to shop in the store if they feel that the

store has less of a product range compared to others.

30

Besides merchandising assortment, some researchers also found that the

arrangement of the products, the repetition of items, and the availability of

consumers‘ favourite or alternative items will also affect consumers‘

perception of product assortments (Kahn and Lehmann, 1991; Broniarcyzk,

1998; Hoch et al, 1999). Thus, large scale retailers in the form of

hypermarkets, discount stores and supercentres have been very successful

because consumers place importance on the ability to take care of as many

shopping needs as possible when visiting the same store (Carpenter, 2008).

3.3.3 Price

Pricing is a relevant issue to customers as well as for retailers. Bell and Lattin

(1998) describe how pricing strategy is viewed consistently by store managers

as one of the top five priorities in retail management, and how supermarket

retailers are actively engaged in formulating pricing strategies to attract the

consumers to visit their store.

Bell and Lattin (1998) determined two types of pricing strategy (everyday low

price across a wide assortment of product, and temporary deep discount in

certain product categories), which are said to be used by most the

supermarket operators. Consumers will decide which store to go to based on

the pricing strategy and their expected expenditure. Thus, it is important to get

the pricing strategy right. For example, consumers who intend to make large

expenditures prefer to shop at stores that offer ―everyday low price‖, while

small expenditure shoppers will shop at the stores that offer temporary deep

31

discount. This finding was supported by Singh et al (2004), who found that

large basket buyers are more likely to choose the everyday low price strategy.

Price is a very important attribute for consumers, as it is a common and

salient product attribute for most consumers in any purchase decision (Desai

and Talukdar, 2003). Thus, researchers have investigated how consumers

form their perceptions in response to various types of retail pricing and price

related promotion strategies (Lichtenstein et al 1993; Alba et al, 1999; Monroe

and Lee, 1999). Lichtenstein et al (1993) found that consumer perception of

price can influence purchasing behaviour positively or negatively. People are

willing to pay a high price for a product when they perceive price in a positive

role, such as premium price represents prestige, status or high quality. On the

other hand, consumers who perceive price negatively tend to respond to low

price and sales promotion. They are not concerned with the quality they will

get with the price they pay (Moore and Carpenter, 2008).

3.3.4 Promotion

Sales promotions are recognized as a viable competitive weapon for

marketers, with companies investing up to one quarter of the marketing

budget towards promotion efforts (Raghubir et al, 2004). It was found that

promotion will help to build patronage and store traffic (Carpenter and Moore,

2008; Ruiz and Descals, 2008), temporarily increase sales of the promoted

brands (Blatterb et al, 1995), and affect sales of other items (Kumar and

Leonne, 1988; Sivakumar, 2003; Ruiz and Descales, 2008). However,

Martinez and Montaner (2006) found that not all consumers have the same

32

response to sales promotion. Thus, it is important for the marketers to know

which type of promotion can draw the attention of their target segment.

3.3.5 Store Atmosphere

The effect of atmosphere on consumers and employees is recognized by

managers and mentioned extensively in the field of marketing, retailing and

organizational behaviour (Kotler, 1973-1974; Bitner, 1992; Turley and

Miliman, 2000). Many retailers use atmosphere as a marketing tool, as it is

found to be very influential in communicating the company‘s image to the

customers. Research suggests that physical setting may influence the

customer‘s ultimate satisfaction with the service (Kotler, 1973-1974; Doreen

and Benjamin, 2002).

Turley and Miliman (2000) have divided atmospheric stimuli into five

categories:

a) The exterior of the stores

External variables of the environment deserve specific attention because the

exterior is the first set of cues visiting customers encounter. The exteriors

include aspects such as the storefront, entrances, display windows, building

architecture, parking facilities, and the surrounding areas. These elements

must be pleasing and induce approach behaviours for a retail store or service

to be successful (Turley and Milliman, 2000).

33

b) General interior variables

The general interior includes variables such as colour, lighting, scents, width

of aisles, merchandise, cleanliness and temperature. It was found that

positive perceptions of the general interior will increase the time consumers

spend in the store, affect their behaviour, and ultimately increase sales

(Turley and Milliman, 2000).

c) Layout and design variables

Research has found that layout and design have a significant impact on

customers‘ shopping behaviour. Space design and allocation, placement of

merchandise, grouping of merchandise and placement of equipment are

some of the factors that retailers need to consider carefully. Much can be

done to manipulate traffic flow in order to attract consumers to shop through

the whole store. This will allow the merchandise to have a higher exposure

possibility, which in turn will affect the customers‘ in-store expenditure (Davies

and Rands, 1992).

d) Point-of-purchase and decoration variables

Point-of-purchase variables include point-of-purchase displays, signs, product

display, and price display (Turley and Milliman, 2000). According to Chevalier

(1975), a significant percentage of total sales in a supermarket come from

point of purchase displays. This is because customers tend to believe these

are special bargains and often buy something from the display even if they

had no intention of buying the item before they visited the store.

34

e) Human variables

According to Turley and Milliman (2000) and Backstrom and Johansson

(2006), the human variables of a retail store can be divided into two sub

categories. First, is the influence the store personnel have on the customers‘

in-store experience, and the second category is the influence other customers

may have on others. Customers influence on other customers is often

apparent in crowding situations and their behaviour in the store (Turley and

Milliman, 2000).

The store personnel‘s appearance is used to communicate a store‘s image

and attributes to the customers. Customers‘ perception of the service level at

a store will always depend on the employees, as they are the ones who are in

contact the most with customers. Thus, the salesperson‘s mood, appearance

and credibility are important in order for good service encounters to occur.

Good service encounters are crucial to achieve customer satisfaction.

3.3.6 Service

What customers perceive as good service can be having knowledgeable,

helpful and courteous salespeople. Small things like smiling, greeting and

establishing eye contact may also give the customers a positive feeling about

the store (Winsted, 1997). Besides the store personnel‘s service, Lindquist

(1974-1975) has also identified return or exchange policy, delivery service

and credit policies as the attributes of service.

35

It is difficult to determine the service quality, as it is through personal

experience with the store. However, Wisniewski (2001) has identified service

quality as the difference between customer expectation of service and

perceived service. Thus, if the expectation is greater than performance, then

perceived quality is less than satisfactory and, hence, customer dissatisfaction

occurs.

3.4 Customer Satisfaction

Consumer satisfaction is central to the marketing concept. Hutches and

Moutinho (1998) mention that successful companies view customer

satisfaction as an important profit stimulant, a powerful competitive defence

and a tool of differentiation. Satisfaction is also found to influence consumer‘s

subsequent behaviour, such as turn the consumer into a loyal, committed

customer, one who is willing to repurchase, or a customer who switches

brands or discontinues using the product (Kotler and Keller, 2006; Hawkin et

al, 2007).

Satisfaction is defined as a person‘s feeling of pleasure or disappointment

resulting from comparing a product‘s perceived performances and the

expectation (Kotler and Keller, 2006). It is derived from the consumer‘s

personal experiences and is the function of matching the expectation and the

perceived performance. The smaller the gap between the level of expectation

and the matching of such expectation, the greater the level of satisfaction

experienced by consumers and vice versa. For instance, if the performance

falls below expectations, consumers will be disappointed or dissatisfied with

36

the product; if it meets their expectations, the consumers will be satisfied; if it

exceeds expectations, the consumers will be delighted.

Swan and Trawick (1981) have used the disconfirmation-expectation model to

determine consumer satisfaction in a retail environment. According to them,

this model comprises four important steps. The process starts with the

consumer‘s predetermined expectations, which are the beliefs that the store

will achieve certain performance levels based on a set of attributes. In the

second step, the consumer will compare their expectation with the

performance of the attributes when they shop at the store. Expectations are

thus either positively disconfirmed (performance exceeds expectations),

confirmed (performance meets expectations), or negatively disconfirmed

(performance falls below expectations). In the following step, perceived

disconfirmation determines the consumer satisfaction level with the store. In

the last step, consumers will determine the subsequent behaviour, such as

the re-patronise intention.

According to the buying decision process model, satisfaction plays an

important role in the last step of the decision making – post-purchase

behaviour (Kotler and Keller, 2006; Hawkin et al, 2007). It will make a

difference in whether the consumer will buy the product again and talk

favourably or unfavourably about it to others. If the consumers are satisfied,

they will have a higher probability of purchasing the product again and

recommend it to others. On the other hand, dissatisfied consumers may stop

37

using the product and switch to the competitors. In addition, the dissatisfied

consumer may complain or initiate negative word of mouth communication.

Generally, a grocery store is selected because it is thought to be a better

choice compared to the available substitutes. Whether that store is chosen

due to its superior performance or for other reasons, the consumer has a level

of expectation for it. While shopping at the store, the consumer will evaluate

the performance based on their predetermined expectation. The perceived

performance level could meet the expectation, be above the expectation, or

below the expectation. If the store is able to meet or exceed the shopper‘s

expectation, it will be likely that the shopper will shop at the store again.

However, if the shopper perceives that the performance level is below the

expectation, the shopper might not be willing to shop at the store again and

will shop at other stores. Thus, it is important for the marketer to know the

attributes that consumers perceive as important, which will affect the

satisfaction evaluation process.

3.5 Customer Loyalty

The ultimate goal of any company is to establish a loyal and profitable

customer base in order to ensure future profits and longevity of the business.

Given that increased competition has provided the consumers with more store

choices, what is important now is the way in which the retailer is able to

encourage consumers to visit the store again or turn them into a loyal

customer. Bloemer and Ruyter (1997) suggest that there is a difference

between repeat purchasing behaviour and loyalty.

38

Repeat purchasers are important for the company, but mere repeat

purchasers without any feeling for the brand are a threat to the company.

These consumers purchase the brand out of habit or are affected by other

factors such as it is easily available, or the store located near to the house

only has this brand. These customers are said to have no commitment to the

brand and can easily switch their mind to buy other brands. Bloemer and

Ruyter (1997) mentioned that commitment is important and is a necessary

condition for loyalty to occur. If the customers are not loyal to the brand, they

will easily decide to buy other brands at will or be attracted away by

competitors through certain attributes such as promotion or pricing strategies.

Thus, Oliver (1999, p34) defines loyalty as:

―A deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product

or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-

brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and

marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviour‖.

Chaudhuri and Hoibrook (2001) mentioned that the above definition

emphasizes two different aspects of loyalty concept – attitudinal and

behavioural – which have been used in much of the literature. The

behavioural approach conceptualizes loyalty in terms of repeated purchase,

whereas the attitudinal approach posits that loyalty is based on psychological

commitment towards the brand. A consumer is defined as loyal to the brand

he names in response to the question which brand he or she prefers. It is

expected that an increase in attitudinal loyalty will lead to an increase in

behavioural loyalty. For example, for a consumer who has developed a strong

39

emotional tie with a brand leads to greater commitment in the form of

attitudinal loyalty and willingness to repurchase the brand as well as initiate

positive word of mouth communication and recommend it to others.

There is no doubt that a loyal customer base is a competitive asset to any

company. This is because customer loyalty is a key determinant in greater

market share and profitability (Chaudhuri and Hoibrook, 2001). Loyal

customers will continue buying and using the brand again, and it is found that

they will recommend it to others (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Besides that,

retaining existing customers also requires less marketing resources than

recruiting new ones (Koo, 2003; Grace and Cass, 2005).

3.5.1 Store Loyalty

As mentioned earlier, although consumers have changed their store choice

decision by shopping at the new retail format, no research found that

consumers want to rely on a single format for their shopping needs. This

indicates that the shoppers are relying on multiple retail formats to

accommodate their lifestyles and to meet their shopping needs. Thus, it is

difficult to measure consumer loyalty in the retailing concept as it is unlikely

that shoppers only visit one particular store.

Woodside and Trappey (1992) found that although consumers often patronise

various stores, they do have a primary affiliation to a ―main store‖ that

captures the majority of their purchases. Rhee and Dell (2002) also found that

loyal customers would re-patronise and spend a larger budget at the store

40

even though they shop at other places as well. Therefore, some researchers

have defined store loyalty based on the expenditure by the household in the

most preferred store. According to Cunningham (1961), the single store which

has the highest proportion of the household‘s expenditure is identified as their

first or favourite store. In other words, the store loyalty is a measure based on

the consumer‘s expenditure in the store where most money is spent (the first

or favourite store) divided by the total consumer expenditure in the particular

retail category.

3.6 The relationship between store attributes, customer satisfaction and

store loyalty

Most previous studies in retailing suggest that consumer‘s behaviour towards

a store depends on the store attributes (Linquist, 1974-1975; Hansen and

Deutcher, 1977/1978; Westbrook, 1981; Osman, 2001; Doreen and Benjamin,

2003; Koo, 2003; Nguyen et al, 2007). Generally, the more favourable

towards the store image, the higher the chance that the store will be preferred

and visited by the consumers. However, some of the attributes may weigh

more heavily than others in influencing store choice decision. Thus, some

store attributes are more important than others when consumers are deciding

where to shop.

Numerous research has been conducted to examine the impact of store

attributes on customer loyalty (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Osman, 2001; Koo,

2003; Nguyen et al, 2007). Most of the studies found that store attributes have

a positive impact on store loyalty. It is found that the loyalty towards the store

41

is affected by the consumer‘s in store experience with the characteristics of

the store. In other words it is important for the shopper to notice and pay

attention to the attributes, in order to influence their subsequent behaviour

such as re-patronage behaviour. However, a study by Bloemer and Ruyter

(1998) found that store image does not directly influence store loyalty.

Instead, the study suggests that the relationship of store image and store

loyalty is mediated by store satisfaction.

Although most of the previous studies investigated the relationship of store

attributes and customer loyalty in a retail setting, Westbrook (1981) studied

the effect of store attributes from a different perspective. Westbrook examined

the relationship of store attributes and customer satisfaction. The study found

that customer satisfaction is directly affected by their in store experience with

the store characteristics. However, Koo (2003) found that only certain store

attributes (store atmosphere and value) have a positive impact on store

satisfaction.

On the other hand, Oliver (1999) finds that satisfaction is a necessary step in

loyalty formulation. Satisfaction is often regarded as an antecedent of loyalty.

It is found that the re-patronise intention will increase when the consumer

satisfaction increases (Swan and Trawick, 1981; Grace and Cass, 2005).

However, Koo (2003) found that satisfaction has an insignificant positive

effect on store loyalty in the discount retail channel. So, it is worthwhile to

investigate whether satisfaction has a positive impact on store loyalty.

42

3.7 Conclusion

This chapter discusses the relevant literature. Three main topics (store image,

customer satisfaction and store loyalty) are discussed. Besides that, the

relationship of store image, customer satisfaction and store loyalty are also

presented.

In Chapter 4, the discussion will be on the method used in conducting the

research, which includes the research framework, development of hypothesis,

research instruments, sampling and survey method, questionnaire design and

data analysis method.

43

CHAPTER 4- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter outlines the methodology employed in the study. It begins with a

review of the research framework. Then, it provides the hypotheses

developed in this study. Thereafter, the design of the research instrument,

scales and measurements, and the data collection procedure will be

discussed. Finally, the data analysis techniques used are also presented.

4.1 Research Framework

Based on the related theories and literature presented in the previous chapter,

a framework has been developed to investigate the relationship among store

attributes, store satisfaction and store loyalty (see figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1: Research Framework

4.2 Hypothesis Development

Based on the findings from previous studies, this study attempts to investigate

the relationship between store attributes, store satisfaction and store loyalty.

Therefore, the following hypotheses are formulated:

H1: Store attributes have a significant impact on store loyalty

H1a: Products has a significant impact on store loyalty

Store Attributes

Product

Location

Price

Promotion

Services

Store

atmosphere

Customer

Satisfaction

Store

Loyalty

44

H1b: Store atmosphere has a significant impact on store loyalty

H1c: Location has a significant impact on store loyalty

H1d: Price has a significant impact on store loyalty

H1e: Services has a significant impact on store loyalty

H1f: Promotion has a significant impact on store loyalty

H2: Store attributes have a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2a: Products has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2b: Store atmosphere has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2c: Location has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2d: Price has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2e: Services has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2f: Promotion has a significant impact on store satisfaction

H3: Customer satisfaction has a significant impact on store loyalty

4.3 Research Design

This study was confined to the residents of the Klang Valley. The Klang Valley

is the most developed region in Malaysia, as most of the commercial,

business and industries can be found in this area. Nevertheless, most of the

modern retail establishments are also located in this area (KPMG, 2006). The

area also has the largest proportion of the population in the country.

This study used convenience sampling to conduct the research. A sample

size of 300 respondents was targeted. Questionnaires were distributed to

individuals, mainly friends, colleagues and relatives who have primary

responsibility for household grocery purchases.

45

In terms of data collection technique, the study utilized the self-administration

questionnaire method. The data was collected over a period of two weeks.

Questionnaires were distributed to individuals, either through email or

hardcopy, who were asked to help distribute the questionnaires to people who

they know, until the targeted sample size was collected. Then, the

questionnaires were collected from the respondents after the completion of

the questionnaire.

4.4 Measurement Instrument

The survey instrument is a six page questionnaire (see Appendix A). The

questionnaire relevant to this research consists of five sections. Part one

measures respondents‘ shopping pattern in grocery shopping; Part two

measures the importance of store attributes to consumer; Part three

measures customers satisfaction towards the store; Part four measures

consumers‘ loyalty patronage behaviour; and Part five aims to collect the

demographic information of the respondents.

Section one includes the respondents‘ shopping behaviour, as well as

patronage habit and format choice selection. Among the questions asked in

this section are: the frequency the respondents shop for groceries per month,

the amount of time the respondents spend in the grocery store per visit, the

proportion of monthly expenditure spent on groceries, and the frequency of

shopping at the four different retail formats. In order to determine the

respondents‘ preference over the four retail formats, they are asked to rank

46

the format choice according to their preference (1 being the most preferred

and 4 being the least preferred).

Consumer patronage habits are assessed in relation to four different grocery

formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and traditional

grocery stores. In order to define the formats, respondents are given

examples of stores within each category. For example, hypermarkets refer to

Carrefour, Econsave Giant, or Tesco. Supermarkets included Iseten, Cold

Storage or Jusco.

In the second section, the questionnaire sought to measure the consumer‘s

perception towards the importance of store attributes. Thirty one items were

selected from numerous sources to examine the key attributes. These items

cover a variety of possible reasons that consumers choose to shop at the

store. Based on the literature, the thirty one items can be grouped into six

categories, which are product, store atmosphere, location, price, services and

promotion. Each category of the attribute consists of four to seven items. For

example, items included in the product attributes are ―the store has a variety

of product range‖, ―availability of well known brands‖, ―availability of your

favourite item‖, and ―the availability of alternative item if the favourite item is

not there‖. All of the items are measured on a five-point Likert-type scale,

ranging from ―Not Important at all‖ (1), ―Important‖ (2), ―Neutral‖ (3),

―Important‖ (4) and ―Extremely Important‖ (5).

47

Section three of the questionnaire measures customers‘ satisfaction towards

the store. Six items using a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from ―strongly

disagree‖ (1), ―disagree‖ (2), ―neutral‖ (3), ―agree‖ (4) and ‗strongly agree‖ (5)

are used. The items in this section were taken from Debra and Cass (2005);

and Koo (2003). Three items were derived from the study of Koo (2003), and

another three items were derived from the study of Debra and Cass (2005).

The fourth section was designed to measure consumer loyalty towards the

store. Five items using a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging from ―strongly

disagree‖ (1), ―disagree‖ (2), ―neutral‖ (3), ―agree‖ (4) and ‗strongly agree‖ (5)

were used. The items in this section originated from Koo (2003). Koo used

two different variables to measure store loyalty – consumer commitment and

revisit intention. However, this study has combined it as a single variable.

The last section was designed to collect the demographic information of the

respondents. Examples of the demographic variables measured include

gender, ethnicity, age, marital status, occupation, education level, income and

household size. The demographic variables were measured using the closed-

ended multiple choice format.

4.5 Data Analysis Techniques

Statistical analysis of the data collected from the survey was accomplished

using the statistical package for social sciences—SPSS version 15.0

software. Data was first entered into the software and was then screened to

48

exclude any incomplete response or correct the errors found in the data file. A

summary of the data analysis used in this study is listed in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Summary of Types of Analysis Used for Questionnaire

Type of Analysis

Type of Statistics

Section of Questionnaire Objective of Analysis

Descriptive Frequency Analysis, mean and standard deviation

Section 1: Grocery shopping pattern Section 5: Demographics of the respondents

To understand the profile of the respondents and their shopping pattern

Normality Test

Kurtosis, skewness analysis and histogram chart

Section 2: Store attributes Section 3: Customer satisfaction Section 4: Store loyalty

To ensure that the data collected is normally distributed

Validity Test

Factor analysis

Section 2: Store attributes Section 3: Customer satisfaction Section 4: Store loyalty

To ensure that all the variables are not correlated to one another.

Reliability Test

Cronbach‘s alpha

Section 2: Store attributes Section 3: Customer satisfaction Section 4: Store loyalty

To ensure the scale of the measurement are reliable

Bivariate and multiple analysis

Pearson‘s correlation and multiple regression

Section 2: Store attributes Section 3: Customer satisfaction Section 4: Store loyalty

To understand the relationship between store attributes, customer satisfaction and store loyalty

One-way analysis of variance

ANOVA Section 1: Grocery shopping pattern Section 2: Store attributes

To compare the mean score of store attributes among the primary shoppers of different formats.

The normality test was performed at the beginning stage by using SPSS

software in order to determine whether the variables are normally distributed

and also to determine whether the parametric or non-parametric test could be

used in this study.

49

Factor analysis and Cronbach‘s Alpha were conducted to ensure that all the

variables are valid and reliable. This is to ensure that the variables are not

correlated with one another and the scale of measurement is reliable.

Regression analysis was performed in order to test the relationships of the

dependent variables and independent variables. In this study, simple linear

regression and multiple linear regressions with stepwise method was used.

Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the linear relationship between two

variables. On the other hand, multiple linear regressions were used to explore

the relationship between one dependent variable and a number of

independent variables.

ANOVA was used to compare the mean score of store attributes among the

primary shoppers of different formats. This is to understand the factors that

attract the primary shoppers to shop at the particular retail format.

4.6 Conclusion

This chapter provides an overview of the research design, framework and

hypothesis developed for the study. An overview of the questionnaire has also

been discussed. This chapter also discusses the research instrument,

sampling procedure, data collection and data analysis used to conduct the

study.

In the following chapter, the findings of the research will be discussed. It also

identifies the significance of each of the hypotheses as stated in the chapter.

50

CHAPTER 5 – DATA ANALYSIS

This chapter presents the findings of the survey. It begins with a description of

the general characteristics of the respondents. This is followed by an analysis

of the respondents shopping habits. The results of the validity and reliability

tests are also discussed, followed by a test on the hypotheses developed in

the previous chapter. After that, the effect of store attributes on consumer

behaviour is also discussed. Finally, the consumer preference structure of the

retail channel is also presented.

5.1 Demographic Profiles of Respondents

In the data collection process, 380 questionnaires were distributed to

acquaintances within the Klang Valley. However, only 343 questionnaires

were returned. This yielded a return rate of 90.3 percent. Out of which, 27 set

of questionnaires were rejected due to incomplete answers. As a result, the

final questionnaires analyzed consisted of 316 respondents, which yielded a

response rate of 83.2 percent.

Based on the data collected, a demographic profile of the respondents was

constructed. A completed profile of the respondents who participated in the

survey is presented in Table 5.1. Descriptive analysis was carried out in order

to understand the respondents‘ characteristics in number and percentage

form.

There were more females answering the questionnaire than males as 54.7 of

the respondents are female while 45.3 percent are male. In terms of ethnic

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group, 43.4 percent of the respondents are Malay, followed by 38.6 percent

Chinese, 16.1 percent Indian and 1.9 percent other races. From the figures, it

can be seen that participation among the three races is not distributed

according to the composition of the Malaysian population. This is because the

study adopted non probability and convenience sampling method. However,

the disparity of questionnaire distribution among the races is not significant for

the findings as the study is not aimed at any particular ethnic group or any

analysis based on ethnic groups in Malaysia.

Table 5.1: Demographics Profile of the Respondents

Frequency Percentage

Gender Male 143 45.3

Female 173 54.7

Total 316 100

Ethnic Group Malay 137 43.4

Chinese 122 38.6

Indian 51 16.1

Other 6 1.9

Total 316 100

Age (years) 20 and below 14 4.4

21 - 30 years 152 48.1

31 - 40 years 96 30.4

41 - 50 years 34 10.8

51 - 60 years 13 4.1

above 60 years 7 2.2

Total 316 100

Marital Status Single 167 52.8

Married 132 41.8

Divorced/widow 17 5.4

Total 316 100

52

Table 5.1: Continued

Frequency Percentage

Highest Level of Education Secondary school 53 16.8

Diploma 51 16.1

Bachelor Degree 156 49.4

Post Graduate Degree 51 16.1

Others 5 1.6

Total 316 100

Occupation Professional 52 16.46

Manager 65 20.57

Executive 123 38.92

Clerical staff 34 10.76

Full time student 30 9.49

Currently not working/ Retiree 8 2.53

Others 4 1.27

Total 316 100

Monthly Income Below RM 2,000 80 25.3

RM 2,001 - RM 4,000 118 37.3

RM 4,001 - RM 6,000 71 22.5

RM 6,001 - RM 8,000 27 8.5

Above RM 8,000 20 6.3

Total 316 100

Size of Household 1 – 2 80 25.3

3 – 4 116 36.7

5 – 6 88 27.9

7 and above 32 10.1

Total 316 100

A high proportion of the respondents were within the age group of 21 to 30

years (48.1 percent). Slightly less than a third of the respondents (30.4

percent) were within the 31 to 40 years group. The remainder of the sample

came from the age group of 41 to 50 years (10.8 percent), below 21 years

53

(4.4 percent), 51 to 60 years (4.1 percent) and those above 60 years (2.2

percent). In terms of marital status, the largest group fell into the single

category, forming 52.8 percent of the sample. This was followed by 41.8

percent married respondents, while 5.4 percent of respondents were divorced

or widowed.

The education level of the respondents shows that most the people have

education up to college or university. About 49.4 percent of the sample were

bachelor degree holders. Another 16.8 percent were diploma holders, 16.8

percent were secondary school holders, and 16.1 were post graduate holders.

The main reason for the high proportion of the degree holders in the sample

was probably due to the characteristics of urban population.

As most of the respondents have a high education level, it is not surprising

that the results also show that most of them held high positions in their office.

About 38.9 percent of the respondents have acquired an executive position,

while 20.6 percent of the sample were at managerial level. Professional and

clerical staff constituted 16.5 percent and 9.5 percent of the sample,

respectively. Another 2.5 percent of the respondents were retired or

unemployed at the time of survey.

Statistics on the monthly personal income of the respondents show that a

large proportion of the respondents have an income in the range of RM2,001

to RM4,000 (37.3 percent). About one-fourth (25.3 percent) of the

respondents indicated that they have a monthly income of less than RM2,000,

54

while 22.5 percent reported figures in the range of RM4,001 to RM6,000.

Another 8.5 percent of the respondents said that they earned between

RM6,001 to RM8,000. The remaining 6.3 percent earn more than RM8,000

per month.

In terms of size of household, the largest group fell into the range of three to

four members in a family (36.7 percent). The second largest group were those

with five to six family members at 27.8 percent. This was followed by those

with less than 3 family members at 25.3 percent, while the remaining 10.1

percent have more than six family members.

5.2 Consumer’s Grocery Shopping Pattern

This section examines the grocery shopping pattern of the respondents.

Specifically, the following habit will be examined: the frequency of the

respondents shop for the groceries, the amount of time the respondents

spend during a visit, the proportion of the monthly expenditure for groceries

(See table 5.2). Besides that, it also determines the frequency of shopping at

the four different retail formats (See Table 5.3), and the respondent‘s

preference between the four retail formats (see Table 5.4).

With regards to the frequency of visiting a grocery store, the study found that

the majority of the respondents (52.8 percent) shopped 2 to 3 times per month

for groceries. This was followed by respondents who shop less than 2 times

per month (20.9 percent). The remaining respondents shopped at least 4 to 5

times per month (18.7 percent) or more than 6 times per month (7.6 percent).

55

This finding shows that grocery shopping might eventually become a major

activity among Malaysians.

Table 5.2: Consumer’s Grocery Shopping Pattern

Frequency Percentage

How often do you shop for groceries for your household (per month)?

0-1 time 66 20.9

2-3 times 167 52.8

4-5 times 59 18.7

More than 6 times 24 7.6

Total 316 100

How much time you spend at the store each time?

Less than 30 minutes 46 14.6

30 – 60 minutes 169 53.5

60 – 90 minutes 79 25.0

More than 90 minutes 22 7.0

Total 316 100

How much money do you spend on groceries per month?

Less than RM 100 51 16.1

RM 101 – RM 200 82 26.0

RM 201 – RM 300 79 25.0

RM 301 – RM 400 44 13.9

RM 401 – RM 500 25 7.9

More than RM 500 35 11.1

Total 316 100

How do you usually go to the store?

Car 282 89.2

Walk 16 5.1

Public Transportation 18 5.7

Total 316 100

The study found that more than half of the respondents (53.5 percent) spent

about 30 to 60 minutes during the store visit. About one fourth (25.0 percent)

56

of the respondents indicated that they spent about 60 to 90 minutes per visit.

Another 14.5 percent of the respondents said that they spent less than 30

minutes to conduct their grocery shopping. The remaining 7.0 percent of the

respondents indicated that they spent more than 90 minutes in the store each

time.

Concerning the monthly expenditure of the respondents examined, about 26

percent of the respondents indicated that they spent around RM101 to RM200

for groceries, while another 25 percent spent between RM201 to RM300 per

month. Nearly 16.1 percent of the respondents mentioned that they spend

less than RM100 per month for groceries. Another 13.9 percent of the

respondents indicated that the grocery expenditure was in the range of

RM301 to RM400 per month, while 11.1 percent of the sample spend more

than RM500 per month. The remaining 7.9 percent of the respondents spend

between RM401 and RM500 per month. This finding shows that Malaysian

consumers spend quite a significant proportion of their monthly expenditure

on groceries.

The study found that most of the respondents (89.2 percent) use private

transportation such as a car to conduct their grocery shopping. More than 10

percent of the respondents use other modes such as public transportation

(5.7 percent) or walking (5.1 percent). This finding indicates that most of the

respondents have private transportation and that it is more convenient for

them to use a car for their groceries.

57

In relation to the frequency of shopping at each type of different retail format,

Table 5.3 indicates that most people have visited the four different types of

retail format before. This finding supports Woodside and Trappey‘s study in

1992, where consumers do not just depend on one single store for their

groceries. They will usually shop at different types of retail format to fulfil their

needs and wants.

Table 5.3: Frequency of shopping at the four different retail formats

How frequent do you shop for groceries at the following retail formats?

Frequency Hyper-market

Super- market

Convenience Store

Traditional Store

Always

Frequency 111 53 8 23

Percentage 35.1 16.8 2.5 7.3

Often

Frequency 106 108 48 49

Percentage 33.5 34.2 15.2 15.5

Occasionally

Frequency 75 107 124 85

Percentage 23.7 33.9 39.2 26.9

Rarely

Frequency 24 43 120 132

Percentage 7.6 13.6 38 41.8

Never

Frequency 0 5 16 27

Percentage 0 1.6 5.1 8.5

Table 5.3 shows that about two-thirds of respondents always or often shop for

groceries at hypermarkets, respectively at 35.1 percent and 33.5 percent.

Another 23.7 percent of the respondents shop at hypermarkets occasionally

and 7.65 percent of the respondents rarely shop at hypermarkets. None of the

respondents indicated that they have never shopped at a hypermarket before.

As for supermarkets, the majority of the respondents were found to shop often

(34.2 percent) in that retail format. Another 33.9 percent of the respondents

indicated that they shop occasionally in supermarkets. Only 16.8 percent of

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the respondents reported that they always shopped in supermarkets. About

13.6 percent of the respondents mentioned that they rarely shopped in

supermarkets, while the remaining 5.1 percent of respondents indicated that

they never shop in supermarkets.

In terms of convenience store, the survey found that the frequency of

shopping in that format is low. About 39.2 percent of the respondents

mentioned that they shop at convenience stores occasionally. Another 38

percent of the respondents mentioned that they rarely shop in convenience

stores, while 5.1 percent of the respondents reported that they never shop in

convenience stores. Only 15.2 percent of the respondents indicated that they

often shop in convenience stores, and the remaining 2.5 percent always shop

in that format.

As for traditional stores, the majority of the respondents were found to rarely

shop at the store (41.8 percent) and 8.5 percent never shop at traditional

stores. However, 26.9 percent of the respondents were found to shop

occasionally in traditional stores, while 15.5 percent of the respondents

reported to shop often in traditional stores. The remaining 7.3 percent of the

respondents indicated that they always shop in traditional stores.

The study also examines consumers‘ preference of store based on their

ranking (See Table 5.4). It was found that 61.1 percent of the respondents

rank hypermarkets as their most preferred format. This was followed by

supermarkets at 26.3 percent, traditional stores at 7.6 percent and

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convenience stores at 5.1 percent. A total of 47.8 percent of the respondents

rank supermarkets as their second most preferred format. It was not

surprising to find that 60.1 percent of the respondents rank traditional stores

as their least preferred format choice. As mentioned in a few researches,

traditional stores are losing their market share to the new retail format as they

are unable to compete with them in terms of price and product range.

Table 5.4: Retail Format preference ranking

Rank the format choice according to your preference (1 as your most preferred store, 4 as your least preferred store)

Ranking

Hyper- market

Super- market

Convenience Store

Traditional Store

1

Frequency 193 83 16 24

Percentage 61.1 26.3 5.1 7.6

2

Frequency 71 151 61 33

Percentage 22.5 47.8 19.3 10.4

3

Frequency 30 51 167 69

Percentage 9.5 16.1 52.8 21.8

4

Frequency 22 31 72 190

Percentage 7 9.8 22.8 60.1

The results of this finding show that more and more people choose to shop at

hypermarkets. It also determines that they prefer hypermarkets to the other

three retail formats. This finding supports the results found by Morgonasky

(1997), and Seiders and Tigert (2000), where hypermarkets pose a significant

threat to traditional grocery stores.

5.3 Validity Test

The validity test is carried out to ensure that the instrument is tapping the right

concept (Cavana et al, 2001). In other words, it is to confirm that the

60

questions in the questionnaire are measuring the intended concept and not

something else. In most studies, factor analysis was used to reduce a large

number of related variables to a more manageable number. However, in this

study, factor analysis is used to avoid any inter-correlations among the

variables as the items in each of the variable are adopted from numerous

sources. A principal components factor analysis was performed on the total

set of 41 items.

Prior to performing factor analysis, the Kaiser-Mayor-Okin (KMO) measure of

sampling adequacy and Bartlett‘s test of Sphericity were used to determine

the suitability of the data for factor analysis. According to Tabachnick and

Fidell (1996), Bartlett‘s test of Sphericity should be significant (p<.05) in order

for the factor analysis to be considered appropriate, while the minimum value

for a good factor analysis is 0.6 for Kaiser-Mayor-Okin (KMO) index. In this

study, the KMO value is 0.867 and the Bartlett‘s test of Sphericity is significant

(p=.000), therefore it is appropriate to conduct factor analysis (See Table 5.5).

Table 5.5: KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .867

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 6266.717 df 861 Sig. .000

Kaiser‘s criterion was used to determine the number of factors to retain for

further investigation. Using this rule, only factors with an eigenvalue of 1.0 or

more were retained (Pallent, 2001). In this study, only nine components

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recorded eigenvalues above 1. The nine components explain a total of 62.78

percent of the variance. However, after varimax rotation (which was able to

provide a clearer and easier manner to interpret the factor) was performed,

only eight components were retained (See Table 5.6). This is because out of

the three items loaded in component nine, two of the items have a higher

loading on other factors. Thus, this left only one item in component nine.

Therefore, the item ―Availability of Private Brand‖ in component nine was

excluded from further analysis. Some of the items have dual loadings on more

than one factor, however, only the one with the highest loading was taken into

consideration.

Table 5.6: Summary of Factor Analysis

Factor and Variables Factor

Loading

Factor 1(Product)

The availability of well-known brands 0.752

The store has a variety of product range 0.687

The availability of your favourite item 0.641

The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there 0.542

Factor 2 (Promotion)

The store always offers discount and promotion 0.775 The store advertises the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers 0.766 The store always organizes special events (Japanese food fair, Organic Food Fair) 0.754

The store always conducts sampling activities 0.725

The store has a loyalty programme (Member Card) 0.684

Factor 3 (Store Atmosphere)

The store layout makes it easy for you to move around 0.827

The store layout makes it easy for you to find what you need 0.794

The store provides plenty of convenient parking 0.694

The store is clean 0.618

The shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands 0.605

The merchandise display is very attractive 0.561

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Table 6.6: Continued

Factor and Variables Factor

Loading

Factor 4 (Location)

The store is located near to your work place or home 0.610

The store is located in residential area 0.728

The location of the store is easily accessible 0.696

The store is located near to other places which you visit often 0.690

Factor 5 (Price)

The store has overall lower prices than its competitors 0.802

The price is competitive 0.724

The store employing an "everyday low price" strategy 0.694

The price is reasonable for the value of the product 0.674

Factor 6 (Service)

The employees provide prompt services 0.843

The employees are helpful 0.826

The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records 0.803

The store has operation hours convenient to you 0.747

The store has a return or exchange policy 0.695

The store has fast check-out services 0.653

The store accepts most major credit cards 0.603

Factor 7 (Satisfaction)

The store does a good job of satisfying my needs 0.796

The store meets my expectation 0.760

I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience 0.743

I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store 0.704

I made a wise judgement to shop at this store 0.683

Factor 8 (Loyalty)

I will be very likely to shop at this store in the future 0.779

I will frequently shop at this store in the future 0.764

I intend to shop at this store again in the future 0.735

I plan to maintain my shopping at this store 0.704

Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority 0.665

5.4 Reliability Test

A reliability test is conducted to ensure that the instrument measures are

consistent and stable over time (Cavana et al., 2001). In other words, the

63

reliability of the measure is without bias (error free) and, hence, ensures

consistent measurement across time and across the various items in the

instruments.

In this study, the reliability of the standardized scales was confirmed using

Cronbach‘s coefficient alpha. The higher the coefficients, the better the

measuring instruments. However, according to Pallant (2001), Cronbach's

alpha should be at least 0.70 to be considered as acceptable. Besides the

Cronbach‘s Alpha, it is also important to study Corrected Item-Total

Correlation in order to identify the degree to which each item correlates with

the total value (Pallant, 2001).

Table 5.7: Summary of Reliability Statistics

Variable Cronbach’s Alpha N of items

Product 0.761 4

Store Atmosphere 0.788 6

Location 0.749 4

Pricing 0.815 4

Services 0.887 7

Promotion 0.822 5

Satisfaction 0.882 6

Loyalty 0.860 5

In this study, all the Cronbach‘s alpha coefficients show a value higher than

0.07, except for the ―Product‖ variable, which only has an alpha value of 0.670

(See Table 5.7). However, after studying the Correlated Item-Total

Correlations, one of the items in the product ―The availability of private brand‖

was removed due to the low item-total correlations. This supports the finding

64

in the validity test, as it was loaded alone in a different component. After

removing the item, the alpha value for ―product‖ became 0.761, which then

met the minimum acceptable requirement.

5.5 Test of Hypotheses

5.5.1 Relationship of store attributes, customer satisfaction and store

loyalty

Correlation analysis is used to examine the relationship between two

variables in a linear fashion (Pallet, 2001). This study used the Pearson

product-moment correlation coefficients to measure the relationship of the

store attributes (products, location, store atmosphere, promotion, price and

services), customer satisfaction and store loyalty. In terms of the strength of

the relationships between the two variables, Cohen (1988) has suggested

some guidelines to determine whether the relationship of the variables is

small, medium or large (as per Table 5.8).

Table 5.8: Strength of Relationship between Two Variables

Value of Pearson Correlation (r) Strength of the Relationship

r = .10 to .29 or r = -.10 to -.29 Small

r = .30 to .49 or r = -.30 to -.49 Medium

r = .50 to 1.0 or r = -.50 to -1.0 Large

The summary of the correlation and significance are indicated in Table 5.9.

The results show that all the items in hypothesis 1 are supported. It is shown

that various store attributes have a positive impact on store loyalty. The

strength of the relationship ranges from weak to medium. More specifically,

the strength of the relationships is in the following ranking, from the strongest

65

to the weakest. Product (r = .483, p =.000), price (r = .385, p = .000), services

(r= .256, p = .000), location (r= .239, p = .000), promotion (r = .224, p = .000)

and physical facilities (r= .173, p = 002). This result is meaningful and

confirms the result of Nguyen et al (2007), and Koo (2003), where store

attributes have a positive impact on store loyalty. However, it contradicts

Bloemer and Ruyter (1998), who found that attributes of the stores does not

have a direct influence on store loyalty.

Table 5.9: Summary of Correlation Analysis

Variables Pearson Correlation Sig

Strength of the relationship

Store Attributes and Loyalty

Product and Loyalty 0.483** 0.000 Medium

Store atmosphere and Loyalty 0.173** 0.002 Weak

Location and Loyalty 0.239** 0.000 Weak

Price and Loyalty 0.385** 0.000 Medium

Services and Loyalty 0.256** 0.000 Weak

Promotion and Loyalty 0.224** 0.000 Weak

Store Attributes and Satisfaction Product and Satisfaction 0.423** 0.000 Medium

Store atmosphere and Satisfaction 0.214** 0.009 Weak

Location and Satisfaction 0.291** 0.000 Weak

Price and Satisfaction 0.413** 0.000 Medium

Services and Satisfaction 0.357** 0.000 Medium

Promotion and Satisfaction 0.284** 0.000 Weak

Satisfaction and Loyalty 0.583** 0.000 Strong

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The results suggest that hypothesis 2 is supported. All the store images

measured in this study have a positive influence on customer satisfaction.

More specifically, product (r = .423, p =.000), price (r = .413 p = .000),

services (r= .357, p = .000), location (r= .291, p = .000), and promotion (r =

66

.284, p = .000) and store atmosphere (r= .214, p = 009), are statistically

significant in affecting customer satisfaction towards the store. The

relationship of the attributes and satisfaction range from weak to medium, with

product having the strongest relationship with satisfaction, while physical

facilities has the weakest relationship with customer satisfaction. The results

are consistent with Westbrook (1981), Bleomer and Ruyter (1998), and

Doreen and Benjamin (2003), who suggested that store images have a direct

impact on satisfaction.

It is also shown that customer satisfaction has a significant strong positive

effect on store loyalty (r = .583, p = .000). The results imply that hypothesis 3

is supported. The result indicates that if customers are satisfied with the store,

they are more likely to become loyal customers. This supports previous

studies regarding the relationship between store satisfaction and store loyalty

(Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Grace and Cass, 2005), and also confirms the

theory that satisfaction is the key to forming customer loyalty. However, the

result contradicts Koo (2003), who found that customer satisfaction has an

insignificant effect on store loyalty.

In summary, all of the result supported the hypotheses.

Table 5.10: Summary of Result for Hypothesis

Hypothesis Status

H1: Store attributes have a significant impact on store loyalty

H1a: Products has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

H1b: Store atmosphere has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

H1c: Location has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

H1d: Price has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

67

Table 5.10: Continued

Hypothesis Status

H1e: Services has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

H1f: Promotion has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

H2: Store attributes have a significant impact on store satisfaction

H2a: Products has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H2b: Store atmosphere has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H2c: Location has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H2d: Price has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H2e: Services has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H2f: Promotion has a significant impact on store satisfaction Supported

H3: Customer satisfaction has a significant impact on store loyalty Supported

5.6 Multiple Regression Analysis

Multiple regression is used to explore the relationship of one dependent

variable and a number of independent variables. According to Pallant (2001),

multiple regression is able to provide the information about the model as a

whole (all subscales), and the relative contribution of each of the variables

that make up the model (individual subscales).

5.6.1 Store Attributes that Influence Customer Loyalty towards the Store

In this study, multiple regressions are used to examine the relative importance

of the store attributes (products, store atmosphere, location, price, promotion

and services) for making a prediction of store loyalty. From Table 5.11, it can

be seen that this model explains 54.0 percent of the variance of the store

loyalty. The result of the ANOVA test shows that this model reaches statistical

significance (Sig = .000, p<.0005).

68

Table 5.11: Model summary for store loyalty

Model R R

Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .540(a) .292 .278 2.579

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Table 5.12: Result for ANOVA test

Model

Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 847.864 6 141.311 21.239 .000(a) Residual 2055.845 309 6.653 Total 2903.709 315

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Loyalty Table 5.13 Coefficients of Store Attributes and Store Loyalty

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF B

Std. Error

1 (Constant) 1.850 1.795 1.031 .304

Product .504 .076 .368 6.623 .000 .743 1.346 Atmosphere .121 .057 .106 2.131 .034 .933 1.072 Location .074 .074 .051 .992 .322 .851 1.175 Price .242 .070 .197 3.466 .001 .710 1.408 Services .005 .042 .007 .126 .900 .734 1.362

Promotion .027 .051 .028 .539 .590 .850 1.176

a Dependent Variable: Loyalty

From Table 5.13, the following equation can be expressed as:

Loyalty = 1.850 + .504 (Products) + .121 (store atmosphere) + .074 (location)

+ .242 (Price) + .005 (Services) + .027(Promotion)

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From Table 5.13, the beta coefficients also provide a useful comparison of the

relative importance of the store attributes. The results reveal that ―products‖ of

the store (β = .504, p<0.01) is the most significant factor contributing to

forming consumer loyalty towards the store. Since consumers usually

purchase multiple items during a shopping trip, a store with an extensive

merchandise range provides more choice to the consumers and prevents their

need to visit another store. This partly explains why hypermarkets are the

most preferred choice, as consumers are able to take care of as many

shopping needs as possible when visiting the same store (Carpenter, 2008).

Price is found to be the next significant variable (β = .242, p<0.01) that

influences consumer loyalty behaviour. Thus, it is not surprising to find that

pricing strategy is one of the top five priorities in retail management and many

retailers are actively engaged in formulating pricing strategies to attract

consumers to visit the store (Bell and Lattin, 1998).

Store atmosphere is found to be the third most important attribute (β = .121,

p<0.05). A pleasing store atmosphere, which offers comfort to consumers will

enhance the quality of their visit and this will increase the consumers‘ loyalty

towards the store.

5.6.2 Store Attributes that Influence Customer Satisfaction towards the

Store

Multiple regressions are also used to examine the relative importance of the

store attributes (products, store atmosphere, location, price, promotion and

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services) for making predictions of customer loyalty. From Table 5.14, it can

be seen that this model explains 55.2 percent of the variance of the customer

satisfaction towards the store. The results of the ANOVA test are shown in

Table 5.15, which explains that this model reaches statistical significance (Sig

= .000, p<.0005)

Table 5.14: Model Summary for customer satisfaction

Model R R

Square Adjusted R

Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .552(a) .305 .291 2.935

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Satisfaction

Table 5.15 Result for ANOVA test

Model

Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 1280.496 6 213.416 26.458 .000(a) Residual 2492.491 309 8.066 Total 3772.987 315

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Facilities, Location, Price, Services, Products b Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Table 5.16 Coefficients of Store attributes and customer satisfaction

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF B

Std. Error

1 (Constant) 1.207 2.042 .591 .555

Product .369 .087 .235 4.266 .000 .743 1.346 Atmosphere .158 .065 .121 2.454 .015 .933 1.072 Location .182 .085 .111 2.154 .032 .851 1.175 Price .275 .079 .195 3.460 .001 .710 1.408 Services .102 .048 .117 2.116 .035 .734 1.362 Promotion .098 .058 .087 1.698 .090 .850 1.176

a Dependent Variable: Satisfaction

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From Table 5.16, the following equation can be expressed as

From Table 5.16, the beta coefficients provide a useful comparison of the

relative importance of the store attributes. Five variables are found to

contribute unique contributions to the equation. The results reveal that

―products‖ of the store (β = .369, p<0.01) is the most significant factor

contributing to forming consumer satisfaction towards the store. As

consumers usually purchase multiple items during a shopping trip, a store that

is able to provide consumer‘s shopping needs under one roof will increase the

consumer satisfaction level.

Price is found to be the next significant variable (β = .275, p<0.01) that will

influence consumer satisfaction level. This shows that customers will be

satisfied with the store if they find that the price is reasonable for the product.

Location is found to be the third significant variable (β = .182, p<0.05) that will

influence consumer satisfaction level. This shows that customers will be

satisfied with the store if the store is located near to them and is easily

accessible.

Store atmosphere is found to be the next significant variable (β = .158,

p<0.05) that will influence consumer satisfaction level. This shows that

customers will be satisfied with the store if they find that the store atmosphere

is comfortable and enjoyable.

Satisfaction = 1.207 + .369 (Products) + .158 (Atmosphere) + .182 (Location) +

.275 (Price) + .102 (Services) + .098 (Promotion)

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Service is the fifth most important variables (β = .102, p<0.05) that will

influence consumer satisfaction level. This shows that the service provided by

the store is very important in influencing customer satisfaction.

As a conclusion from this finding, it was found that products, price, location,

store atmosphere and services will contribute to form customer satisfaction

towards the store. Thus, it is important for the retailers to use all five of the

variables to increase customers‘ satisfaction level.

5.7 Consumer Preference Structure

As discussed earlier, there are a variety of reasons why consumers visit a

grocery store. As suggested by previous researchers, store attributes such as

product, price, location, and services will influence their retail format choice

(Seiders and Tigert, 2000; Kim and Jin, 2001; Carpenter and Moore, 2006). In

this study, respondents that indicated a particular channel as their most

preferred channel were classified as the primary shoppers of that channel.

This approach was adopted from the study of Seiders and Tigert (2000),

where they define primary shopper as those people who shop most often in a

particular grocery store. Table 5.17 shows the attributes that the primary

shoppers perceive as important in determining their preference of the format

choice.

The top three store attributes among primary shoppers of hypermarkets

(n=193) are product, price and promotion. The result is not surprising as this

retail format is well known for its huge merchandise selection and is able to

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provide competitive pricing. Besides that, most of the hypermarkets in

Malaysia also have a loyalty programme, and promotions to attract more

consumers to the store. By advertising in the newspaper, mailers or flyers, it

will help to create public awareness of the activities of the store, expose

consumers to the offerings of the store, prime them with knowledge of the

availability of merchandise that could cater for their future needs and increase

the likelihood of patronage.

Table 5.17: Mean Score and ranking of Store Attributes among Primary

Shopper by Channel

Hypermarket

(n=193) Supermarket

(n=83) Convenience Store (n=16)

Traditional Store (n=24)

Product 4.09 (1) 4.20 (1) 3.33 (5) 3.77 (2)

Store Atmosphere 3.74 (5) 3.66 (4) 3.67 (3) 3.58 (3)

Location 3.86 (4) 3.98 (2) 4.02 (1) 4.01 (1)

Price 4.02 (2) 3.93 (3) 3.77 (2) 3.57 (4)

Services 3.62 (6) 3.65 (5) 3.58 (4) 3.29 (6)

Promotion 3.90 (3) 3.65 (5) 3.22 (6) 3.32 (5)

Product, location and price are the top three store attributes among

respondents who indicated supermarket as their most preferred store (n= 83).

The result is similar to hypermarket as most supermarkets also offer a large

selection of products at competitive prices. Location also plays an important

part as most supermarkets are located near to the housing area or workplace.

The primary shopper of convenience stores indicated that location, price and

store atmosphere are the three most important attributes in determining their

preference. This is because convenience stores are usually located in places

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that are convenient and easily accessible. However, it is surprising to find that

convenience store shoppers indicate that price is one of the most important

factors, as most of the convenience stores tend to price products higher. This

might be due to the competition becoming more intense, with more

newcomers such as KK-Mart, Carrefour Express and 99 Speedmarts. Some

of the retailers started to position themselves at a lower price.

Those shoppers who mentioned that traditional stores are their most preferred

format indicated that location, product and store atmosphere will influence

their store choice. Price, service and promotion are ranked lowest by the

shoppers because traditional stores do not tend to compete on price and

conduct fewer promotions compared to hypermarkets and supermarkets.

These retailers tend to offer a reasonable product range for shoppers in the

neighbourhood area. Thus, in order for the traditional retailers to compete with

the modern retailers, it is important for them to use pricing, services, and

promotion as the tools to attract more consumers to the store.

Regardless of which retail channel, the most common attributes that

consumers perceive as important are product, location and price. This

indicates that it is important for the retailers to include the three attributes in

their marketing plan. Thus, it is not surprising to find that more and more

retailers are displaying a wider variety of products, or using ―everyday low

price‖ strategy to attract consumers to the store.

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5.8 Conclusion

Based on the results, six factors regarding store attributes, which include

products, promotion, store atmosphere, price, services and location, were

found to influence consumers‘ behaviour, such as customer satisfaction and

loyal patronage behaviour. Moreover, it was found that customer satisfaction

will have an impact on customer loyalty towards the store.

The research found that the consumers shopped in more than one format,

and the reasons for shopping in each format varies from one to another. From

the research, it can be concluded that hypermarkets are the most preferred

format choice among Malaysian consumers.

Chapter 6 will cover the summary and recommendations of this study.

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The final chapter will provide the conclusion for this research. First, an

overview of the study will be provided. Thereafter, the summary of the major

findings, marketing implications, limitations of the study, and suggestion for

further research are presented. Finally, the chapter ends with the concluding

remarks of the study.

6.1 Overview of the study

The study attempts to identify consumer behaviour in the grocery industry in

Malaysia. The emergence of new retail formats in the last few decades has

affected the way consumers shop as they now have more choices to decide

on. Thus, it is important for the retailers to understand the factors that will

affect consumers‘ behaviour.

Specifically, the study examined grocery retailing in Malaysia, evaluated

consumers‘ grocery shopping habits, and the impact of store attributes on

consumer behaviour was also investigated. In addition, the study

endeavoured to examine the relationship between store attributes, customer

satisfaction and store loyalty.

The data for the study was collected through a six page self-administered

questionnaire. The sample consisted of 316 respondents living in the Klang

Valley area. In general, respondents in this survey are dominated by female

(54.7 percent); aged between 21 to 30 years (48.1 percent); Malay (43.4

percent); and single (52.8 percent). The education level attained by the

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respondents is fairly high, with almost 82.3 percent having diploma and above

education level. In terms of occupation, the majority of the respondents are

executives (38.9 percent). More than 74 percent of the respondents have a

monthly income above RM2,000.

6.2 Summary of the research results

The study found that on average Malaysian shoppers shop two to three times

per month for groceries. In terms of the time spent during a store visit, the

study found that the majority of the shoppers spend at least 30 minutes in the

store per visit. When the pattern of monthly expenditure was examined, the

findings show that Malaysian consumers spend quite a significant proportion

of their monthly expenditure on groceries. About 50 percent of the

respondents indicated that they spend around RM101 to RM300 on groceries

every month.

In relation to the frequency of shopping at each type of different retail format,

the study found that Malaysians do not just depend on one single store for

their groceries. This confirms the finding of most researchers where shoppers

tend to shop in more than one retail format for grocery products. However,

hypermarkets were found to be the most preferred format among the

respondents. This was followed by supermarkets, traditional stores and

convenience stores. The study also found that some of the respondents do

not shop in supermarkets, traditional stores, or convenience stores.

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The study also investigated the factors that influence the behaviour of the

consumers towards the grocery store. The results show that products, price,

promotion, services, location and store atmosphere are the attributes that will

affect the customer satisfaction level and will be able to attract the consumers

to visit the store.

The study also provides a useful comparison of the relative importance of

store attributes. It was found that products, price and store atmosphere are

the three most important factors in determining customer loyalty. On the other

hand, all factors except promotion were found to play important roles in

determining customers‘ satisfaction level.

In terms of testing the relationship of satisfaction and loyalty, the study found

that re-patronage intention will increase when the customer satisfaction level

increases. Thus, it can be said that satisfaction is a necessary step in loyalty

formulation.

The study found that store attributes play an important role in influencing

consumer‘s preference for the four retail formats. It was found that consumers

tend to shop at different retail formats for diverse reasons. For example,

shoppers who prefer hypermarkets indicate that product and price are the two

most important attributes. For those respondents who prefer supermarkets,

they mentioned that product and location are the top two store attributes that

will affect their preference. On the other hand, convenience store shoppers

placed location and price as the two most important attributes in forming their

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preference towards the store. Shoppers who prefer traditional stores indicated

that location, and product will influence their store choice preference.

In conclusion, the results show that all hypotheses are supported. The results

show that products, price, promotion, services, location and store atmosphere

are the attributes that affect customer satisfaction level and will attract

consumers to visit the store. It was also found that satisfied customers tend to

become loyal customers. Thus, there is a linkage between store attributes,

customer satisfaction and store loyalty.

6.3 Marketing Implications

The study suggests that grocery retailers can benefit from understanding the

consumers, and factors that influence their behaviour. The results of this

study have several important implications. First, the study attempted to

analyze grocery channels in Malaysian. It was found that hypermarkets are

the most popular and preferred channel. This suggests that hypermarkets

have a competitive advantage in the industry, and, thus, encourages investors

to invest in this channel by opening more outlets in Malaysia.

Second, the study also found that store attributes will influence consumer‘s

behaviour, in terms of their satisfaction and re-patronage intention. Six

attributes (price, promotion, location, product, services, and store

atmosphere) were found to have an impact on consumers‘ behaviour.

However, consumers weigh the attributes differently. Some of the attributes

are perceived as more important than others. Overall, products and price are

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the most important attributes that will contribute to forming customer

satisfaction and loyalty behaviour. Perhaps the retailers could capitalize on

this desire to offer a better merchandise assortment at competitive prices. But

small grocery retailers will not be able to compete with large or chain retailers

in terms of pricing and product assortment. Thus, it is important for the small

retailers to emphasize other attributes in order to survive in this competitive

market.

Third, the consumer preference structure suggests that there is a relationship

between the retail format and store attributes. The importance of attributes

perceived by consumers differs across retail formats. The attributes of the

store will help consumers to differentiate the store format. For example, the

study suggests that consumers shop in hypermarkets because of the wide

selection of merchandise and competitive pricing. On the other hand,

traditional grocery stores were selected by the primary shopper due to the

convenient location, which is usually within the neighbourhood area. Thus, the

retail store image should be based upon the priorities of the store‘s target

market. They must be able to differentiate clearly from others, in order to

attract the intended target market segment.

Therefore, careful consideration of attributes to build up the store image and

attract consumers is an imperative task for retailers. It is important for them to

understand why their business is affected and how they can maintain

consumer loyalty.

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6.4 Limitations of the study

The study faces some limitations, which are explained below:

i. This study was limited to consumers in the Klang Valley area only,

which may not be truly representative of the total market. This is

because, as mentioned earlier, traditional grocery stores are losing

their market share to the new emergents in large cities, but is still

strong in rural areas. Thus, consumers in the Klang Valley might have

a preference towards the new retail format compared to the traditional

grocery stores. The results might be different if other states or smaller

towns were included in this study.

ii. The study only focused on six factors (products, price, promotion,

services), to examine the impact of store attributes on customers

behaviours. There are still many other factors that can be taken into

consideration, such as consumer‘s attitude towards the store.

iii. The findings of this research are interpreted within a sample size of

300, which is considered small. A larger sample might produce

different results and different implications. A larger and diverse sample

is able to produce more generalized results.

Despite the above shortcomings, the findings of the research could provide

insights into the impact of store attributes towards consumer‘s re-patronage

intention.

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6.5 Suggestion for Further Research

There are many areas on which further research can be conducted to gain a

better understanding of consumer behaviour in the grocery market in

Malaysia. First, as this study is limited in location and sample size,

subsequent research should consider a larger and more diverse sample

drawn from every part of the country. This is because a geographically and

demographically diverse sample is important for the purpose of clear

generalizability.

Second, the impact of consumer demographics was not studied here. Many

previous studies have found that consumer demographics play an important

role in affecting consumer behaviour. It was found that consumer

demographics will affect their format choice and also perception of the

important of attributes. Thus, it would be useful to examine the relationship of

consumer demographics and store attributes or format choice. This will help

identify the profile of consumers who frequent specific formats and examine

store attributes as the driver of their format choice.

Lastly, it is also important to examine store loyalty from a different or broader

perspective. Although store attributes play an important role in affecting

consumer‘s behaviour, it is not the only key to store loyalty. Other factors such

as consumer‘s attitude towards the store, shopper‘s characteristics or

motivation may also become one of the important factors that influence

consumer behaviour.

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6.6 Concluding Remarks

Malaysia has experienced dramatic changes in the retailing industry in recent

decades, with the emergence of new retail formats such as hypermarkets,

supermarkets and convenience stores. As a result, it has affected the way

consumers shop as they have more choices to choose from. Thus, it is

important for the grocery retailers in Malaysia to understand the factors that

influence consumers‘ behaviour. The findings obtained from this study will be

able to help grocery retailers in designing their marketing strategy to tackle

the fierce competition in the present retail channels in the grocery industry.

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APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE

UNIVERSITI MALAYA

FACULTY OF BUSINESS & ACCOUNTANCY

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Research Title: The Impact of Store Attributes on Consumer Shopping

Behaviour: A study in the Grocery Industry

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am conducting a study on consumer grocery shopping behavior in Malaysia. This

reserach is conducted as a partial requirement for the completion of the Master of

Business Administration, University of Malaya.

I would appreciate if you could spend a few minutes (not more than 10 minutes) of

your time to answer the questions in the following pages. All information will be used

for academic purpose only and will be kept strictly private and confidential.

Your kind cooperation and participation in this survey is valued and highly

appreciated.

This research is conducted under the supervision of Dr. Yusniza Kamarulzaman.

Should you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact me at 012-2081048

or email me at w_t_lee@yahoo.com.

Sincerely, Supervisor,

Lee Wei Ting Dr. Yusniza Kamarulzaman

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Tel: 03- 7967 3915

University of Malaya Email :yusniza@um.edu.my

Level 2, Block C

City Campus Complex

Jalan Tun Ismail

50480 Kuala Lumpur

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Part 1: Grocery Shopping Pattern

Instruction: Please tick (√) on the appropriate column or space provided

1. How often do you shop for groceries for your household (per month)?

0-1 time

2-3 times

4-5 times

more than 6 times

2. How much time you spend at the store each time?

less than 30 minutes

30 - 60 minutes

60 - 90 minutes

more than 90 minutes

3. Please indicate how much money you spend for groceries per month?

less than RM 100

RM 100 - RM200

RM 201 - RM 300

RM 301 - RM 400

RM 401 - RM 500

more than RM 500

4. How do you usually go to the store?

Car

Walk

Public Transportation

Others (Please specify):

5. Please indicate how frequent you shop for groceries at each the following type of

retailer?

Always Often Occasionally Rarely Never

a) Hypermarket (eg: Giant, Tesco,

Carrefour)

b) Supermarket (eg: Jaya Jusco,

Isetan, Cold Storage)

c) Convenience Stores (eg: KK

Mart, 7-Eleven, 99-Speedmart)

d) Traditional grocery Store (eg:

Mini market, Medical Hall)

6. Please rank the following format choice according to your preference (1 as your

most preferred store, and 4 as the least preferred)

a) Hypermarket

b) Supermarket

c) Traditional grocery store

d) Convenience store

91

Part 2: Store Attributes

Instruction: Please tick (√) at the appropriate column which indicate the level of perceive

importance of store attributes when shopping at your most preferred store.

Scales:

1= Not Important At All, 2= Not Important, 3=Neutral, 4=Important, 5=Extremely

Important

1. Product 1 2 3 4 5

a) The store has a variety of product range

b) The availability of well-known brands

c) The availability of your favourite item

d) The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is

not there

e) The availability of private brand (eg: Tesco brand, Giant

brand)

2. Store Atmosphere 1 2 3 4 5

a) The store is clean

b) The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need

c) The store layout make it easy for you to move around

d) The merchandise display is very attractive

e) The store provides plenty of convenient parking

f) The shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands

3. Location 1 2 3 4 5

a) The store is located near to your work place or home

b) The store is located in residential area

c) The store is located near to other places which you visit

often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafe, Restaurant)

d) The location of the store is easily accessible

4. Price 1 2 3 4 5

a) The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy

b) The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors

c) The price is reasonable for the value of the product

d) The price is competitive

5. Promotion 1 2 3 4 5

a) The store always offer discount and promotion

b) The store always conduct sampling activities

c) The store has loyalty program (Member Card)

d) The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or

mailers or flyers

e) The store always organized special events (Japanense food

fair, Organic Food Fair)

92

6. Services 1 2 3 4 5

a) The employees are helpful

b) The employees provide prompt services

c) The employees are courteous

d) The store insists on error-free sales transactions and

records

e) The store accept most major credit cards

f) The store has operation hours convenient to you

g) The store has many cashier counters to shorten the

queue

Part 3: Satisfaction

Instruction: Please tick (√) at the appropriate column which most closely matches

your feeling after visiting the store

Scales:

1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

1. The store meet my expectation

2. The store does a good job of satisfying my needs

3. I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience

4. I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store

5. I made a wise judgement to shop at this store

6. I made the right decision when I decided to shop at this

store

Part 4: Repatronage Intention

Instruction: Please tick (√) at the appropriate column which most closely matches

your intention after visiting the store

Scales:

1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

1. I plan to maintain my shopping at this store

2. I will frequently shop at this store in the future

3. I will very likely to shop at this store in the future

4. Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority

5. I intend to shop at this store again in the future

Scales:

1= Not Important At All, 2= Not Important, 3=Neutral, 4=Important, 5=Extremely

Important

93

Part 5: Demographics

Instruction: Please tick (√) for an appropriate answer in the column provided

1. Gender

Male Female

2. Ethic Group

Malay Chinese

Indian Others (Please specify):

3. Age (years)

below 21 years 41-50 years

21 - 30 years 51-60 years

31 - 40 years above 60 years

4. Marital Status

Single Married

Divorced/widow

5. Highest level of Education

Secondary School Post Graduate Degree

Diploma Others (Please specify):

Bachelor Degree

6. Occupation

Professional Full time student

Manager Currently not working/ Retiree

Executive Others (Please specify):

Clerical staff

7. Monthly Income

Below RM 2,000 RM 6,001 - RM 8,000

RM 2,000- RM 4,000 Above RM 8,000

RM 4,001 - RM 6,000

8. Size of household (including yourself)

1-2 5-6

3-4 7 and above

****Thank you very much for your time*****

94

APPENDIX II SPSS OUTPUT Frequency of Respondent Gender

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Male 143 45.3 45.3 45.3 Female 173 54.7 54.7 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Ethic Group

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Malay 137 43.4 43.4 43.4 Indian 51 16.1 16.1 59.5 Chinese 122 38.6 38.6 98.1 Others 6 1.9 1.9 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Age

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Below 21 years 14 4.4 4.4 4.4 21-30 years 152 48.1 48.1 52.5 31-40 years 96 30.4 30.4 82.9 41-50 years 34 10.8 10.8 93.7 51-60 years 13 4.1 4.1 97.8 Above 60 years 7 2.2 2.2 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Education Level

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Secondary School 53 16.8 16.8 16.8 Diploma 51 16.1 16.1 32.9 Bachelor Degree 156 49.4 49.4 82.3 Post Graduate

Degree 51 16.1 16.1 98.4

Others 5 1.6 1.6 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

95

Marital Status

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Single 167 52.8 52.8 52.8 Divorced/widow 17 5.4 5.4 58.2 Married 132 41.8 41.8 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Occupation

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Professional 52 16.5 16.5 16.5 Manager 65 20.6 20.6 37.0 Executive 123 38.9 38.9 75.9 Clerical staff 34 10.8 10.8 86.7 Full time student 30 9.5 9.5 96.2 Currently not

working/ Retiree 8 2.5 2.5 98.7

Others 4 1.3 1.3 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Monthly Income

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Below RM 2000 80 25.3 25.3 25.3 RM 2000 - RM 4000 118 37.3 37.3 62.7 RM 4001 - RM 6000 71 22.5 22.5 85.1 RM 6001 - RM 8000 27 8.5 8.5 93.7 Above RM 8000 20 6.3 6.3 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Household Size

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1-2 80 25.3 25.3 25.3 3-4 116 36.7 36.7 62.0 5-6 88 27.8 27.8 89.9 7 and above 32 10.1 10.1 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How often do you shop for groceries for your household (per month)?

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 0-1 time 66 20.9 20.9 20.9 2-3 times 167 52.8 52.8 73.7 4-5 times 59 18.7 18.7 92.4 more than 6 times 24 7.6 7.6 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

96

How much time you spend at the store each time?

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Less than 30 minutes 46 14.6 14.6 14.6 30 - 60 minutes 169 53.5 53.5 68.0 60 - 90 minutes 79 25.0 25.0 93.0 More than 90 minutes 22 7.0 7.0 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How much money you spend for groceries per month

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Less than RM 100 51 16.1 16.1 16.1 RM 100 - RM 200 82 25.9 25.9 42.1 RM 201 - RM 300 79 25.0 25.0 67.1 RM 301 - RM 400 44 13.9 13.9 81.0 RM 401 RM 500 25 7.9 7.9 88.9 More than RM 500 35 11.1 11.1 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How do you usually go to the store?

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Car 282 89.2 89.2 89.2 Walk 16 5.1 5.1 94.3 Public Transportation 18 5.7 5.7 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How often you shop for groceries at hypermarket

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Always 111 35.1 35.1 35.1 Often 106 33.5 33.5 68.7 Occasionally 75 23.7 23.7 92.4 Rarely 24 7.6 7.6 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How often you shop for groceries ay supermarket

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Always 53 16.8 16.8 16.8 Often 108 34.2 34.2 50.9 Occasionally 107 33.9 33.9 84.8 Rarely 43 13.6 13.6 98.4 Never 5 1.6 1.6 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

97

How often you shop for groceries at convenience store

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Always 8 2.5 2.5 2.5 Often 48 15.2 15.2 17.7 Occasionally 124 39.2 39.2 57.0 Rarely 120 38.0 38.0 94.9 Never 16 5.1 5.1 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

How often you shop for groceries at traditional store

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid Always 23 7.3 7.3 7.3 Often 49 15.5 15.5 22.8 Occasionally 85 26.9 26.9 49.7 Rarely 132 41.8 41.8 91.5 Never 27 8.5 8.5 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Rank the format choice (Hypermarket) according to your preference

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1st Most preferred 193 61.1 61.1 61.1 2nd most preferred 71 22.5 22.5 83.5 3rd most preferred 30 9.5 9.5 93.0 Least preferred 22 7.0 7.0 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Rank the format choice (Supermarket) according to your preference

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1st most preferred 83 26.3 26.3 26.3 2nd most preferred 151 47.8 47.8 74.1 3rd most preferred 51 16.1 16.1 90.2 4rd most preferred 31 9.8 9.8 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

Rank the format choice (convenience store) according to your preference

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1st most preferred 16 5.1 5.1 5.1 2nd most preferred 61 19.3 19.3 24.4 3rd most preferred 167 52.8 52.8 77.2 4th most preferred 72 22.8 22.8 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

98

Rank the format choice (traditional grocery store) according to your preference

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1st most preferred 24 7.6 7.6 7.6 2nd most preferred 33 10.4 10.4 18.0 3rd most preferred 69 21.8 21.8 39.9 4th most preferred 190 60.1 60.1 100.0 Total 316 100.0 100.0

99

NORMALITY TEST Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent

Product 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Atmosphere 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Location 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Price 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Services 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Promotion 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Satisfaction 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0% Loyalty 316 100.0% 0 .0% 316 100.0%

Descriptive

Statistic Std. Error

Product Mean 16.23 .125 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

15.98

Upper Bound 16.47

5% Trimmed Mean 16.29 Median 16.00 Variance 4.907 Std. Deviation 2.215 Minimum 8 Maximum * Range 12 Interquartile Range 3 Skewness -.349 .137 Kurtosis -.011 .273 Atmosphere Mean 22.22 .149 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

21.92

Upper Bound 22.51

5% Trimmed Mean 22.28 Median 23.00 Variance 7.041 Std. Deviation 2.653 Minimum * Maximum * Range 17 Interquartile Range 3 Skewness -.582 .137

100

Kurtosis 1.077 .273 Location Mean 15.63 .119 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

15.40

Upper Bound 15.86

5% Trimmed Mean 15.66 Median 16.00 Variance 4.488 Std. Deviation 2.118 Minimum 8 Maximum * Range 12 Interquartile Range 3 Skewness -.351 .137 Kurtosis .977 .273 Price Mean 15.79 .139 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

15.52

Upper Bound 16.06

5% Trimmed Mean 15.88 Median 16.00 Variance 6.096 Std. Deviation 2.469 Minimum 8 Maximum * Range 12 Interquartile Range 3 Skewness -.520 .137 Kurtosis .462 .273 Services Mean 26.09 .225 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

25.65

Upper Bound 26.53

5% Trimmed Mean 26.14 Median 27.00 Variance 15.944 Std. Deviation 3.993 Minimum * Maximum * Range 20 Interquartile Range 4

101

Skewness -.292 .137 Kurtosis .086 .273 Promotion Mean 18.78 .174 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

18.44

Upper Bound 19.12

5% Trimmed Mean 18.88 Median 19.00 Variance 9.581 Std. Deviation 3.095 Minimum * Maximum * Range 15 Interquartile Range 4 Skewness -.438 .137 Kurtosis .379 .273 Satisfaction Mean 22.43 .196 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

22.04

Upper Bound 22.81

5% Trimmed Mean 22.52 Median 23.00 Variance 12.150 Std. Deviation 3.486 Minimum * Maximum * Range 17 Interquartile Range 5 Skewness -.353 .137 Kurtosis -.030 .273 Loyalty Mean 18.35 .171 95%

Confidence Interval for Mean

Lower Bound

18.01

Upper Bound 18.68

5% Trimmed Mean 18.41 Median 19.00 Variance 9.218 Std. Deviation 3.036 Minimum * Maximum * Range 15

102

Interquartile Range 4 Skewness -.412 .137 Kurtosis .418 .273

Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnov(a) Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Product .108 316 .000 .967 316 .000 Atmosphere .129 316 .000 .961 316 .000 Location .139 316 .000 .957 316 .000 Price .138 316 .000 .958 316 .000 Services .098 316 .000 .980 316 .000 Promotion .103 316 .000 .970 316 .000 Satisfaction .120 316 .000 .977 316 .000 Loyalty .126 316 .000 .967 316 .000

a Lilliefors Significance Correction

103

VALIDITY TEST – FACTOR ANALYSIS KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .867

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 6266.717 df 861 Sig. .000

Communalities

Initial Extraction The store has a variety of product range 1.000 .673 The availability of well-known brands 1.000 .656 The availability of your favourite item 1.000 .650 The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there

1.000 .604

The availability of private brand (eg: Tesco brand, Giant brand)

1.000 .676

The store is clean 1.000 .459 The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need 1.000 .669 The store layout make it easy for you to move around 1.000 .728 The merchandise display is very attractive 1.000 .348 The store provides plenty of convenient parking 1.000 .544 the shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands 1.000 .417 The store is located near to your work place or home 1.000 .689 The store is located in residential area 1.000 .610 The store is located near to other places which you visit often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafes, Restaurants)

1.000 .626

The location of the store is easily accessible 1.000 .638 The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy 1.000 .637 The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors 1.000 .733 The price is reasonable for the value of the product 1.000 .612 The price is competitive 1.000 .651 The employees are helpful 1.000 .727 The employees provide prompt services 1.000 .770 The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records 1.000 .714 The store has return or exchange policy 1.000 .576 The store accept most major credit cards 1.000 .478 The store has operation hours convenient to you 1.000 .643 The store has many check-out counters 1.000 .536 The store always offer discount and promotion 1.000 .639 The store always conduct sampling activities 1.000 .618 The store has loyalty program (Member Card) 1.000 .560 The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers

1.000 .672

The store always organized special events (Japanense food fair, Organic Food Fair)

1.000 .606

The store meet my expectation 1.000 .683 The store does a good job of satifying my needs 1.000 .733 I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience 1.000 .703 I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store 1.000 .649 I made a wise judgement to shop at this store 1.000 .596 I made the right decision when I decided to shop at this store 1.000 .588

104

I plan to maintain my shopping at this store 1.000 .677 I will frequently shop at this store in the future 1.000 .701 I will very likely to shop at this store in the future 1.000 .705 Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority 1.000 .548 I intend to shop at this store again in the future 1.000 .623

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Total Variance Explained

Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared

Loadings

Total % of

Variance Cumulative

% Total % of

Variance Cumulative

%

1 9.819 23.380 23.380 9.819 23.380 23.380 2 3.313 7.888 31.268 3.313 7.888 31.268 3 2.809 6.689 37.957 2.809 6.689 37.957 4 2.636 6.275 44.232 2.636 6.275 44.232 5 1.985 4.726 48.957 1.985 4.726 48.957 6 1.739 4.141 53.098 1.739 4.141 53.098 7 1.655 3.941 57.040 1.655 3.941 57.040 8 1.329 3.164 60.203 1.329 3.164 60.203 9 1.081 2.574 62.777 1.081 2.574 62.777 10 .942 2.243 65.020 11 .880 2.094 67.114 12 .854 2.033 69.147 13 .806 1.920 71.067 14 .784 1.868 72.934 15 .751 1.788 74.722 16 .703 1.674 76.397 17 .661 1.573 77.970 18 .630 1.501 79.471 19 .584 1.391 80.862 20 .564 1.343 82.206 21 .540 1.286 83.492 22 .515 1.226 84.718 23 .473 1.127 85.845 24 .470 1.120 86.965 25 .445 1.059 88.024 26 .419 .997 89.021 27 .409 .974 89.995 28 .399 .951 90.946 29 .396 .942 91.888 30 .361 .859 92.747 31 .332 .790 93.537 32 .324 .771 94.308 33 .314 .747 95.055 34 .303 .721 95.775 35 .291 .693 96.468 36 .258 .613 97.082 37 .252 .600 97.682 38 .241 .574 98.256

105

39 .221 .525 98.781 40 .197 .470 99.251 41 .171 .408 99.659 42 .143 .341 100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

106

Rotated Component Matrix(a)

Component

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The employees provide prompt services .843 The employees are helpful .826

The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records .803 The store has operation hours convenient to you .747 The store has return or exchange policy .695 The store has many check-out counters .653 The store accept most major credit cards .603 The store does a good job of satifying my needs .796 The store meet my expectation .760 I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience .743 I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store .704 I made a wise judgement to shop at this store .683 I made the right decision when I decided to shop at this store .626 .320

I will very likely to shop at this store in the future .779 I will frequently shop at this store in the future .764

I intend to shop at this store again in the future .735 I plan to maintain my shopping at this store .333 .704

Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority .665 The store always offer discount and promotion .775 The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers

.766

The store always organized special events (Japanense food fair, Organic Food Fair)

.754

The store always conduct sampling activities .725 The store has loyalty program (Member Card) .684 The store layout make it easy for you to move around .827

107

The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need .794

The store provides plenty of convenient parking .694 The store is clean .618 the shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands .605

The merchandise display is very attractive .561 The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors .802 The price is competitive .724 The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy .694 The price is reasonable for the value of the product .674 The store is located near to your work place or home .761 The store is located in residential area .728 The location of the store is easily accessible .696 The store is located near to other places which you visit often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafes, Restaurants)

.690 .312

The availability of well-known brands .752

The store has a variety of product range .687 The availability of your favourite item .641 The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there .542 .375

The availability of private brand (eg: Tesco brand, Giant brand) .774

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a Rotation converged in 6 iterations.

108

RELIABILITY TEST

Scale: Product Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.670 5

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store has a variety of product range 4.29 .742 316 The availability of well-known brands 3.89 .737 316

The availability of your favourite item 4.22 .690 316 The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there

3.83 .732 316

The availability of private brand (eg: Tesco brand, Giant brand)

2.92 .982 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if

Item Deleted

The store has a variety of product range

14.85 4.576 .471 .599

The availability of well-known brands

15.26 4.445 .525 .576

The availability of your favourite item

14.93 4.531 .549 .570

The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there

15.32 4.471 .521 .578

The availability of private brand (eg: Tesco brand, Giant brand)

16.23 4.907 .172 .761

Scale Statistics

Mean Varianc

e Std.

Deviation N of

Items

19.15 6.620 2.573 5

109

Scale: Store Atmosphere Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.788 6

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store is clean 3.79 .590 316 The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need

3.85 .610 316

The store layout make it easy for you to move around

3.78 .652 316

The merchandise display is very attractive

3.53 .603 316

The store provides plenty of convenient parking

3.79 .707 316

the shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands

3.46 .639 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if Item

Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if

Item Deleted

The store is clean 18.42 5.388 .477 .770 The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need

18.36 4.918 .647 .730

The store layout make it easy for you to move around

18.44 4.666 .692 .716

The merchandise display is very attractive

18.69 5.473 .426 .781

The store provides plenty of convenient parking

18.42 4.816 .555 .752

the shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands

18.76 5.321 .445 .778

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std. Deviation N of Items

22.22 7.041 2.653 6

110

Scale: Location Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.749 4

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store is located near to your work place or home

4.09 .698 316

The store is located in residential area 3.73 .727 316 The store is located near to other places which you visit often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafes, Restaurants)

3.71 .669 316

The location of the store is easily accessible 4.10 .710 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if

Item Deleted

The store is located near to your work place or home

11.54 2.624 .609 .654

The store is located in residential area

11.90 2.641 .558 .683

The store is located near to other places which you visit often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafes, Restaurants)

11.92 3.015 .442 .744

The location of the store is easily accessible

11.53 2.663 .570 .676

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of Items

15.63 4.488 2.118 4

111

Scale: Price Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.815 4

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy

3.86 .812 316

The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors

3.95 .791 316

The price is reasonable for the value of the product

4.02 .745 316

The price is competitive 3.97 .727 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if

Item Deleted

The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy

11.93 3.608 .592 .789

The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors

11.84 3.384 .716 .727

The price is reasonable for the value of the product

11.78 3.762 .615 .776

The price is competitive 11.83 3.808 .620 .775

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of Items

15.79 6.096 2.469 4

112

Scale: Services Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.887 7

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The employees are helpful 3.61 .693 316 The employees provide prompt services 3.74 .715 316

The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records

3.78 .765 316

The store has return or exchange policy 3.56 .768 316 The store accept most major credit cards 3.66 .792 316 The store has operation hours convenient to you

3.92 .688 316

The store has many check-out counters 3.83 .742 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item

Deleted

The employees are helpful 22.48 11.965 .730 .865 The employees provide prompt services

22.35 11.658 .773 .860

The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records

22.31 11.486 .747 .862

The store has return or exchange policy

22.53 12.028 .625 .878

The store accept most major credit cards

22.44 12.177 .568 .886

The store has operation hours convenient to you

22.17 12.110 .702 .869

The store has many check-out counters

22.27 12.113 .635 .876

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of

Items

26.09 15.944 3.993 7

113

Scale: Promotion Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.822 5

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store always offer discount and promotion

4.11 .637 316

The store always conduct sampling activities

3.61 .826 316

The store has loyalty program (Member Card)

3.79 .879 316

The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers

3.70 .789 316

The store always organized special events (Japanense food fair, Organic Food Fair)

3.56 .891 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item

Deleted

The store always offer discount and promotion

14.67 7.016 .639 .788

The store always conduct sampling activities

15.17 6.299 .627 .784

The store has loyalty program (Member Card)

14.99 6.279 .574 .802

The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers

15.08 6.352 .655 .776

The store always organized special events (Japanense food fair, Organic Food Fair)

15.22 6.073 .618 .788

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of

Items

18.78 9.581 3.095 5

114

Scale: Satisfaction Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.882 6

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

The store meet my expectation 3.80 .766 316 The store does a good job of satisfying my needs

3.77 .747 316

I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience

3.71 .724 316

I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store

3.72 .707 316

I made a wise judgement to shop at this store

3.70 .723 316

I made the right decision when I decided to shop at this store

3.73 .727 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item

Deleted

The store meet my expectation 18.63 8.526 .678 .864 The store does a good job of satisfying my needs

18.66 8.462 .721 .857

I believe that using this store is a very satisfying experience

18.72 8.489 .743 .853

I am satisfied with my decision to shop at this store

18.71 8.773 .687 .862

I made a wise judgement to shop at this store

18.73 8.738 .677 .864

I made the right decision when I decided to shop at this store

18.70 8.833 .645 .869

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of

Items

22.43 12.150 3.486 6

115

Scale: Loyalty Case Processing Summary

N %

Cases Valid 316 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0 Total 316 100.0

a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.860 5

Item Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

I plan to maintain my shopping at this store 3.73 .818 316 I will frequently shop at this store in the future

3.66 .744 316

I will very likely to shop at this store in the future

3.69 .713 316

Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority

3.52 .758 316

I intend to shop at this store again in the future

3.75 .754 316

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if

Item Deleted

I plan to maintain my shopping at this store

14.62 5.779 .705 .825

I will frequently shop at this store in the future

14.68 5.988 .735 .817

I will very likely to shop at this store in the future

14.66 6.180 .714 .823

Shopping in this store is my first choice or priority

14.83 6.390 .588 .854

I intend to shop at this store again in the future

14.60 6.190 .655 .837

Scale Statistics

Mean Variance Std.

Deviation N of

Items

18.35 9.218 3.036 5

116

CORRELATION

Product Atmosphere Location Price Services Promotion Satisfaction Loyalty

Product Pearson Correlation

1 .077 .339(**) .399(**) .317(**) .305(**) .423(**) .483(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .170 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Atmosphere Pearson

Correlation .077 1 .040 .156(**) .236(**) .148(**) .214(**) .173(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .170 .480 .006 .000 .008 .000 .002 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Location Pearson

Correlation .339(**) .040 1 .263(**) .253(**) .179(**) .291(**) .239(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .480 .000 .000 .001 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Price Pearson

Correlation .399(**) .156(**) .263(**) 1 .440(**) .289(**) .413(**) .385(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .006 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Services Pearson

Correlation .317(**) .236(**) .253(**) .440(**) 1 .270(**) .357(**) .256(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Promotion Pearson

Correlation .305(**) .148(**) .179(**) .289(**) .270(**) 1 .284(**) .224(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .008 .001 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Satisfaction Pearson

Correlation .423(**) .214(**) .291(**) .413(**) .357(**) .284(**) 1 .583(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

117

N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Loyalty Pearson

Correlation .483(**) .173(**) .239(**) .385(**) .256(**) .224(**) .583(**) 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .002 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 N 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

118

REGRESSION (STORE LOYALTY) Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std.

Deviation N

Loyalty 18.35 3.036 316 Product 16.23 2.215 316 Atmosphere 22.22 2.653 316 Location 15.63 2.118 316 Price 15.79 2.469 316 Services 26.09 3.993 316 Promotion 18.78 3.095 316

Correlations

Loyal Prod Atmo Locat Price Service Promo

Pearson Correlation

Loyalty 1.000 .483 .173 .239 .385 .256 .224

Product .483 1.000 .077 .339 .399 .317 .305 Atmos .173 .077 1.000 .040 .156 .236 .148 Location .239 .339 .040 1.000 .263 .253 .179 Price .385 .399 .156 .263 1.000 .440 .289 Services .256 .317 .236 .253 .440 1.000 .270 Promo .224 .305 .148 .179 .289 .270 1.000 Sig. (1-tailed)

Loyalty . .000 .001 .000 .000 .000 .000

Product .000 . .085 .000 .000 .000 .000 Atmos .001 .085 . .240 .003 .000 .004 Location .000 .000 .240 . .000 .000 .001 Price .000 .000 .003 .000 . .000 .000 Services .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 . .000 Promo .000 .000 .004 .001 .000 .000 . N Loyalty 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Product 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Atmos 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Location 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Price 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Services 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Promo 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Model Summary(b)

Model R R

Square Adjusted R

Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .540(a) .292 .278 2.579

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Loyalty

119

ANOVA(b)

Model Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 847.864 6 141.311 21.239 .000(a) Residual 2055.845 309 6.653 Total 2903.709 315

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Coefficients(a)

a Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Collinearity Diagnostics(a)

a Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Residuals Statistics(a)

Minimum Maximum Mean Std.

Deviation N

Predicted Value 12.62 21.88 18.35 1.641 316 Residual -7.845 9.258 .000 2.555 316 Std. Predicted Value

-3.491 2.151 .000 1.000 316

Std. Residual -3.041 3.589 .000 .990 316

a Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Model Unstandardized

Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

B Std. Error Beta

Tolerance VIF B

Std. Error

1 (Constant) 1.850 1.795 1.031 .304 Product .504 .076 .368 6.623 .000 .743 1.346 Atmospher .121 .057 .106 2.131 .034 .933 1.072 Location .074 .074 .051 .992 .322 .851 1.175 Price .242 .070 .197 3.466 .001 .710 1.408 Services .005 .042 .007 .126 .900 .734 1.362 Promotion .027 .051 .028 .539 .590 .850 1.176

Model

Dimension Eigenvalue

Condition Index Variance Proportions

(Constant) Product Atmo Loca Price Serv Promo Constant Prod

1 1 6.917 1.000 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00

2 .020 18.660 .00 .00 .00 .04 .04 .06 .92

3 .018 19.684 .04 .02 .28 .04 .34 .07 .02

4 .017 20.281 .00 .13 .16 .37 .02 .21 .00

5 .013 23.221 .01 .04 .08 .12 .37 .62 .02

6 .011 25.062 .00 .75 .00 .28 .23 .04 .03

7 .005 36.949 .96 .06 .47 .15 .00 .00 .01

120

REGRESSION (CUSTOMER SATISFACTION)

Correlations

Satisf Prod Atmo Locat Price Serv Promo Pearson Satisfaction 1.000 .423 .214 .291 .413 .357 .284 Correlation Product

.423 1.00

0 .077 .339 .399 .317 .305

Atmosphere .214 .077

1.000

.040 .156 .236 .148

Location .291 .339 .040 1.000 .263 .253 .179 Price .413 .399 .156 .263 1.000 .440 .289 Services .357 .317 .236 .253 .440 1.000 .270

Promotion .284 .305 .148 .179 .289 .270 1.000 Sig. (1-tailed)

Satisfaction . .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

Product .000 . .085 .000 .000 .000 .000

Atmosphere .000 .085 . .240 .003 .000 .004

Location .000 .000 .240 . .000 .000 .001

Price .000 .000 .003 .000 . .000 .000

Services .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 . .000

Promotion .000 .000 .004 .001 .000 .000 . N Satisfaction 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Product 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Atmosphere 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Location 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Price 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Services 316 316 316 316 316 316 316 Promotion 316 316 316 316 316 316 316

Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

Satisfaction 22.43 3.486 316 Product 16.23 2.215 316 Atmosphere 22.22 2.653 316 Location 15.63 2.118 316 Price 15.79 2.469 316 Services 26.09 3.993 316 Promotion 18.78 3.095 316

Model Summary(b)

Model R R

Square Adjusted R

Square Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .552(a) .305 .291 2.935

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Satisfaction

121

ANOVA(b)

Model Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 1165.877 6 194.313 22.560 .000(a) Residual 2661.449 309 8.613 Total 3827.326 315

a Predictors: (Constant), Promotion, Atmosphere, Location, Price, Product, Services b Dependent Variable: Satisfaction

Coefficients(a)

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF B

Std. Error

1 (Constant) 1.207 2.042 .591 .555 Product .369 .087 .235 4.266 .000 .743 1.346 Atmospher .158 .065 .121 2.454 .015 .933 1.072 Location .182 .085 .111 2.154 .032 .851 1.175 Price .275 .079 .195 3.460 .001 .710 1.408 Services .102 .048 .117 2.116 .035 .734 1.362 Promotion .098 .058 .087 1.698 .090 .850 1.176

a Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Collinearity Diagnostics(a)

Model

Dimension

Eigenvalue

Condition Index Variance Proportions

(Constant) Prod Atmo Locat Price Serv Promo Constant Prod

1 1 6.917 1.000 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00

2 .020 18.660 .00 .00 .00 .04 .04 .06 .92

3 .018 19.684 .04 .02 .28 .04 .34 .07 .02

4 .017 20.281 .00 .13 .16 .37 .02 .21 .00

5 .013 23.221 .01 .04 .08 .12 .37 .62 .02

6 .011 25.062 .00 .75 .00 .28 .23 .04 .03

7 .005 36.949 .96 .06 .47 .15 .00 .00 .01

a Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Residuals Statistics(a)

Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation N

Predicted Value 15.06 27.32 22.43 1.924 316 Residual -9.623 8.566 .000 2.907 316 Std. Predicted Value -3.827 2.545 .000 1.000 316 Std. Residual -3.279 2.919 .000 .990 316

a Dependent Variable: Satisfaction

122

ONE WAY ANOVA

Descriptive

N Mean Std.

Deviation Std. Error

95% Confidence Interval for Mean

Minimum

Maximum

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

The store has a variety of product range 1st Most preferred 193 4.40 .647 .047 4.31 4.50 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 4.21 .844 .100 4.01 4.41 2 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.93 .828 .151 3.62 4.24 2 5

Least preferred 22 4.05 .844 .180 3.67 4.42 3 5 Total 316 4.29 .742 .042 4.21 4.37 2 5 The availability of well-known brands 1st Most preferred 193 3.90 .726 .052 3.80 4.00 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.92 .732 .087 3.74 4.09 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.83 .791 .145 3.54 4.13 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.77 .813 .173 3.41 4.13 3 5 Total 316 3.89 .737 .041 3.81 3.97 2 5 The availability of your favourite item 1st Most preferred 193 4.23 .621 .045 4.14 4.32 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 4.27 .774 .092 4.08 4.45 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 4.03 .850 .155 3.72 4.35 2 5 Least preferred 22 4.23 .752 .160 3.89 4.56 3 5 Total 316 4.22 .690 .039 4.14 4.29 2 5 The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there

1st Most preferred 193 3.83 .695 .050 3.74 3.93 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.85 .786 .093 3.66 4.03 2 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.77 .504 .092 3.58 3.95 3 5

Least preferred 22 3.82 1.097 .234 3.33 4.30 2 5

Total 316 3.83 .732 .041 3.75 3.91 2 5

The store is clean 1st Most preferred 193 3.82 .604 .043 3.74 3.91 2 5

123

2nd most preferred 71 3.76 .643 .076 3.61 3.91 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.77 .430 .079 3.61 3.93 3 4 Least preferred 22 3.68 .477 .102 3.47 3.89 3 4 Total 316 3.79 .590 .033 3.73 3.86 2 5 The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need

1st Most preferred 193 3.89 .593 .043 3.80 3.97 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.90 .636 .075 3.75 4.05 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.63 .669 .122 3.38 3.88 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.73 .550 .117 3.48 3.97 3 5 Total 316 3.85 .610 .034 3.79 3.92 2 5 The store layout make it easy for you to move around

1st Most preferred 193 3.83 .659 .047 3.74 3.92 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.76 .665 .079 3.60 3.92 2 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.70 .651 .119 3.46 3.94 2 5

Least preferred 22 3.55 .510 .109 3.32 3.77 3 4

Total 316 3.78 .652 .037 3.71 3.85 2 5 The merchandise display is very attractive 1st Most preferred 193 3.55 .644 .046 3.46 3.65 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.42 .552 .066 3.29 3.55 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.67 .479 .088 3.49 3.85 3 4 Least preferred 22 3.50 .512 .109 3.27 3.73 3 4 Total 316 3.53 .603 .034 3.46 3.60 2 5 The store provides plenty of convenient parking 1st Most preferred 193 3.87 .723 .052 3.76 3.97 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.65 .699 .083 3.48 3.81 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.83 .592 .108 3.61 4.05 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.59 .666 .142 3.30 3.89 2 4 Total 316 3.79 .707 .040 3.72 3.87 2 5 The shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise with hands

1st Most preferred 193 3.49 .613 .044 3.41 3.58 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.37 .702 .083 3.20 3.53 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.60 .621 .113 3.37 3.83 2 5

124

Least preferred 22 3.32 .646 .138 3.03 3.60 2 4 Total 316 3.46 .639 .036 3.39 3.53 2 5 The store is located near to your work place or home

1st Most preferred 193 3.99 .665 .048 3.90 4.09 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 4.23 .721 .086 4.05 4.40 3 5 3rd most preferred 30 4.27 .785 .143 3.97 4.56 2 5

Least preferred 22 4.23 .685 .146 3.92 4.53 3 5 Total 316 4.09 .698 .039 4.01 4.17 2 5 The store is located in residential area 1st Most preferred 193 3.69 .746 .054 3.59 3.80 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.75 .691 .082 3.58 3.91 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.97 .615 .112 3.74 4.20 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.64 .790 .168 3.29 3.99 2 5 Total 316 3.73 .727 .041 3.65 3.81 2 5 The store is located near to other places which you visit often (eg: Shopping Mall, Cafes, Restaurants)

1st Most preferred 193 3.68 .668 .048 3.59 3.78 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.80 .668 .079 3.64 3.96 3 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.67 .661 .121 3.42 3.91 2 5

Least preferred 22 3.73 .703 .150 3.42 4.04 2 5

Total 316 3.71 .669 .038 3.64 3.79 2 5 The location of the store is easily accessible 1st Most preferred 193 4.06 .708 .051 3.96 4.16 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 4.15 .730 .087 3.98 4.33 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 4.13 .681 .124 3.88 4.39 3 5 Least preferred 22 4.27 .703 .150 3.96 4.58 3 5 Total 316 4.10 .710 .040 4.02 4.18 2 5 The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy

1st Most preferred 193 4.04 .796 .057 3.93 4.15 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.52 .652 .077 3.37 3.68 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.90 .712 .130 3.63 4.17 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.32 .995 .212 2.88 3.76 1 5

125

Total 316 3.86 .812 .046 3.77 3.95 1 5 The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors

1st Most preferred 193 4.04 .773 .056 3.93 4.15 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.79 .754 .090 3.61 3.97 3 5 3rd most preferred 30 4.10 .759 .139 3.82 4.38 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.50 .913 .195 3.10 3.90 2 5

Total 316 3.95 .791 .045 3.86 4.04 2 5 The price is reasonable for the value of the product

1st Most preferred 193 4.05 .709 .051 3.95 4.15 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 4.08 .712 .085 3.92 4.25 2 5

3rd most preferred 30 4.07 .583 .106 3.85 4.28 3 5

Least preferred 22 3.45 1.101 .235 2.97 3.94 1 5

Total 316 4.02 .745 .042 3.93 4.10 1 5 The price is competitive 1st Most preferred 193 3.95 .734 .053 3.84 4.05 1 5 2nd most preferred 71 4.01 .621 .074 3.87 4.16 3 5 3rd most preferred 30 4.20 .664 .121 3.95 4.45 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.64 .953 .203 3.21 4.06 2 5 Total 316 3.97 .727 .041 3.88 4.05 1 5 The employees are helpful 1st Most preferred 193 3.68 .670 .048 3.58 3.77 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.58 .710 .084 3.41 3.75 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.60 .621 .113 3.37 3.83 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.14 .774 .165 2.79 3.48 2 4 Total 316 3.61 .693 .039 3.53 3.69 2 5 The employees provide prompt services 1st Most preferred 193 3.79 .699 .050 3.69 3.89 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.75 .731 .087 3.57 3.92 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.70 .651 .119 3.46 3.94 2 5

Least preferred 22 3.27 .767 .164 2.93 3.61 2 5

Total 316 3.74 .715 .040 3.66 3.82 2 5 The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records

1st Most preferred 193 3.84 .761 .055 3.74 3.95 2 5

126

2nd most preferred 71 3.77 .741 .088 3.60 3.95 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.73 .785 .143 3.44 4.03 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.27 .703 .150 2.96 3.58 2 4 Total 316 3.78 .765 .043 3.69 3.86 2 5 The store has return or exchange policy 1st Most preferred 193 3.68 .783 .056 3.57 3.80 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.42 .669 .079 3.26 3.58 2 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.47 .776 .142 3.18 3.76 2 5

Least preferred 22 3.09 .684 .146 2.79 3.39 2 4

Total 316 3.56 .768 .043 3.48 3.65 2 5 The store accept most major credit cards 1st Most preferred 193 3.83 .782 .056 3.72 3.94 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.51 .715 .085 3.34 3.68 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.33 .758 .138 3.05 3.62 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.05 .653 .139 2.76 3.33 2 4 Total 316 3.66 .792 .045 3.57 3.74 2 5 The store has operation hours convenient to you

1st Most preferred 193 3.99 .665 .048 3.90 4.09 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.82 .683 .081 3.66 3.98 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.97 .718 .131 3.70 4.23 3 5 Least preferred 22 3.55 .739 .157 3.22 3.87 2 5 Total 316 3.92 .688 .039 3.84 4.00 2 5 The store has many check-out counters 1st Most preferred 193 3.93 .774 .056 3.82 4.04 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.69 .689 .082 3.53 3.85 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.70 .651 .119 3.46 3.94 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.55 .596 .127 3.28 3.81 3 5 Total 316 3.83 .742 .042 3.74 3.91 2 5 The store always offer discount and promotion 1st Most preferred 193 4.27 .523 .038 4.20 4.35 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 4.00 .609 .072 3.86 4.14 3 5

3rd most preferred 30 3.67 .802 .146 3.37 3.97 2 5

Least preferred 22 3.68 .839 .179 3.31 4.05 2 5

Total 316 4.11 .637 .036 4.04 4.18 2 5

127

The store always conduct sampling activities 1st Most preferred 193 3.75 .700 .050 3.65 3.85 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.37 .914 .108 3.15 3.58 1 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.57 1.006 .184 3.19 3.94 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.27 1.032 .220 2.82 3.73 2 5 Total 316 3.61 .826 .046 3.52 3.71 1 5 The store has loyalty program (Member Card) 1st Most preferred 193 3.95 .709 .051 3.85 4.05 2 5 2nd most preferred 71 3.68 .922 .109 3.46 3.89 1 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.63 1.189 .217 3.19 4.08 1 5 Least preferred 22 3.00 1.113 .237 2.51 3.49 2 5 Total 316 3.79 .879 .049 3.70 3.89 1 5 The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers

1st Most preferred 193 3.85 .684 .049 3.76 3.95 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.62 .834 .099 3.42 3.82 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.30 .915 .167 2.96 3.64 2 5 Least preferred 22 3.18 .907 .193 2.78 3.58 2 5 Total 316 3.70 .789 .044 3.62 3.79 2 5 The store always organized special events (Japanense food fair, Organic Food Fair)

1st Most preferred 193 3.68 .736 .053 3.57 3.78 2 5

2nd most preferred 71 3.55 .968 .115 3.32 3.78 2 5 3rd most preferred 30 3.03 1.273 .232 2.56 3.51 1 5 Least preferred 22 3.23 .973 .207 2.80 3.66 2 5 Total 316 3.56 .891 .050 3.46 3.66 1 5

128

SUMMARY OF ONEWAY ANOVA -MEAN SCORE OF STORE ATTRIBUTES AMONG PRIMARY SHOPPER BY CHANNEL

Hyper-market (n=193)

Super-market (n=83)

Convenience Store (n=16)

Traditional Store (n=24)

Product 4.09 (1) 4.20 (1) 3.33 (5) 3.77 (2)

The store has a variety of product assortments 4.4 4.39 2.88 4

The availability of well-known brands 3.9 4.12 2.94 3.63

The availability of your favourite item 4.23 4.34 3.81 4

The availability of alternative item if your favourite item is not there 3.83 3.95 3.69 3.46

Store Atmosphere 3.74 (5) 3.66 (4) 3.67 (3) 3.58 (3)

The store is clean 3.82 3.77 3.69 3.71

The store layout make it easy for you to find what you need 3.89 3.87 3.81 3.58

The store layout make it easy for you to move around 3.83 3.76 3.69 3.54

The merchandise display is very attractive 3.55 3.43 3.69 3.58

The store provides plenty of convenient parking 3.87 3.71 3.63 3.63

The shelf is not too high to pick up merchandise wit hands 3.49 3.4 3.5 3.42

Location 3.86 (4) 3.98 (2) 4.02 (1) 4.01 (1)

The store is located near to your work place or home 3.99 4.17 4.19 4.5

The store is located in residential area 3.69 3.8 3.63 3.83

The store is located near to other places which you visit often 3.68 3.8 4 3.46

The location of the store is easily accessible 4.06 4.13 4.25 4.25

Price 4.02 (2) 3.93 (3) 3.77 (2) 3.57 (4)

The store is employing "everyday low price" strategy 4.04 3.67 3.38 3.38

129

The store has an overall lower prices than its competitors 4.04 3.83 3.88 3.71

The price is reasonable for the value of the product 4.05 4.12 3.88 3.5

The price is competitive 3.95 4.1 3.94 3.67

Services 3.62 (6) 3.65 (5) 3.58 (4) 3.29 (6)

The employees are helpful 3.68 3.53 3.63 3.33

The employees provide prompt services 3.38 3.71 3.63 3.38

The store insists on error-free sales transactions and records 3.79 3.73 3.5 3.42

The store has return or exchange policy 3.84 3.78 3.38 2.96

The store accept most major credit cards 3.68 3.49 3.13 3

The store has operation hours convenient to you 3.83 3.54 4.19 3.67

The store has many cashier counters 3.29 3.78 3.63 3.29

Promotion 3.90 (3) 3.65 (5) 3.22 (6) 3.32 (5)

The store always has promotion 4.27 3.9 3.69 3.83

The store always conduct sampling activities 3.75 3.46 2.94 3.5

The store has loyalty program 3.95 3.81 3.13 2.92

The store advertise the promotion in local newspapers or mailers or flyers 3.85 3.53 3.38 3.29

The store always organized special events 3.68 3.53 2.94 3.08