Perceived importance of personal sales assistance and in-store and nonstore patronage

A series of stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to test the proposed relationships addressed in the research questions. The results from the factor analyses revealed three dimensions of perceived importance of personal sales assistance: Professionalism, Personalization, and Appearance. Regression results suggested that there were significant relationships between a variety of consumer characteristics and perceived importance of each dimension of personal sales assistance. Perceived importance of personal sales assistance was also found to have some effect on consumers\u27 in-store and non-store patronage behavioral intentions. In addition, support was found for the direct effects of fashion and apparel shopping orientation, and self-concept on in-store or non-store patronage behavioral intention. This study has various implications for retailers in terms of sales personnel management and development of appropriate strategies for in-store and non-store marketers. Future research using both qualitative and quantitative designs are required to further the findings. By delving into theoretical concepts related to the personal sales assistance dimensions identified in the present study, future research is expected to contribute to retail service studies.This study was designed to enhance the knowledge of personal sales assistance in apparel shopping, and articulate possible relationships between consumers\u27 fashion and apparel shopping orientation, self-concept, personal sales assistance, and in-store and non-store patronage behavioral intentions. Four research questions addressed 1) the dimensions of perceived importance of personal sales assistance; 2) the effect of fashion and apparel shopping orientation and self-concept on consumers\u27 perceived importance of personal sales assistance; 3) the existence of significant relationships between consumers\u27 perceived importance of personal sales assistance and their in-store and non-store patronage behavioral intention; and 4) the direct effect of consumers\u27 fashion and apparel shopping orientation and self-concept on their in-store and non-store patronage behavioral intention. A nomological model that illustrated possible relationships between the variables was proposed based on literature. The population of interest was college-aged consumers. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 217 college students who were enrolled in a Midwest university using a self-administered questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses were employed to test the dimensionality of the scales

How Consumers Form Attitude towards A Brand\u27s Facebook Page from Friends\u27 Likes ?

The rapid growth of Facebook users allures brand managers to create their brands’ Facebook pages. This research applied social psychology theories to investigate the process by which consumers form an attitude towards a brand’s Facebook page from their friends’ “likes”

Individualization and Argument Quality of location-based mobile messages: An Application of elaboration likelihood model

Location-based mobile messaging (LMM) is becoming the most influential marketing tool by enabling retailers to deliver tailored messages to customers at right time at right locations and influencing consumer decision-making. However, research on customization of LMM employing sound theoretical frameworks is still in its infancy, making it difficult for retailers and scholars to predict consumer reactions. The purpose of this study is to propose the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) as useful theoretical frameworks to predict the effects of LMM with varying levels of individualization and message strength on consumers\u27 attitudinal and behavioral responses.The proposed theoretical approach will provide new insights for retailers to leverage the efficiency of LMM strategies. In addition, this approach addresses the need for theoretical perspectives for researchers to draw a blueprint of consumer value perceptions toward the LMM. Finally, examining these propositions can stimulate a stream of research that addresses related issues

Brand Loyalty through Love for Brand Facebook Page: Roles of Opinion Leadership and Opinion Seeking

The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers\u27 motivations to participate in brands\u27 Facebook pages and their linkage to consumers\u27 loyalty a brand through the love for the brands\u27 Facebook pages. This study also examined the influences of consumers\u27 opinion leadership and seeking tendencies on their motivations to participate in brands\u27 Facebook page. The results of the study revealed both self-presentation and self-enhancement motivations influenced love for a brand\u27s Facebook page, which in turn led to brand loyalty. Furthermore, the influences of opinion leadership and seeking on self-presentation motivation were significant. Self-enhancement motivation was significantly influenced by opinion leadership, but not by opinion seeking. Brand managers must pay close attention to consumers who have greater tendencies to lead or seek opinions in their lives as they are more likely to love brands\u27 Facebook pages, actively generating positive word-of-mouth

Why we hop on the Boycotting Bandwagon: Consumer Motivation to Participate in Brand Boycotts on Facebook

Although brands have responded to the challenges and opportunities posed by SNSs, negative online brand communication has received less attention, and there is a significant gap in research concerning brand boycotts and SM (Albrecht, Campbell, Heinrich, & Lammel, 2013; McGriff, 2012). This study extends traditional consumer boycotting literature to SNSs. Others’ boycott participation may induce heightened perceptions of boycott success (Albrecht et al., 2013) or social pressure (Klein et al., 2004) to also participate

Content Analysis of Scarcity Promotional Messages

Scarcity refers to the limited supply of a commodity, a fundamental concept in economics (Lynn, 2008). Scarcity promotions have been frequently utilized in the marketplace, and their persuasive power has been acknowledged by both practitioners and academics (Gierl & Huettl, 2010). According to the commodity theory (Brock, 1968), a limited availability of goods, services, or opportunities influences consumers‟ perceived scarcity and results in purchase intention by influencing consumer value perceptions (Lynn, 1989)

Interaction Style of Virtual Shopping Agents: Effects on Social Presence and Older Consumers’ Experience in E-tail Sites

A growing stream of research has emphasized the important role played by virtual shopping agents in consumer experience in e-tail environments, particularly in the context of older consumers (Chattaraman et al., 2012). In a recent study, Keeling et al. (2010) found that style of agent communication (task- vs. social-oriented) is an important factor influencing user trust and patronage intention for online shopping. Specifically, the authors found that taskoriented communications is more effective for search goods/services (books), whereas socialoriented communication style contributes more to credence goods/services (insurance). The purpose of the current study was: 1) to examine effectiveness of social- and task-oriented interaction styles for older consumers and 2) to examine the moderating role of gender on the effects of social vs. task-oriented interactional style

The Effects of Design Piracy on Consumer Perception: When Large Fashion Corporates Pirate Small Independent Fashion Designers

Fashion design piracy has the potential to highly impact small designers through a combination of limited legal fashion rights and the proliferation of online exposure to their work. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of a revelation of fashion design piracy cases on consumers\u27 perceptions about small designers and their designs, particularly when these designers were purportedly pirated by large fashion corporations. Through an online experiment of 260 college students, we examined perceptions of two designers and their designs narrowed from a pretest of purported piracy cases. Designers\u27 value and uniqueness of designs, as well as brand attitude and brand creativity upon participants\u27 revelation of their piracy by a corporation were examined through two-way multivariate analysis of variance. Findings revealed a significant interaction effect for revelation condition and piracy case designer. Further, significant main effects were found for perceived designer brand creativity and perceived value of designs