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A consumer definition of store convenience (finally)

Vaughan Reimers (School of Business & Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia)

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

ISSN: 0959-0552

Article publication date: 8 April 2014

4469

Abstract

Purpose

Despite an increasingly convenience-oriented society, very few empirical studies have identified convenience as a salient determinant of store patronage. Such atypical findings could be due to the way in which academics have defined store convenience. The purpose of this study is to empirically develop an alternative definition of store convenience.

Design/methodology/approach

A household mail-out survey was used to identify the attributes consumers associate with store convenience.

Findings

Empirical analysis provides strong support for the alternative definition, with respondents indicating that 25 of the test attributes serve as convenience attributes in the context of a department store.

Practical implications

In spite of the many things a store manager can do to make their store more convenient, academic studies have recognised very few of these as convenience attributes. This study provides store managers with a list of 25 tools they have at their disposal to help save their customers' time and effort and help combat the internet threat.

Originality/value

Comprising 25 attributes, the alternative definition represents a significant increase over any existing definition. The failure of existing definitions to incorporate so many of these attributes may explain why academic research has suggested that, in an era of convenience, convenience itself is a less-than-salient determinant of store patronage.

Keywords

Citation

Reimers, V. (2014), "A consumer definition of store convenience (finally)", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 315-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-03-2013-0060

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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