Abstract:
Store formats exist in three forms of convenience, variety and experience. Shopping involvement
tends to change across these formats. This current study (a) establishes the role of store formats on
shopping involvement, (b) understands the change in the nature of involvement as the shopper moves
to an experience store from a variety or a convenience store format, and (c) measures shopping
involvement as different from purchase involvement or purchase-decision involvement. A 3 X 3
factorial design was created using the three formats and three levels of extent of information search
representing different buying decisions. Participant observations at different formats were carried
out, which was followed by in-depth interviews. A new scale to measure Shopping Involvement was
developed as different from purchase and purchase – decision involvement. The study showed that
the expressive aspect of involvement became more prominent in experience store, while the
functional involvement did not increase to the same extent.
