HOW SHOPPING INVOLVEMENT GETS IMPACTED BY STORE FORMAT?

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.