Impact of Customer Satisfaction on Store Choice

A collection of academic articles and books related to market research, consumer behavior, and retail management.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA
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A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 1
Abstract
The shoppers are fairly involved in the decision related to the choice of the store. The retail owners find it
important and necessary to understand the store choice behavior of the consumers because they use this
information to develop the appropriate marketing strategies so that the people are attracted towards the
store and the retailers are able to maintain their clientele. The study attempts to inquire about the factors
that pull the consumers in South Korea towards a particular retail store. The study aims to determine this
in general and then the findings are based on the particular attributes of the consumers. The study is
theoretical and descriptive in nature. Therefore, the research is descriptive. The study aims to give an
insight to the people and the consumers regarding the factors on the basis of which they chose a particular
retail store.

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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................................2
Chapter 2: Literature Review.......................................................................................................................10
Chapter 3: Research Methodology...............................................................................................................11
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS...................................................................................................16
Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................30
QUESTIONNAIRE.....................................................................................................................................32
References....................................................................................................................................................36

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Chapter 1: Introduction
The shoppers are fairly involved in the decision related to the choice of the store. The retail
owners find it important and necessary to understand the store choice behavior of the consumers
because they use this information to develop the appropriate marketing strategies so that the
people are attracted towards the store and the retailers are able to maintain their clientele (Coe,
2006). The major factors on which the buyers base their choice of store are the primary factors
and the image based factors. But, the factors depend on the type of store that the customer is
visiting. In a place like South Korea, the shoppers do not have a variety of choices to choose
from, so they simply like to go to a store which is recognized and sells many different products
(Coe, 2013). Also, the people here like to travel less, so they visit the store which is nearby to
their residence. But, different people have different choices and preferences; therefore, the study
tries to understand the behavior of different buyers regarding the retail setup in the country. The
buyers are explored in this study and the primary aim for that are the reasons due to which they
chose a particular store. All over the world, the store choice and the patronage is studied by the
researchers. With the growth of the stores and the retail setups in South Korea, this phenomenon
has gained significance in the market. New stores chains are being set up and they provide new
options to the buyers and leave them with new experiences (Neilson, 2014). The evaluation
phase is going on with the retailers and the buyers in this place and there is no clear verdict as to
what drives a person towards a particular store. Unfortunately, due to this, there is increase in the
footfall in the stores, but there is less purchases that happen in the stores. The conversion rate of
the actual purchases is very less which leads to high costs of giving service to the customers and
reduction in the level of profitability of the buyers. The small shops are the hallmark of this place

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 4
and this has held back the people to the traditional ways of shopping (Bronnenberg, 2015). Many
people still believe that the new formats of the retail shops are not effective in adding any value
to them; it is just a concept of novelty. There are many popular retail chains that are holding back
the new expansions. Therefore, the current study aims to understand the behavior of the people
regarding the choice of stores.
Basically, the process of choosing the relevant store is quite cognitive. It is very similar with the
choice of brand. When the consumers chose a particular brand, they, do not consider the
geographical limitations which is not the case with choosing the stores (Chkanikova, 2015). In
case of the store choice by the customers, the location of the store plays a major role. It is
believed that the cost of traveling while shopping is counted by the customers when they
determine their total cost of shopping from a retail outlet. Therefore, they regard the distance of
the store from their residence as an important factor while selecting the store (Cho, 2015).
It has been observed that the socio-economic background of the consumers, their personality and
the way they have made the shopping decisions in the past have influenced the store choice
behavior of the consumers (Shin, 2013). Apart from this, the shoppers have been observed to
consider the brand that is being sold in the various stores. Since the consumers regard the brand
and consider it for shopping, therefore, they also see that which of their favorite brands is sold in
which of the retail setup. Thus, the brand and the location have a strong link with the choice of
stores (Chkanikova, 2015). Apart from this, the age of people in South Korea, the age group of
people, the size of their family and the occupation in which they are involved are also a factor
that helps them in deciding that which store they must visit to shop from (Cho, 2015). Thus, the

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personal attributes of the people are also connected to the factors that influence the choice of the
format of the retail stores i.e. the organized retail and the unorganized retail.
Organized retail is that retail setup where all the trading activities are undertaken by those
retailers who have the license to do that, and who have registered their retail outlets for the
payment of the sales tax; income tax; etc. (Yi, 2013). But, the unorganized retail is those low
cost retailing shops that follow the traditional formats. In South Korea, there are roadside
vendors who sell the food items and in some places, the clothes too. These all are the
unorganized ones. But, the shops that are located in the popular supermarkets, or the famous
retail chains, form a part of the organized retail in South Korea.
The choice of store is a major decision problem because this decision is very dynamic and it can
be conceptualized as an issue which is related to the decision of when to shop and from where to
shop. The shoppers have to decide about the location of the traditional store and then they have
to decide that how many shopping trips they require for getting their things collected from the
traditional stores (Bell, 1998). There is a relation between both of these problems. The choice of
the store depends on the timing of the trips of shopping because many shoppers generally visit
the local stores as filling in trips and for regular shopping, they go to the distant grocery shops
(Aaker, 1971). These two decisions are based on the characteristics of the shoppers and the
patterns of their consumption.
Also, the shopping tasks determine the choice of the store formats. The shopping can be planned
where the people prepare a list of things that they have to buy and shop according to that list.
Then, the shopping can be emergency too for example when the family member has fallen ill and
the medicines are required urgently. Or the shopping can be unplanned, where the ‘mood’ of the

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shoppers plays a very important role. Thus, the stores that the consumers choose differ in the
salience rating as per the tasks that the shoppers intends to perform (Van Kenhove, 1999). The
situational factors like purchasing the necessity goods affect the salience of the stores. It is
important that the consumers evaluate the situational factors at their each visit and the choices of
the shoppers may get changed because of the situation-specific drivers (Van Kenhove, 1999).
All the situations may be evaluated by the shoppers on the basis of the cost that they incur and
the utilities that they get from the shopping. The costs that are associated with shopping are both
fixed and variable. When the size of the basket and the list of the items gets changed with the
trips of the customers, it is the variable cost and when the list remains same in regard to the
location of the store or the price format, then the cost is fixed (Darley, 1993). Broadly, it can be
concluded that when the buyers talk about their store choices, they carry an image and a
perception of the stores which has an influence on the final outcomes that they intend to achieve.
The tangible attributes of the stores drives the perceptions of the people for that store. The format
of the store, its distance from the main market or from the house of the consumers etc. is all
attributes that determine the choice of the stores by the consumers. Also, it has been observed
that the type of the product is related to the nature of stores (Malhotra, 1983).
The factors that affect the choice of format of the consumers
There are different ways in which the demography of the people and the socio-economic factors
has an impact on the choice of the retail format (Tang, 2001). Either these factors directly
influence the choices of the consumers, or they simply affect their buying behavior by affecting
the shopping basket of the consumers, or by altering the shopping trips of the consumers
(Fotheringham, 1988). Thus, the demography of the people and the socio-economic factors

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impact the choice of the retail format in both direct and indirect ways. Apart from this, there are
several other factors that affect the choice of format of the consumers.
1. One factor is the gender of the shoppers. There has been difference in the shopping
behavior of males and females from the very beginning. The main reason behind this is
the differences in the occupation of the males and females, the distinction in their
preferences and the family responsibilities that they have. It has been on old practice by
the males that they are not the common and regular market visitors and they do not have
a practice of searching the market much (Dash, 1976). Thus, the marketers of the retail
shops place most of their marketing strategies in consideration of the females in the
market, rather than the males.
2. Another factor that affects the choice of store format is the age group of people, the
people of different age groups go for shopping for different things (Leszczyc, 2000). For
example, the children and the teenagers do not go to buy the furniture. So the buying
behavior differs as per the age groups of people. This is because, the requirements of the
people in different age groups in different from each other. For example, whether elderly
people go for shopping, they look for the things that will make their life easier and at that
time, they do not consider the price as a very important factor. Also, they tend to get
attracted towards the offers that the retailers are offering.
3. Then, the shopping also depends on the number of members who are present in a
particular family. When the size of the family is big, the consumption of that family is
high. So, the shopping has to be done on large scale. Also, when the size of the family is
big, the consumers look for a wider variety of the product range (Briesch, 2009). Their

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behavior is channelized towards stocking the products so that they can meet the
consumption requirements of their families.
4. The employments status of the shoppers matters too. When the people are working, they
spend their income for shopping and thus, the size of their basket is dependent on the
income that they earn (Carpenter, 2006). Then the number of working people increase,
the consumption also increases in two ways. One is, that they start spending more, and
the other is, that the demand for the products rise which helps the country in earning a
higher level of GDP.
All these factors were important while studying the format of the stores. It helps in determining
that whether the consumers will go and shop from the organized retail or the unorganized retail.
Apart from this, there are other factors that have an impact on the choice of the stores by the
consumers. These factors include:
• price
• offers
• location from home
• variety
• services
• self service
• quality
• home delivery

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• ambience
• all under one roof
• parking facility
• transfer mechanism
We have tried to analyze the effect of these factors in store choice behavior of consumers.
The rate of formation of the new formats of the retail stores in South Korea is very fast and rapid.
Thus, it is imperative for the country to understand that what impacts the behavior of the
consumers towards the choice of the retail formats and they also have to understand the changing
shopping behavior of the consumers with regard to the preferred points of their purchase. Since
the disposable incomes of the people are good and the infrastructure is also improved, therefore,
they have a large choice from where they can chose the products and they can shop from. It is
therefore, necessary for the owners of the retail shops to understand that what motivates the
people for buying from a particular showroom. To understand and study this, the following
objectives have been formulated.
Objectives:
The study attempts to inquire about the factors that pull the consumers in South Korea towards a
particular retail store. The study aims to determine this in general and then the findings are based
on the particular attributes of the consumers. The objectives for the current study are as follows:

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1. To study the factors that make people chose a particular format of the retail store i.e. the
organized or the unorganized retail store.
2. To determine the attitude and the perceptions of the consumers towards the formats of the
retail store.
3. To find out the type of goods that the consumers look for in the organized and
unorganized retail setup.
4. To analyze the impact of consumers attributes on their choice of retail store.
5. To understand the various factors and their relative importance in determining the buying
behavior of the shoppers.
6. To find the level of consumer satisfaction from their choice of retail format and to ask for
the type of improvements that they are looking for in that particular format.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
The consumer behaviour towards various retail store formats has been different and there are
multitudes of factors that play the role in different behavioural patterns. This chapter is
concerned with the assessment of varied studies conducted in the past by researchers regarding
the orientation of the consumers towards the store choices and the factors that are into play.
As per the different retailing formats are concerned, there are various retailing formats available
to the consumers to choose from. The existence of the particular store can be based on either
price or service only factor or both. Stores such as Walmart mostly play on price, while others
consider services to the prime factor to attract the customers. The selection of service over price
is generally considered by the stores that are well aware of the price war and prefer to stand
unique in the customers’ eye. At present, the mushrooming of retail stores in every format has
pushed the stores to compete with the retailers who were not in the picture five years or a decade
ago. The past one decade has observed substantial growth in the organized retail sector, which
poses threat to some extent to the unorganized stores. The emergence of organized retail store
formats has given increased choices to the consumers. The consumers, now, can prefer whether
they want to shop at store A or store B. There are various factors that plays crucial role in such
preferences.
The environment of the stores also plays an important role in keeping the customers within the
stores. Shopping has been an emotional in nature in most of the instances which clearly resonates
with the preference of specific store environment over another. The customer process
information or various factors related to the store selection while relying on the past experiences

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with those factors. One of the researchers (Belk, 1975) identified that surrounding or the
situation should be an influencing factor on the decision making of the customers. Belk came up
with the mood of the customers as one of the aspect (which was not a preferred factor for
consumer study earlier to this). Now most of the researchers have identified that the mood is the
crucial element in consumer behaviour (Clark & Isen, 1982; Mandler, 1979; Bower, 1981). The
impact of this aspect can be prevalently observed in the decision making of the consumers. Clark
has asserted that the mood of the customers can impact the decision making without influencing
other aspects of the behaviour (Clark, 1982). Therefore, it can be stated at this point that the
mood is the important in the decision making. The interesting aspect is that the mood is rarely
dependent on particular variables. The impulses without any due consideration to choose
between one options to another can be stated as mood.
Some of the researchers have stated that the emotion of the individuals can be considered as
synonymous to the mood. The association of emotion of the customers with the particular store
results in the increased footfall in such stores. Most of the decisions made by the customers are
emotion based and, therefore the consideration of the emotion while understanding the customer
decision making process becomes an important aspect of customer analysis. The atmosphere of
the store is also an important aspect in imparting effective purchase behaviour among the
shoppers Therefore; it impacts the customers in deciding whether to choose one store over
another. There tangible as well as the intangible factors that are found by the retailers in the store
environment. The image of the store is generally utilized by the consumers in evaluating the
stores they are willing to pay the visit. The attributes that are generally hidden but considered by
the customers are merchandise within the store, presence of any form of physical facilities such
as parking lot, and others. There are various other attributes that have been identified by the

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researchers. The loyalty to particular store also plays an important goal in decision making of the
customers. The pre-existing loyalty f the customers towards particular store generally ignores the
attribute or factor contribution and the customers impulsively make decision to visit that store
again and again. Some of the researchers, through empirical research found that the loyalty to
particular store is an important aspect in the store identification and selection (Hansen and
Deutscher, 1978).
One of the study conducted by Kaul (2005) found one of the important variable and that was the
self-image. The customers prefer to visit the store that reflect or boost the self-image of the
consumers. Moreover, the same study also found out that the services provided to the customers
within the stores is also an important element in helping them choose one store over another. The
service quality within the store is the most important element over price in helping customer
makes easier purchase decisions. The convenient service delivery increases the likeliness of
customers converting into a loyal customer. Some of the researchers have asserted that the
families are the major target audience of the retail setting and therefore the consideration of the
families’ decision making process is of importance (Tripathi and Sinha, 2006). One of the study
conducted by Visser et al (2006) helped identify that the presence of substantial merchandise in-
store attracts and retains the female consumers. The merchandise was one of the factors that were
identified apart from others such as the clientele of the store. The services given by the store is
also considered to be the important factor. The presence of physical properties has been found to
be important also.
The brand names and the store names as the factor of influence of consumer behaviour have been
studied and it was found that these also play an important role (Leung and Oppewal, 1999). The

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stores that have high-quality brand are most likely to attract most customers. It was also
identified in the study that the names of the stores also play an important role in inducing the
decision making of the consumers. Moreover, the study also helped identify that the name of the
stores plays bigger role than the brand name in the consumer decision making process. The brand
names that are on offer in these stores come second to the name of the stores. As per Hedrick et
al (2005), the environment of environment of the store and the atmosphere is the key in
impacting the expectation level of the customers. Moreover, these researchers also went ahead
with the assessment of salesperson characteristics and found out that the attributes of the sales
people present in the store is vital. It was found that the individuals who have the ability to build
relationship with the customer quickly were the winner in attracting more customers. The
behaviour of the customers influences the intention of the customers that whether they will be
purchasing in the particular store or choosing others. The willingness towards the purchase also
sometimes leads to the recommendation to other co-consumers to the same store.
One of the studies conducted by Yildirim et al (2007) tried to study the impact of the window
types used in the various retail stores and the impact of the same on the consumers. The types of
windows were flat or arcade. The study led to the finding that the use of flat window in the stores
leaves positive perception on the customers visiting the stores. The method of study that was
adopted was not the in-store visit of the customers, but the use of digital pictures of the stores for
both the window types was used. The continued understanding of the customer preference is
appreciable goal that is utilised by the organizations to attract and influence the consumers. The
understanding of the factors that click with the customers is important to attract them towards the
stores and help them make purchases.

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As discussed in brief previously, the store atmosphere plays vital role in attracting and retaining
the customers. The presence of positive effect on the consumers converts to the more customers.
If the customers are feeling positive within a particular store then it is likely that they are to stay
in the store for the longer period of time. The increased stay mostly converts into increased
shopping. Some of the researchers have identified that the crowd within the store put off the
customers and the individuals willing to leave the store as soon as possible increases in number.
The emotions generated within the store, if positive, impacts the perception level of the
consumers and they orient towards choosing the particular store more over another.
Finn and Louviere (1996) suggested that the wide selection and low price are the criteria that
influence the store choice behaviour among the customers. Studies like Amine and Cadenat
(2003), have pointed out that the format of the store is one of the critical attributes of the store.
Various researchers have examined the trade-offs and importance consumers are making
associated with the influencers of their own choice. It was seen that higher the pre-purchase
information, the more selective the consumers are towards a particular specialty store. The
consumers are seen to get influenced owing to the store which provides them the maximum
satisfaction. The success of the firm can be characterized from the satisfaction and can easily
influence the repurchase, attitude and even the work-of-mouth as it helps in predicting the future
purchase behavior and leads to customer loyalty (Kasper, 1988). This further leads to increasing
the revenue of the company. According to Zeithaml (2000), customer loyalty can either be
attitudinal or behavioural. In the behavioural approach, the customers are highly loyal and
continue to use the product and the strongest indication of the customer loyalty can be depicted
from the probability of the customers who would refer the product to their friends (Reichheld,
2003). It includes share-of-wallet, repeat purchase, word of mouth referrals etc. Whereas, the

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attitudinal approach is based on the fact that the customers are attached to the product and begin
to have a sense of belonging and includes trust, commitment etc.
Retail Store Satisfaction
The customer satisfaction leads to a greater extent of customer retention and the satisfied
customers are likely to pay higher prices for a product of their choice (Huber et al., 2001)
Giese and Cote’s (2000) multi-method study defined customer satisfaction as the indicator of the
response (affective or cognitive), pertaining to the particular focus either of the purchase
experience or the associated product and is seen to take place at a certain point of time be it post-
purchase or post-consumption. As per this definition, the satisfaction of the customer is a direct
result of the shopping experience they had at the retail store. Satisfaction has greatly been
influenced by the utilitarian shopping benefits and hedonic shopping benefits (Carpenter and
Fairhurst, 2005). Eroglu et al. (2005) in his study looked at the relationship between the shopping
value, satisfaction and the perceived retail crowding and found that the perceived retail crowding
had a negative effect on the value of shopping and thereby resulted in decreasing the satisfaction.
The study concluded that when the shopping experience are seen to provide qualities which have
been valued by their customers, the store is likely to attain great consumer satisfaction. Every
customer has his own motivation for shopping which includes the knowledge about the trends
and products, enjoyment of bargaining or diversion from the daily routine (Tauber, 1972). As per
the findings of Babin et al. (1994), most of the customers are seen to be more task-oriented
whereas some are activity-oriented. This leads to establishment of the fact that they will be able
to find the value and gain higher amount of satisfaction by delving deep into the shopping
experience. There is a need for the retailers to understand the differences which will enable them

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to create the offer-related attributes and creation of store formats which might be able to satisfy
the needs of the target segments.
Ma and Niehm (2006), various apparel retailers are seen to have departmental stores with
different target markets and therefore they engage in different market strategies as compared to
the specialty apparel retailers. Therefore, we can say that the expectations of the customers
which are surrounded by the retail experience range from the products and stores that can satisfy
them. It is imperative for the specialty stores to focus on the unique product offerings along with
personalized service.
Brand Image
The retail stores and the organization must work hard in order to build the brand image of the
goods and services of the firm. Sales attempt and advertising are able to create a long-term
commitment on increasing the repeat purchase, brand awareness so as to increase the customer
loyalty. The brand image, customer loyalty and repeat purchases are directly linked to the
superior day-today management. The brand loyalty of the customer in the retail sector is seen to
outweigh the store loyalty. According to the Bloemer and Jos (1992) and their regression model,
a positive relationship is present between the dealer loyalty and the brand loyalty. In their scale
they were seen to evaluate and measure the dealer and brand loyalty as the repeat purchase
intentions on a nine point scale. The brand and dealer loyalty was seen to be measured by Huber
and Herrmann (2001) as the repeat purchase willingness and intentions towards recommending
the brand or dealer by using a 5 point scale. As per this study, the structural equation model was
seen to confirm the presence of a positive relationship between the dealer and brand loyalty. This
study directly linked the customer loyalty to the brand image.

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Service and Product Quality
Various studies have linked the customer satisfaction with the concept of service quality. It was
seen that the organizations commonly use the following service quality frameworks: Gronroos’
(1984) technical quality (what) versus functional quality (how) schema; Parasuraman et al (1985,
1988) the SERVQUAL framework proposed and finally Cronin and Taylor’s (1992, 1994)
SERVPERF framework.
SERVQUAL is one of the most popular service quality framework and asserts that the global
impressions were formed on the basis of the on disconfirmation assessments on the quality of the
service providers as per the ten distinct dimensions: reliability, competence, responsiveness,
courtesy, access, credibility, communication, understanding, security and tangibles. Later these
ten dimensions were reduced to the give dimensions namely: assurance, reliability, tangibles,
responsiveness and empathy.
The SERVPERF framework proposed by Cronin and Taylor, (1992) can be derived from the
SERVQUAL framework by Parasuramen et al (1998). And the last was the service quality
framework which was proposed by Gronroos (1984).
The technical outcomes of any service can be termed as the technical quality which means that
the functions and operations received by the consumers due to his interaction with the firm is
termed as the technical quality. Whereas the functional quality can be corresponded to the
expressive performance of the product and the performance of the services. It is a direct indicator
of the service and process quality.

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The evidence from the psychology of the environment reinforces the novelties that people forms
various inferences around the cues of the environment. The inferences of the consumer about the
quality of the service can be influenced by the environment of the retail store. Further, the
researchers (Reimer, A., & Kuehn, R. 2005), have unfolded the various aspects of the physical
environment like fascinating facilities, neat and well-dressed employees, etc. as they are the
important element of the service quality. It has been said that the physical facilities are one of the
major cue types which they depend upon. The environmental factors are being classified into
three categories such as ambient, social and design factors. Moreover, the customers who get
incomplete information about the quality of the services tends to make purchases relying on the
inferences decisions which are being created from the cues of the information and the
environment. The environment of the retail store provides a throng of stimuli which can be
further served as the cues to the customers who are looking for the heuristic. Further, the quality
has been identified as the determinant of the image of the store.
Effects of Store Environment on the Interference of Service Quality
According to the researchers (Ryu et al., 2012), the environment of the store has a great impact
on the inferences of consumers about the service quality. Further, the factors of the environment
are non-visual, the environment's background conditions which include lighting, temperature,
scent and the music. Moreover, the environment of the store has been identified as one of the
various inputs of store image and overall behavior and attitude towards the store. It has been
observed that the image of the store is the significant part of the decision-making process.
Furthermore, it has been researched that the beliefs of the consumers towards the store’s
attractiveness had a great correlation along with the intentions of the patronage as compared to

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the quality of services, level of price and selection. Further, the environment of the store and the
quality of services is being defined as the antecedents rather than the elements of the store image.
Brand Extensions and Brand Equity
The brands of the store like the logo or the name are being prospected as an extension of the
store. The brands of the store reflect the complex strategy of branding. Further, the image of the
store is dynamic and complex as compared to the associations of the product. Also, the labels of
privatization can be extended to the numerous number of categories. The positioning of the
brand cannot be consistent on all the elements or the components (Corstjens, M., & Lal, R.
2000). Moreover, the retailers can influence the positive attitude towards the store in order to
maximize the awareness and develop a positive attitude towards the brand by utilizing the
advertising, merchandizing and the packaging strategies in order to enhance the linkage. Further,
it is being said that the brands of the store persuade the image of the store. However, there can be
a reciprocal impact with causation moving in all the directions. There can be a weak image of the
store in the consumer’s perception because of the inconsistent and the unsustainable positioning
of the store across the outlets (Semeijn et al., 2004). Moreover, it is being believed that the
strongly and the mature attitude of the brand will clearly dominate the developing attitude of the
brand. According to the researchers, the image of the store was not included in the
conceptualization as they deal with the attitude of generalization towards the brand of the store
rather than the particular brand of the store.
Relevance of Store Attributes in Organized Retail

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The store elements related to the outlet of retail can be further grouped on the basis of
atmospherics and the location of the store, and it includes, lighting, color, music, personnel, etc.
which forms the complete context which helps the consumers to make the decisions. However,
the research has shown that these elements impact the store image. Furthermore, the buying
decision has become complicated because of the product's inseparability which is being offered
by the outlets. The atmospherics of the store on the perceptions of the consumers is difficult to
make sure that the selection of the store and the decisions of the patronage and further makes it
interesting and the important area in order to conduct research.
According to the researchers (Hedrick, N., Beverland, M., & Oppewal, H. 2004), the image of
the store includes the amalgamation of the factors i.e. tangible and the intangible which the
consumer's scent in order to be identified in the retail outlets. Further, the consumers use the
images of the store as the criteria for evaluation in the process of decision-making while
selecting an outlet. The attributes of the store refer to the fundamental elements of the dimension
of store image. Furthermore, the researchers have linked the image of the store with the decisions
of patronage and the loyalty which are being offered by the stores. The researchers have
conducted the various studies in order to identify the attributes of the store and how they appeal
to the consumer’s self-image and what are the consumer’s intentions of the patronage and what
factors they consider while making a decision.
Further, it has been observed from the various studies that the consumers are mainly satisfied
with the quality of services which are being provided by the stores and the level of loyalty those
stores offer and further maintains it. Also, it is being believed that the value of expressiveness is
different from the value of performance which is being obtained from the delivery of services.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 22
Moreover, the consumers are more attracted towards the retail stores which have modern
equipment, clean and hygienic physical facilities and the transactions are made easily as these
things yield the level of satisfaction and the intentions of patronage of the consumers towards the
process of decision making (Visser et al., 2006). Also, it has been observed that the name of the
store has a great effect on the choice of the store which is being made by the consumers as
compared to the name of the brand of the various products which are being offered by that store.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 23
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
This chapter talks about the activities that are performed in the study for achieving the objectives
of the study. In this chapter, the proper sequence of the timings and the structure of the research
have been formulated. The completion of this research work is based on the performance of the
activities one after the other.
The type of research for this study
The topic of the research is ‘A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS
in SOUTH KOREA’ which is theoretical and descriptive in nature. Therefore, the research is
descriptive. The study aims to give an insight to the people and the consumers regarding the
factors on the basis of which they chose a particular retail store. The collection of the data for
this study has been done from the sales records of the retail outlets in the country, from the
customer sales executives and the salesmen, from the journals and articles that have been
published in the past and the other online sources. All the sources have been successful in
providing immense information for the topic because this topic has been in discussion for a long
time. Thus, the descriptive study has met the requirements of the current research study.
The sources of data for this study
The study has been done using the primary and the secondary sources of data. The role of the
secondary study is large in this because being a study for the undergraduate level; the secondary
research has a major role to play in this. But, all the objectives could not be satisfied with the
secondary data, so a bit of primary data was also collected and it has been analyzed at a very
basic level using the graphs and the pie-charts. The primary data collection has been done from

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 24
the salesmen, the customers and the marketing executives. The secondary data has been
collected from the records of sales of the company, the footfall in the outlets, the types of
products that have been sold from the retail outlets, the feedback forms that customers have filled
in those stores, the journals and other research papers and the articles as well as blogs that are
published on the various online websites.
Both the sources of data have been used because the aim was to capture every aspect of the
study. With the primary data, the responses related to the response and the behavior of the
employees was collected and analyzed and with the secondary data, the views, findings and
opinions of the previous researchers were found (McGivern, 2013). Each of these sources has
their own advantages and disadvantages but they have served the purpose of the current study.
Firstly, taking about the secondary data, it can be in either the written form, typed form or
electronic form. There are enormous sources available with the researchers by which they can
gather the data for the industry, topic, area etc. and thus they can analyze the impact of one
variable on the other variable. Then, when the study aims to gain an insight into any problem,
then the secondary data is very important. Secondary data can be obtained from the internal or
the external sources. When the data is gathered from within the company where the research is
being carried out, then it is the internal source of secondary data and when the outside sources
are used, then it is the external secondary data. Here, in the present study, the external secondary
data has been used.
Advantages and limitations of using the external secondary data in the study

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 25
The primary advantage that was obtained from using the external secondary data in the study
was that it was cheaper and the access to the information was faster. Then, the journals that have
publishes in the past years and have been used in the study are the results of the best works of the
scholars. So, the secondary data helped in accessing those works and get valuable information
from them. Then, this data helped in giving the present study a direction regarding what is the
correct direction of the study and how one should go about it. Finally, this data helped in saving
the time, effort and money for this project and the data that has been found from the sources is
valuable and relevant.
But, the secondary data could not be tested for validity and reliability. So, the accuracy of the
data in the sources cannot be guaranteed. The previous researches have been done in particular
area and that may not be relevant to another area. So the demographic and the geographical
limitations may make the secondary sources quite useless in the current study (Spiranovic,
2016). Some of the papers that have been used in the study are very old and with time, the data in
those papers may have become obsolete and irrelevant. There is possibility that the results
obtained from the secondary sources may distort the findings of the present research. This is
because different people have their different views and opinions and they can critically evaluate
the results of the study and prove that it is not relevant in the present context. So, the findings
from the secondary sources only are very debatable and open to many discussions. Finally, there
are issues related with the authenticity of the secondary information and the copyright.
Reasons for using the primary research
Since, there are few serious limitations with the use of secondary data sources; the primary
research has also been used in the study. In a topic like this, it is very important to collect the

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 26
first hand information especially from the consumers so that he latest trends in the market can be
captured easily and the recent views and opinions of the people can be gathered too. It was
important to do a primary research because the data which is collected form such research is
always original and it is relevant to the topic of the study. There is a way and scope of testing the
validity and the accuracy for the data in the primary research. There are large numbers of ways
of collecting such data like the telephonic interviews, the face-to-face interviews, the surveys,
focus groups, questionnaires etc. Then, the e-mails and posts can be used to collect the primary
data if the respondents are located cross border (Saunders, 2014). The large number of people
can be covered in this study and the area can also be customized. For example, this study had to
be limited to the market of South Korea, so the primary research was based on the respondents of
this area only. Then, the use of primary data helped in giving a realistic view of the topic to the
researcher. Due to all these reasons, the primary research has also been included in the project
because the limitations of the secondary research had to be overcome somehow.
Instruments used for collecting the data in the research
The secondary data has been collected mainly from the journals, research papers and the articles
and blogs published online. But, for the collection of the primary data, a questionnaire has been
prepared that consists of all the closed ended questions. This means that the respondents had to
answer from the given set of options only, they were not free to give their own opinions. Apart
from this, the mails were sent to the people so that they get an idea about the study and they get
time to read the questions and answer accordingly.
Sampling

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 27
The sample of 50 people has been taken in the study. Such small sample has been taken because
the study is at undergraduate level and the role of secondary sources is major in this study. So,
the sample of 50 will give an insight in this study and it will help in validating the secondary data
too. The sample has been chosen based on the random sampling method where all the
respondents had an equal chance of being chosen in the study. Also, it is much easier when a
small part of the population is involved in the study. But, when the sample was being selected,
then it was made sure that it represented the entire population. The time that was spent in
sampling and collecting the data was not very large because the size of the sample was small and
the efforts to collect the data were continuous.
Data analysis
There are very complicated and cumbersome methods that are used to analyze the primary data.
But, here in this study, the data has been analyzed with the bar graphs and the charts that has
been made in MS Excel and the basic functions of the excel have been used here. The secondary
data has been analyzed with the findings and analysis of the previous researchers.
Limitations of the study:
1. It was difficult to gather the data from the secondary sources.
2. The hesitation of the respondents posed a barrier in the communication and they did not
answer objectively.
3. The location was a problem because the geographical area of the country is wide and all
the corners of the country could not be captured.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 28
4. The sample size was relatively small and it could not represent the entire population in a
proper manner. Thus, there may be some limitations associated with that

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 29
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
There are 45% males and 55% females in our study.
45%
55%
GENDER
MALES FEMALES
The age group profile is given as follows. The maximum number of people i.e. 35% of people in
our study are in the age group of 20-25. 19% are in the age group of 26-30, 10% in 31-35, 17%
in 35-40 and 18% are above the age of 41. This shows that are study mostly include young
people.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 30
20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 ABOVE 41
39
21
11
19 20
AGE GROUP
In the sample of 50, 39% of people are doing job, 30% are students, 11% are doing business, 6%
are teachers, 9% people are retired and only 3% are doing other than these things. Since most
people are young in our study therefore either they are students or doing job.
30%
12%
39%
6%
9%
4%
OCCUPATION
STUDENT BUSINESS JOB TEACHER RETIRED OTHER

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 31
In the study, most people have a family of 4. Size of family is small for most people so there
would be less frequent purchases of goods and they will not be purchasing in bulk.
2 3 4 5 6 ABOVE 6
7
19
32
24
18
10
SIZE OF FAMILY
Most people prefer to go to organized retail stores-52%. 29% people say that their choice
depends and is not fixed. Only 18% go to unorganized retail outlets. Among these, only 34% of
males go to organized retail stores and 75% go to unorganized, whereas 65% of females go to
organized and only 25% prefer to go to unorganized. Then the people doing job or business
prefer to go to organized shops but retired people go to unorganized.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 32
53%
18%
29%
ORG UNORG DEPENDS
While studying the pre purchase preparation of consumers it is found that most of the people
shop with a list. Few of them go for unplanned visits, emergency shopping. As compared to
females (68%), less males (31%) shop with a list, and more males go for emergency shopping as
compared to females. Students, job persons and teachers shop with a list but retired people go for
emergency shopping. As per the family size, mostly all of them shop with a list. In today’s world
people don’t have much time to visit the market again and again because most of them are doing
job, that’s why they shop with a list so as to get all the required things in one go.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 33
WITH LIST UNPLANNED EMERGENCY OTHER
54
28
21
7
PRE PURCHASE PREPARATION
In the study it is observed that 50% of people purchase food weekly and 55% of them buy it
from organized retail. 70% buy hard goods monthly and 76% from them go to organized retail.
83% buys soft goods monthly and again 86% of them go to organized retailer. Both males and
females prefer organized or unorganized equally for the purchase of food. But they prefer
organized for hard and soft goods. The difference in gender behavior is not observed here
because people look for good quality in food, and other goods, therefore they have a similar
choice. The people with large family size go to unorganized retail for purchase of food because
they have to purchase it more frequently and in large quantities so location from home is to be
considered. Retired people also prefer to go to unorganized stores because they have generally
developed a personal relation with the store person and they get service form him like home
delivery, discounts etc.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 34
FOOD HARD SOFT
23
0 0
56
32
18
31
78
92
DAILY WEEKLY MONTHLY
FOOD HARD SOFT
60
84
95
50
26
10
ORG UNORG
The rating of various factors in choosing a retail outlet is as follows. Consumers consider quality,
price and location from home as most important and home delivery and ambience as less
important. For males, quality, location, price and parking facility are important things to
consider, for females, price, quality, offers and discounts are important. For a retired person price

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 35
is the most important factor to be considered an also location from home, all under one roof and
services, but for earning people price is not as important as quality or ambience or variety.
Retired people generally don’t have a source of income and hence price consideration is
important for them. People with large family size look for price and variety and they also try to
get everything under one roof, because they have to meet the demands of many people in the
house.
PRICE
OFFERS
LOCATION FROM HOME
VARIETY
SERVICES
SELF SERVICE
QUALITY OF PRODUCT
HOME DELIVERY
AMBIENCE
ALL UNDER 1 ROOF
68% 54% 68% 65% 51% 43%
83%
32% 33% 46%
IMPORTANCE OF FACTORS
39% of people are attracted towards a particular store because of the display of merchandise.
24% due to cleanliness in stores, 20% like the delivery of product and 15% are attracted because
of friendliness of sales people. Males are mostly attracted by the friendliness of sales persons
whereas women are not. Women are attracted due to the display of merchandise. This shows that
women do not get influenced by sales persons easily. Young people generally look for display

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 36
and retired people look for good delivery mechanism because they are unable to carry heavy
loads of their purchases.
FRIENDLINESS DISPLAY OF
MERCHANDISE CLEANLINESS DELIVERY
17
43
27
23
ATTRACTION TOWARDS RETAIL
STORE
40% respondents judge the genuineness of retail store by the variety of brands it offers. 21%
judge by status and perceptions. Only 18% consider price as a way to judge retail outlet. Mostly
male judge the genuineness by variety of brands offered and women by their perceptions. Young
people look at the status whereas retired people look for the price. The people with large family
size also look at the variety of brands offered. Variety of brands shows that a store is reputed
enough that’s why many different brands are putting their goods in that store and hence people
go to that store.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 37
STATUS VAREIETY OF
BRANDS OFFERED PRICE PERCEPTIONS
24
44
20 22
GENUINENESS
64% of respondents look for psychological pricing and 35% suggested. Both the gender prefers
psychological pricing. Our study includes majority of working class so they don’t have time to
indulge in bargaining for the prices. They consider the tagged price as genuine. But the people
who prefer unorganized store like retired people or people with large family size, they look for
suggested pricing.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 38
35%
65%
TYPE OF PRICING
SUGGESTED PSYCOLOGICAL
40% people prefer to go for shopping in the evening. 33% go in the afternoon and only 25% go
in the morning. Since our study includes working people so they prefer to shop in the evening
because they don’t have time in the morning or afternoon. Females and retired people generally
go for shopping in the morning because retail outlets are less crowded at that time and they have
enough space to select the product.
25%
34%
41%
TIME OF SHOPPING
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 39
30% of people say that they are often influenced by the word of mouth publicity of any retail
store. 25% say that they are occasionally influenced and 21% of people are always influenced.
As compared to males, females more often get influenced by word of mouth publicity of any
retail outlet.
NEVER RARELY OCCASSIONALLY OFTEN ALWAYS
8
17
28 33
24
INFLUENCE OF WORD OF MOUTH
PUBLICITY
43% agree to the statement that organized and unorganized retail have their own advantages and
disadvantages. People whose preference of organized or unorganized retail outlets depends on
the variety of product they purchase generally agree that both has its own advantages and
disadvantages.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 40
STRONGLY
DISAGREE DISAGREE NEUTRAL AGREE STRONGLY
AGREE
5 8
28
48
21
53% people want to continue buying from their respective organized/unorganized retail outlet.
This shows people are happy and satisfied about their selection of retail outlets.
54%
15%
31%
YES NO DEPENDS
28% respondents look for counter service or delivery. Only 10% prefer door to door service.
Most people look for counter service because they want to ensure that all the products they

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 41
purchase, they carry it along with them and nothing is left out or mistakably exchanged with
anyone else. If people go to a store where everything is under one roof the y tend to buy more
things and those people then look for delivery mechanism.
COUNTER
SERVICE DELIVERY DOOR TO
SOOR SELF SERVICE OTHER
31 31
12
24
10
TRANSFER MECHANISM
32% respondents feel that their retailer should improve upon customer relationship management.
23% and 20% want improvement in variety and discounts. 17% and 5% want in hygiene and
ambience. Customer relationship management is required for hard and soft goods like kitchen
appliances, clothes etc. People require improvement in after sales services and offers on further
purchase etc. Females want improvement in discounts and variety because they purchase more
often than males.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 42
CRM DISCOUNTS VARIETY HYGIENE AMBIENCE
36
23 26
19
6
IMPROVEMENT

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 43
Chapter 6: CONCLUSIONS
The summary of study and conclusions drawn from it are as follows:
 The primary reason for choosing a retail store is quality of product it offers, price and
location of store from home. Quality is rated highest by respondents because most of
them are earning and have a small family size so price is secondary for them.
 If given a choice they prefer to go to organized stores rather than unorganized retail
outlets. But choice also depends on type of product they are purchasing. They buy food
from organized but a lot many of them buy it from unorganized because it is purchased
more often than other goods. Hard goods and soft goods are purchased less often but
from organized retailers.
 People generally shop with a list because they don’t have time to visit the market again
and again. They try to purchase all required products in one go.
 Most people are attracted towards a retail store because of the display of merchandise.
They find it easy to pick products from these stores.
 Genuineness of a retail store is judged by the variety of brands it offers. Brands relates to
the status of a store. Also, in today’s world people have become more brand conscious.
 Most people look for psychological pricing (which is displayed on labels). They don’t
want to indulge in bargaining techniques.
 Since most people are working class, they go for shopping in the evening.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 44
 People are often influenced by word of mouth publicity.
 Most people look for counter service to avoid any misplacement or exchange of their
product.
 Improvement in customer relationship management is asked by the respondents for
retailers. People look for good after sales services and further discounts etc.
To sum it up, people buy goods from organized retail where quality is considered as most
important by them. Display of merchandise attracts consumers and they look for counter service
mechanism for transfer of goods.

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 45
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What is your gender?
a. Male b. Female
2. What is your age?
a. 20-25 b. 26-30
c. 31-35 d.35-40
e. above 41
3 . What is your occupation?
a. Student b. Business
c. Job (Government/private) d. Teacher
e. Retired f. Other
4. What is the size of your family?
a. 2 b. 3
c. 4 d. 5
e. 6 f. Above 6

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 46
5. Do you prefer to go to organized retail or unorganized kirana shops?
a. Organized b. Unorganized
c. Depends/ not fixed
6. What is your pre-purchase preparation before going to a retail store?
a. Shop with list b. unplanned visits
c. Emergency shopping d. Other
7. How often do you shop the following products and from which retail outlet?
a. Food: Daily Weekly Monthly
Organized Unorganized
b. Hard goods (Do not quickly wear out):
Daily Weekly Monthly
Organized Unorganized
c. Soft goods (Cloths, apparels):
Daily Weekly Monthly

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 47
Organized Unorganized
8. Rate the following factors as per your importance in choosing a retail outlet.
1- Least important 5-most important
a. Price b. Offers
c. Location from home d. Variety
e. Services f. Self service
g. Quality of product h. Home delivery
i. Ambience j. All under one roof
k. Parking facility
9. Your particular retail shop for particular product attracts you because of
a. Friendliness of sales persons
b. Display of merchandise
c. Cleanliness
d. Delivery of product
10. How do you judge the genuineness of a retail store?
a. Status b. Variety of brands offered
c. Price d. Perceptions

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 48
11. What is the type of pricing you look for?
a. Suggested b. Psychological/odd (displayed on labels)
12. At what time do you prefer to go for your shopping?
a. morning(less crowded) b. afternoon(crowded) c. evening(very crowded)
13. Are you influenced by word of mouth publicity about a particular retailer?
a. Never b. Rarely c. Occasionally
d. Often e. Always
14. Do you agree that both the organized and unorganized retails have their own
advantages and disadvantages?
a. Strongly disagree b. Disagree c. Neutral
d. Agree e. Strongly agree
15. Do you plan to continue buying from organized/unorganized retail?
a. Yes b. No c. Depends
16. What kind of transfer mechanism you look for?
a. Counter service b. Delivery c. Door to Door
d. Self-service e. Other
17. In which of the following factors do you want further improvement in any retail shop?

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 49
a. Customer relationship Management b. Discounts
c. Variety d. Hygiene
e. Ambience

A STUDY ON STORE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS in SOUTH KOREA 50
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