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GENDER HETEROGENEITY IN THE EVALUATIONS OF STORE ENVIRONMENTAL CUES, STORE LOVE AND LOYALTY
Numerous studies have tested the impact of store environmental stimuli on store loyalty via some form of attachment and found that the environmental cues of a store do influence repatronage behaviours such as intentions to visit a store. However, different groups of consumers such as men and women could respond differently to environmental stimuli and develop distinct emotions or attachment towards a store brand (i.e. store love) which eventually results in different store repatronage behaviour (i.e. store loyalty). This study sought to determine whether male and female shoppers evaluated the (1) impact of store environmental cues (ambient, design, merchandise and social) on store love, as well as (2) effect of store love on store loyalty differently from each other. Studies comparing male and female shoppers are crucial as it would help retailers formulate and implement more effective gender-related marketing strategies. The framework and measures of this study were adapted from Koo and Kim (2003). Data was solicited from 863 Millennial shoppers of fast fashion retail stores in Malaysia using a survey method. The focus was on fast fashion stores given their significance as a disrupter in the retail industry and their strong popularity among clothing shoppers. Partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) was used to determine the differences between path coefficients in the structural model as well as compare the loadings of the indicators in the measurement model between both male and female respondents. Results showed that the indicator loadings do not differ significantly between male and female subsamples thereby establishing measurement model invariance. Results from the PLS-MGA showed that male and female shoppers do not evaluate the impact of store environmental cues (ambient, design, merchandise and social) on store love differently. Both groups shared the same perception that all four environmental cues examined in this study were important in cultivating positive feelings and attachment towards a store brand. However, the impact of store love on store loyalty differed significantly among males and females. Interestingly, the effect of store love on store loyalty was higher for the males than the females, contrasting the conventional view of females as the more emotionally-attached and loyal group of consumers.Numerous studies have tested the impact of store environmental stimuli on store loyalty via some form of attachment and found that the environmental cues of a store do influence repatronage behaviours such as intentions to visit a store. However, different groups of consumers such as men and women could respond differently to environmental stimuli and develop distinct emotions or attachment towards a store brand (i.e. store love) which eventually results in different store repatronage behaviour (i.e. store loyalty). This study sought to determine whether male and female shoppers evaluated the (1) impact of store environmental cues (ambient, design, merchandise and social) on store love, as well as (2) effect of store love on store loyalty differently from each other. Studies comparing male and female shoppers are crucial as it would help retailers formulate and implement more effective gender-related marketing strategies. The framework and measures of this study were adapted from Koo and Kim (2003). Data was solicited from 863 Millennial shoppers of fast fashion retail stores in Malaysia using a survey method. The focus was on fast fashion stores given their significance as a disrupter in the retail industry and their strong popularity among clothing shoppers. Partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) was used to determine the differences between path coefficients in the structural model as well as compare the loadings of the indicators in the measurement model between both male and female respondents. Results showed that the indicator loadings do not differ significantly between male and female subsamples thereby establishing measurement model invariance. Results from the PLS-MGA showed that male and female shoppers do not evaluate the impact of store environmental cues (ambient, design, merchandise and social) on store love differently. Both groups shared the same perception that all four environmental cues examined in this study were important in cultivating positive feelings and attachment towards a store brand. However, the impact of store love on store loyalty differed significantly among males and females. Interestingly, the effect of store love on store loyalty was higher for the males than the females, contrasting the conventional view of females as the more emotionally-attached and loyal group of consumers.The findings imply that retailers need to be more astute in creating strong emotional bonds with customers that translate to repatronage behaviours particularly among female shoppers. Male shoppers, as discovered, tend to be less finicky in expressing their love and repatronage intentions for a store once they are contented with the store’s ambience, design, merchandise and service. Alternatively, retailers can seize the opportunity of reaching out to the Millennial male shopper cohort given their potential in market size, characteristic as the less fastidious lot compared to their female counterparts, penchant for recreational shopping and being market mavens when it comes to the latest products, trends and happenings.
