Shopping at bricks-and-mortar stores is considered highly experiential. An ability to experience and physically interact with a product is a key benefit of shopping at offline stores. In an online shopping context where sensory experience is absent, researchers have looked at how mental imagery as an alternative to in-store sensory experience impact consumer decision-making (Yoo & Kim, 2014). However the role of mental imagery has been largely overlooked in the context of offline store shopping. While it is true that shopping at offline stores facilitates sensory experience, evidence from cognitive neuropsychology literature supports that visual perception impacts visual mental imagery (Bartolomeo, 2002). Therefore, it is reasonable to posit that sensory experience in stores is related to mental imagery. Yet the relationship between actual sensory experience and mental imagery in the context of store shopping has not been studied. To fill a gap in the current literature, this study aims to examine the process by which sensory experience and mental imagery facilitate purchase decision-making in the context of offline stores. Based on the model of recursive relationships among consumers’ emotional, cognitive, perceptual and behavioral responses (Scherer, 2003) and a review of previous literature, this study posits that actual sensory experience and mental imagery related. It is further posited that both actual sensory experience and mental imagery influence consumers’ affective (anticipatory emotion) and cognitive responses (e.g., decision satisfaction, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction). This study employed an online survey in Korea. Apparel shoppers who shopped and purchased apparel at brick-and-mortar stores during the last six months were recruited. To facilitate a retrieval of in-store experiences, a series of questions about their specific shopping trip and purchases were asked at the beginning of survey. The current study consists of measurements adopted from the existing literature with adequate reliabilities. All the items were measured using a 7-point Likert-type scale. A total of 455 respondents completed the online survey questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were examined to assess reliabilities of the measures, and reliability coefficients were acceptable for all constructs (.78 ~ .92). Results of the SEM revealed that all the model-fit indexes exceeded their respective common acceptance levels, suggesting that the proposed model fitted the data well (2 = 627.38, df = 175; NFI = .92; IFI = .94; CFI = .94; RMSEA = .075). All the direct relationships among variables were significant except for the effect of sensory experience on perceived ownership, the effect of mental imagery on decision confidence, and the effect of perceived ownership on behavioral intention. This study provides new insights into consumer in-store shopping experiences and theoretical and practical implications. Sensory experience and mental imagery are complementary in facilitating consumer in-store shopping experiences. In addition to the importance of sensory experience, this study provides empirical evidence to support the vital role of mental imagery in the context of in-store shopping. Visualizing a situation through vivid mental imagery combined with actual sensory experience will lead consumers to positive shopping outcomes. Further research is warranted to better understand how to optimize actual sensory experience and mental imagery to offer excellent in-store experiences.

Socialization agents are an important aspect of a consumer's tool set for determining how they interact with the market environment. These agents are traditionally thought to be members of one's family, peers, and mass media (Bush, Smith, and Martin 1999; John 1999). Research as shown how socialization agents play an important role in marketing research and how they affect attitude formation (Shin, Ross, and Moon, 2015) and brand/store switching behaviors (Shin, Park, and Ross, 2012). Culture defines social norms and forms what are acceptable or even desirable consumption goods within a society (Kaltcheva and Weitz, 2006). Through this definition, one can assume that culture likely has significant influences on a consumer’s shopping motives. Previous researches have attempted to divide culture into dimensions of vertical/horizontal and collectivism/individualism; where vertical individualism is made up of individuals who attempt to stand out from others in their uniqueness via competitive natures, a focus on success and achievements, and acquisition of power; horizontal individualism consists of individuals who tend to shun successful people as boasters and consider values of modesty respectable while retaining their individuality and personal goals apart from comparing to others around them; vertical collectivists are those who recognize a hierarchal form of society and seek to maintain the consistency of traditional authority structures within it; and horizontal collectivists hold views less related to hierarchal recognition and more related to values of equal cooperation with an honest and direct demeanor (Shavitt, Lalwani, Zhang, and Torelli, 2006; Kurman and Sriram, 2002; Triandris and Gelfland, 1998). However, the operational items utilized in research surveys, while successful in the west, such as in the U.S., have struggled to stand out and show significance in the Korean society. This research attempts to provide more useful survey items that embrace each aspect of culture type more clearly in order to reach levels of significance and distinction that are sorely needed in this field. In South Korea, which is thought to be a predominantly collectivist culture (Hofstede, 2001; Rhee, Uleman, and Lee, 1996), a study of discount shoppers found they are inclined to shop for the purpose of socialization either because they enjoy being in a crowd or to compare their current social status level with other shoppers in the same store (Jin and Kim, 2003). Collectivist consumers tend to shop with others among their social circles and spend more time shopping (Ackerman and Tellis, 2001). Consumers that spend more time shopping are more proactive in obtaining information while they are shopping (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980). Risk averse shoppers attempt to increase their market knowledge (Mano and Elliott, 1997), and collectivists are thought to be more risk averse and attempt to avoid risk through various methods, such as price signaling (Shannon and Mandhachitara, 2008). In China, a largely collectivist society, consumers are quite price conscious and focused on thrifty spending habits (Kim, Forsythe, Gu, and Moon, 2002; Zhang, 2001; Weidenbaum, 1996), and they are more likely to engage in obtaining product information during shopping ventures than their individualist American counterparts (Ackerman and Tellis, 2001). Jin and Kim (2003) suggested that Korean shoppers are socially motivated to shop in order to compare their levels of accomplishments with other shoppers in the same venues. This falls in line with a competitive nature distinct in vertical culture types. Verticality in culture values is related to competition and moving up the social latter, while horizontal cultural values denote a more cooperative and passive stance on standing out (Triandis and Gelfand, 1998). It seems logical to assume that vertical culture values tend toward more hedonistic values rather than utilitarian. Utilitarian shoppers are more concerned about price competitiveness and convenience when shopping (Jin and Kim, 2003), implying that individuals of a horizontal cultural nature are more concerned with price comparison and the places that conveniently provide them with information needed to make purchase decisions in the store rather than through external information search, such as through social interactions. When shoppers lack socialization agents or collective cultures to help them make purchase decisions, they must turn to the stores themselves for assistance and information acquisition. Studies have shown that a lack of social interaction creates feelings of loneliness in elderly shoppers, whom will then turn to various mall shopping motivations, such as service consumption and diversion, in order to alleviate their loneliness (Kim, Kang, and Kim, 2005). This suggests that the shopping motivation to interact with service personnel in stores acts as a substitute for situations where socialization agents are lacking. Shopping malls have been shown to be help mitigate feelings of social isolation and emotional disconnect from society (Forman and Sriram, 1991; Mochis, 1996; Kang and Ridgway, 1996). As collectivists tend to highly desire social interactions for a variety of reasons, it is quite likely that such interactions will be a driving factor for their motivation to shop, especially when they lack the appropriate socialization agents that will provide the means to give such interactions outside of the market. Customer satisfaction leads customers to stronger emotional attachments to the stores they are satisfied with, implying that individuals form social bonds with the stores themselves; and this, in turn, increases the likelihood of these individuals becoming regular patrons (Shin and Park, 2014). There are a variety of shopping motives that have been used for studies in previous researches. In this research, we take a look at the motivations of social interaction (Tauber, 1972), information seeking (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980), and price comparison (Groeppel-Klein, Thelen, and Antretter, 1999), and how they are affected by socialization agents, both personal and non-personal, as well as culture type and how they influence an individual's likelihood of emotional attachment to stores.

The purpose of this study is to present theoretical and experimental evidence for a niche strategy for small and medium online shopping malls to run business against large famous shopping malls prevailing the E-commerce market. For this, the present study demonstrates how chronic construal levels of consumers may affect their alternative choice for online shopping via various contexts (Experiment 1-3) and categories (Experiment 3-5). This series of experiments suggests that consumers with high construal level can be defined as a group that is relatively less susceptible to reputation of the shopping malls. Thus, strategically targeting this group of consumers will help small and medium-sized online malls lacking store reputation to mitigate their competitive disadvantage. Based on both existing literature and the experimental results as above, this research discusses possible methods for small and medium-sized online shopping malls to target high-construal segmentation.

본 연구는 우리나라의 대형할인마트 이용자의 쇼핑 성향에 따른 가드닝용품의 이용실태와 만족도를 알아 보기 위하여 대구·경북 지역을 중심으로 최대 소매 업태인 이마트, 홈플러스, 롯데마트를 선정하여 2011년 2월 1일부터 3월 30일의 기간 동안 총 364부의 설문 자료를 수집·분석하였다. 대형할인마트 이용자들의 소 비특성을 파악 하고자 쇼핑성향의 요인분석을 실시한 결과 유행 추구형 쇼핑성향, 친환경적 쇼핑성향, 쾌락 형 쇼핑성형, 경제적 쇼핑성향 4가지 요인이 분석 되 었다. 전반적으로 가드닝 용품의 구매경험이 높았고, 구매횟수는 월 1∼2회, 평균 구매금액은 월 3∼5만원, 구매상품의 종류는 화분이 가장 높게 나타났다. 조사대 상자의 대형할인마트 쇼핑성향에 따라 구매경험은 유 행 추구형 쇼핑성향 72.6%로 높았고 구매횟수는 유행 추구형, 쾌락형, 경제추구형의 40%이상이 월1∼2회, 친환경적 쇼핑성향이 38.1%가 월 5∼6회 정도 구매하 였다. 월 평균 구매금액은 친환경적 쇼핑성향 42.9%, 유행추구형 32.8%가 월 3∼5만원 구매하는 것으로 나 타났고, 쾌락형은 37.2%가 월 1∼3만원, 경제적 쇼핑 성향은 37.1%가 1만원 미만 구매하였다. 가드닝 용품 은 유행 추구형, 쾌락형 쇼핑성향을 지닌 소비자들은 화분, 친환경적 쇼핑성향의 경우 채소씨앗, 경제적 쇼 핑성향은 식물세트를 가장 선호하는 경향을 보였다. 대 형할인마트 내 가드닝 용품에 대한 만족도 및 재 구 매 의도는 평균이상으로 나타났으며, 다양성의 한계가 가장 큰 불만요소인 것으로 나타났다.