Contemporary Retail Environments - the Shopping Experience - Essay Example

?Contemporary Retail Environments The Shopping Experience Table of Contents Introduction 3 Explanation of Shopping Experience 4 Components of Great Shopping Experience 6 Motivations of Shopping Experience 9 Role of Environment on Shopping Experience 11 Behavioural Models 14 The Cognitive Affect Behaviour (CAB) Model 14 Consciousness Emotion Value (CEV) 15 Conclusion 16 References 17 Introduction In the modern day business environment, customers worth not only the quality of the product they purchase but also treasure the pleasure they feel while purchasing. Thus, a retailer must offer its customers value for the product and ease of shopping with an enjoyable shopping experience. Shopping is an activity which involves the buying behaviour of the individuals based on several factors such as the level of convenience, accessibility, the environment and the comfort. Shopping is no more a simple act based on the human need, exchange of the currency and the goods but much more. The perception of shopping and its experience differs as few people perceive it to be a part of entertainment, act of expression, path for happiness and stress therapy (Tuttle, 2010). The experience of the shopping is judged by the accomplishment of the individual perception in the retail environment. Shopping can be deciphered as a contradiction that yields both pleasures and anxieties among the people based on their experience. The concept of shopping experience has changed to a greater degree for the modern shoppers based on their psychology, lifestyle and requirements. Consequently, the shopping experience is the point at which the tension, promises of modernity and postmodernity are apparent. The experience of shopping can be evaluated by the people on the basis of the information gathered, product variety and wide range of products. The easy accessibility of the services and goods through the use of online sources and mobiles has made the shopping experience convenient, economical and exciting (Falk & Campbell, 1997). Shopping experience can be a recreational aspect depending on the consumer behaviour and their considerations. Shopping experience is cherished by meeting the emotional value and affect behaviour of the individual. As illustrated by Levy, “People buy products not only for what they can do, but also for what they mean” (Hirschman, 1986). The objective of the essay is to emphasise the shopping behaviour and experience of the individuals in the retail environment. It evaluates the component, motivational factors, role of environment and the models to explain the shopping experience. Explanation of Shopping Experience The shopping process is initiated by the need recognition of the individuals. It the behaviour by which the unwanted needs of the individuals are realised and are being fulfilled in the retail shop. The needs of the people differ and so the choice of buying, some prefer design over brand, some look for uniqueness and some consider budget. It is observed that before buying a product customers tend to gather information by searching for the same products in various shops. This process of gathering information and taking advices are part of the holistic shopping experience. Information gathering through various sources to get the knowledge about the price of the product, availability and features influence the shopping decision of the individuals. Moreover, the evaluation of the alternatives is a part of shopping wherein the personal views and opinions along with advices from the friends influence the decision process of the individual. The huge displays of the products in the retail environments affect the process of evaluation of the individuals and make their shopping process easier or at times complex. Individuals tend to shop based on their need but at times due to the influence of retail environment they tend to buy products which are not desired by them before coming to the retail shop. The impulsive shopping makes the experience of shopping great as it signifies the fulfilment of the undesired product. The purchase decision for the desired and undesired products is influenced by the approach of the sales person in the retail shop. The persuasiveness, politeness and the impressive personality also influence the purchasing decision which makes the experience of shopping memorable and relaxing. The good experience of shopping influences the customer to indulge in frequent shopping along with promoting the virtue derived through the purchase via word-of-mouth promotion (Turban, 2010; Alexander & et. al., 2008). The customer purchasing model influences the shopping experiences of the individuals to a great extent as represented in the diagram: Source: (Turban, 2010) Furthermore, creating a memorable and positive shopping experience for the customer is the major objective as pleasure while shopping experience would lead to repeat visit and increased sales. The physical environment of the retail outlet might influence the purchasing behaviour, such as the available space, digital display and lucrative offers that work towards increasing the chances of the impulse buying. The presence of an enjoyable, pleasant and attractive in store shopping environment leads to the greater shopping experience as it would be different from other kirana shops. The traditional concept of shopping to fulfil the rquirements is no more perceived in the modern world. Now-a-days, people prefer entertainment while shopping, through the appropriate inclusion of smooth music, interactive elements in the retail sector and eye-catching displays enhance the environment of the retail shop. These elements make the environment attractive and lucrative for the customers and make them cherish the shopping experience (Vong, 2012). The environment of the retail shop plays an important role in creating a great shopping experience without physically buying the product. For instance, the entertaining and exciting environment of the retail showroom of Audi City makes the customers feel happy and contented after they are out of the showroom even without purchasing. The retail showroom of the Audi uses advanced technique such as innovative touch screen display and videos that facilitate the customers to get an experience of the Audi models and learn about their features. This technological advancement makes the customers feel satisfied and hence make their shopping experience worth watching. Therefore, along with the flash, entertainment, music and interaction of the sales persons with the customers, the behaviour of the management and several other factors influence the customer shopping experience. The social factors, time factor, and product involvement of the customers towards technology, finances, retail prices, the store environments, the behaviour of the salesperson and billing counter discipline all impact the shopping experience. The retail environment is developed in such a manner to make the shopping look like more of a fun, pleasurable and enjoyable task which works as a stress relief even if customers are buying goods which are of necessity (Vong, 2012; Lemke & et. al., n.d.). Components of Great Shopping Experience The retail business gives more emphasis on the customer shopping experience so that the impressive experience acts as a stimulus for them to come again and visit the retail store. Any bad experience would make the retailer lose one of the prospective customers. Therefore, the retailer must create an environment and produce an excellent service for the customers to satisfy them. Involvement is an important factor which influences the shopping experience of the people in the retail environment. Involvement with the customer helps in establishing a good relationship. Involvement leads to customer loyalty as the customers feel satisfied and find value for money in the particular retail environment. The sales person is the one who influences the customers’ buying behaviour by understanding their emotions and needs. The friendly behaviour of the sales person and their engagement in helping the customers in making the relevant choice make the customers feel satisfied. Politeness of the sales person while interacting with the customer, a smiling face makes the environment friendly and cordial for the customer to purchase the goods in a patient manner. The assistance requested by the customers should be addressed with a polite approach. Involvement involves the readiness of the sales person in supporting the customer with sincerity along with listening to their complaints with the emotion of resolving it. This would make the customers feel satisfied and increase their presence in the retail store (Forbes, 2013). The excellence to execute the retail operations also assists in making the shopping experience memorable for the customers. In order to satisfy the customers, the retailer should provide better quality products with complete knowledge of the goods to explain the features of the products to the customers in case of requirement. This value added service would make the customer experience memorable. The sharing of the knowledge with the customer and helping them in searching the products are the services which are valued by the customer. To make the retail store different from others, the retailer needs to focus on the design or look of the retail store. The uniqueness, good interior and design bestowing a brand experience create positivity in the minds of the customers, which also facilitates in making their experience during shopping better. The availability of superior quality product along with providing discounts and creating attractive offers for the customers make them feel contented. The customers feel valued by getting special discounts or offers (Kalliatakis, 2013). Shopping for long hours might not be desirable by the customers in the modern world. People value their time and prefer not to waste much time while standing in the queues for the bill payment. Thus, to ensure non wastage of the time, the management of the retail segment trains their cashier to work quickly and reduce the queue efficiently. Moreover, increase in the number of cash payment counter and use of advanced technologies would make the shopping experience convenient for the customer. Moreover, the salesperson is required to assist the customers in making choices which in turn makes the shopping process convenient. The shopping experiences of the customers can be valued by resolving their issues in an efficient manner. There might be situation where people might make mistakes while providing service. The recovery of the problem by resolving the issue through providing alternative solution avoids the customer from becoming frustrated. After providing the solution to the customer, they need to turn the disappointment of the buyer into satisfaction to make their shopping experience good even after the issue faced by them (Verde Group, 2009). Motivations of Shopping Experience Motivation in the retail environment is of two dimensions, hedonic and utilitarian. The shopping research on hedonic and utilitarian motivation is done to understand the reason why individuals’ shop. As per one of the researchers, hedonic shopping is based on six dimensions. Adventure refers to the shopping done for stimulation and to get the sensation of being in a different world. The dimension of social refers to do shopping with the friends and family as per the requirements. Gratification emanates when an individual does shopping to be stress free, avoid the negative mood or to keep one-self happy. Idea is when shopping is done to keep up with the trend via buying innovative products. Role is when the individual feels happy by shopping for others and lastly value is when shopping is done for seeking discounts and sales. The other dimensions of hedonic, pleasure and escapism are also the characteristics of the shopping enjoyment. Hedonic buying motive is associated with the emotional requirements of the individuals for the pleasurable and interesting shopping experiences. In this form, various emotions such physiological and psychological dimensions play an important role while shopping. The hedonic consumptions take place in a high involvement situation, which is when the individual is deeply indulged in the experience of shopping. Compulsive shoppers are the ones who value the hedonic approach as they are more involved in fantasy. They are more involved into pleasure and shopping for satisfaction (Ahtola, 1985). On the other hand, utilitarian motivation states that individuals are concerned about efficiency along with achieving a specific end while shopping. The utilitarian buying motive is to search for convenience, variety, quality and price which make the customers shopping experience worthwhile. The traditional form of the shopping decision is demonstrated from the utilitarian model which differs from the other on the basis of mentality, product classes, usage of the product and the differences in the individual perceptions. The shopping here is valued much as task oriented, rational and at times the act of shopping is deemed as a work and not enjoyment. The customers following the utilitarian approach are involved in shopping products which are useful for them. They do not give importance to impulsive shopping without understanding the relevance of the product in their lives. Thus, the retail environment can have greater influence on the hedonic behaviour of the consumer. The buying decision for the utilitarian is based on the utility of the product and the way the product will serve the people. The aspect of utilitarian towards the behaviour of shopping is based on the value, usefulness and rationality (O’Brien, 2010). Hedonic and utilitarian are like a state wherein the individuals are so involved in the activity of shopping that nothing else appears to matter. Both aspects are bipolar in nature and have high magnitude. Hedonic includes both the pleasant and unpleasant feelings (Sarkar, 2011). The factors inducing the hedonic and the utilitarian approaches for shopping are different. Hence, the analysis of the motives assists the retailers in understanding the need which would help in making the shopping experience better. The motive which drives the utilitarian towards retail shops is the convenience in shopping. The components for convenience to them include large space, availability of wide range of products along with getting all the necessary items underneath one roof at any time of the day. Moreover, the utilitarian takes the approach of being practical and economical while conducting shopping and thus prefers a retail store to shop based on its availability along with sales promotion, discounts and sales offer. This makes the shopping experience better for the people as they are getting what they want. The retailer designs the shopping centre and promotional schemes as per the requirements of the people they serve. The utilitarian buy products which are important and are of relevance for them, thus they cherish shopping in retail as they get all the necessary items itemized in the list. These factors make their shopping experience great as compared to other kirana stores. The utilitarian buy products in a planned and disciplined manner and they are not impulsive. The retailer understands their needs and makes the items easily available as well as provides discounts to attract these customers which make their shopping experience better (Kourouthanassis & et. al., 2007). On the contrary, the hedonic motivations are based on more of impulsive shopping and the retail environment influences such shopping. These people do shopping for the enjoyment and not for necessity. For such people, the environment of the retail store is of great importance as they prefer the environment to be soothing which makes them feel comfortable and assists them in making a great shopping experience. The shopping experiences are made full of enjoyment even if the people do not shop because of the attractions in the malls. Moreover, the environment of the shopping mall helps in removing stress because of the environment, which in turn helps in idea shopping. This is because of the availability of new fashionable clothes and accessories to attract the customers. The visual displays and the attractive ambience are the factors provided by the retailers to the customers which make the shopping experience memorable for them (Patel & Sharma, 2009). Role of Environment on Shopping Experience The retail environment is an important factor that influences the purchasing behaviour of the customer. The interior, decor, music, hygiene and lighting are the elements that affect the emotional state of the people in the retail stores and influence them to make a purchase without any plan for purchase. It is observed that the variety of available goods and the approach of the sales person with a polite nature influence individuals thought process and inclines them to make the purchase. The environments in the retail shop have both negative and positive affect on the people depending on their mind set and mood. It is observed that at times a customer in a good mood enters the retail shop with no intention of buying, but due to the positive environment supported by the music, good salesperson and huge attractive displays get influenced and consequently end up purchasing the good (Andreu & et. al., 2006). In contrast, the music in the retail shop might be of distraction and annoyance for few people. To avoid such negativity, the management must be careful in using the music and lights decor as per the requirements and understanding of different customers’ perception. For instance, bright light in a restaurant might be of attractions for the people but the seating arrangement can be a reason for discouragement for long stay. The willingness of the salesperson to communicate and hidden sales display would encourage people to discover the entire shop, thus this would have a positive impact on the shopping experience due to the environment. The environments and lucrative offers influence the mind of the people and also affect their purchasing decision. The problem solving attitude and the attention seeking projections in the retail influence the buying decision (Yalch & Spangenberg, 2000). The effect of the retail environment on the consumer behaviour and their shopping is exhibited through the diagram below: Source: (Yalch & Spangenberg, 2000) Behavioural Models The process of shopping begins when the customer realises the need for the product and then seeks for information. The decision of buying a product depends on various factors at the time of shopping such as behaviour and emotion. The shopping experience depends on the environment, emotional state and the responses. The Cognitive Affect Behaviour (CAB) Model There are several factors that affect the buying decision of the consumer on which the shopping experience depends. Cognition signifies the thought of the individuals about the object, its necessity and importance. Affect is the feeling which the person has for a product; it is the desire of the person. Behaviour is the actions of the individuals about the product. The retail environment understands the needs of the people and hence makes the environment desirable for the people. This would motivate them to make the purchase and have great shopping experience. Cognitive dimension refers to a logical mind which thinks before purchasing, but the emotional aspect of the individual changes with the environment and the stimulus. The retailer understands this behaviour of the individual and hence uses lucrative offers, huge displays and strong approaches of the sales persons to influence the mood and create a desire for the unwanted product. The model influences the importance of the information, awareness about the product and the way it is delivered to influence the purchase decision. This model affectively defines the shopping experience based on the behaviour and purchase made (Trandafilovic & et. al., 2013; Pluzinski & Qualis, 1986). Consciousness Emotion Value (CEV) CEV model defines three aspects wherein consciousness refers to the fiction opinion of the product. Emotion is the subjective aspect and value is the perceived gain from the purchase. This model is based on the concept of impulsive purchase, in which the environment creates a desire for a product without realising its need. The purchase is made on the basis of emotion such as excitement and anger to make the mood light. The retail environment acts as a stress buster as the atmosphere makes them feel relaxed with the purchase. The gain for the individual is based on the emotional aspect wherein a purchase is made to fulfil a desire out of impulse. They enjoy the architecture and the visual display available in the retail environment. They enjoy the shopping in the mall even without purchasing because of the atmosphere available in the retail shop which influences the mind of the people and allows them to visit the store again (Chartrand, 2005). Conclusion From the analysis, it can be concluded that shopping is not just about purchasing a good but it is about the experience a person has while shopping. The involvement of the salesperson, the atmosphere, the space, the display and music all create an environment for shopping. The shopping experience is based on hedonic motivation which is characterized by pleasure and excitement while shopping. This form of shopping at times is impulsive and depends on the social factors. The people following utilitarian approach feature shopping by evaluating the importance of the product before purchasing it. The Cognitive Affect Behaviour Model and the Conscious Emotion Value Model are of significance for the retailer to understand the behaviour of the customers and their shopping experience. The retail environment is of great importance for the customer to purchase as the layout and behaviour of the salesperson are the key inbound factors that also affect the shopping experience of the people. The shopping process is initiated by understanding the needs of the customers and the influence of the retail environment on the people while purchasing products or services. References Ahtola, O. T., 1985. Hedonic and Utilitarian Aspects of Consumer Behaviour: An Attitudinal Perspective. Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 12, pp. 7-10. Andreu, L. & et. al., 2006. How Does the Retail Environment Influence Shoppers’ Emotional Experience? Evidence from Two Retail Settings. Louvian School of Management, pp. 1-33. Alexander, A. & et. al., 2008. Retail Innovation and Shopping Practices: Consumers’ Reactions to Self-Service Retailing. School of Management, pp. 1-43. Chartrand, T. L., 2005. The Role of Conscious Awareness in the Consumer Behaviour. 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