Practical Design of Store Attributes for Traditional Retailer in Thailand with Conjoint Analysis

Abstract

This study integrates two fields of research in which the environmental body of knowledge is incorporated into the small retailer research. In contrast to the traditional survey and classical experiment methods executed by most environmental studies, individual consumers' decision making processes, which are claimed to be more relevant to the real buying situation, are investigated with reference to the importance of store environment. Conjoint analysis of this decision making practice helps to clarify the most salient attributes of the store environment that consumers use for making patronage decisions. Additionally, this approach is also capable of clarifying the utility of environmental attributes, and is used to establish the best combination of store environment attributes, as well as their tangible value (i.e., monetary value) by including price in the investigation. The environmental variables were shaped by certain evidence based environmental constructs: 1) ambient cues in terms of lighting and music; 2) design cues in terms of assortment structure; and 3) social cues in terms of storeowner characteristics. All environmental and price attributes were orthogonally combined and manipulated into 18 scenarios of 3D integrative simulations. All of these scenarios simulated on a laptop were subsequently shown to individual consumers for evaluations using a questionnaire. 241 consumers were surveyed at a department store, a community market and households in Hatyai city. The findings identify that the social environment (storeowner characteristics) is the most salient environmental attribute. In particular, the relationship-based characteristics and behavior performed by the small family grocery storeowner are highly important for consumers' decisions about store patronage. Such local stores are advised to purvey a large organized assortment with great relationship-based and intellectual-based service given by the storeowner, regardless of the stores' type of ambience (lighting and music).