ABSTRACT: Indian retail is a mix, or organized as well as unorganized, in retail stores. Shopping experience plays an important determinant factor of consumer’s loyalty, irrespective of type of retail store (organized or unorganized). Favorable shopping experience leads to positive propensity towards consumers’ loyalty, whereas unfavorable shopping experience leads to dis-loyalty. This paper is an attempt to know the impact of shopping experience on consumer’s loyalty in an organized as well as unorganized retails setup. SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) technique was applied on a sample of 706 consumers to know the impact of various factors of shopping experience on consumer loyalty. The results indicate that all the three factors of shopping experience, considered for the study, have positive impact on consumer loyalty, namely: ERE (Executional Related Excellence), E (Expediting), and PR (Problem Recovery). The ERE, which means patiently explanation and advice, checking stock, helping find products, having product knowledge, and providing unexpected product quality, has the least impact on consumer loyalty. The E, which connotes being sensitive to customers’ time and long check-out lines, and being pro-active in helping speed up the shopping process, has the highest impact on consumer loyalty. While the PR, which means helping resolve and compensate for problems, upgrading quality, and ensuring complete shopper satisfaction, has the least impact on consumer loyalty.

KEY WORD: Shopping experience, consumer loyalty, organized and unorganized retailers, executional related excellence, expediting, and problem recovery.

RESUME: “Dampak Pengalaman Belanja atas Loyalitas Konsumen: Sebuah Studi Empiris tentang Pengecer Terorganisir dan Tak Terorganisir di India”. Pengecer India adalah campuran, atau baik terorganisir (modern) maupun tak terorganisir (tradisional), dalam toko-toko eceran. Pengalaman belanja merupakan faktor penentu dan penting bagi loyalitas konsumen, terlepas dari jenis toko eceran (terorganisir atau tak terorganisir). Pengalaman belanja yang menguntungkan menyebabkan kecenderungan positif terhadap loyalitas konsumen, sedangkan pengalaman belanja yang tidak menguntungkan menyebabkan ketidakloyalan konsumen. Makalah ini merupakan upaya untuk mengetahui dampak dari pengalaman belanja terhadap loyalitas konsumen yang dirancang dalam toko-toko eceran teorganisir dan tak terorganisasir. Teknik-teknik SME (Model Kesamaan Struktural) diterapkan pada sampel sebanyak 706 konsumen untuk mengetahui dampak dari berbagai faktor pengalaman berbelanja terhadap loyalitas konsumen. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa semua tiga faktor pengalaman belanja, yang dipertimbangkan dalam penelitian ini, berdampak positif terhadap loyalitas konsumen, yaitu: ERE (Pelaksanaan Terkait Keunggulan), E (Kecepatan), dan PR (Pemulihan Masalah). Faktor ERE, yang berarti dengan sabar memberikan penjelasan dan saran, memeriksa stok, membantu menemukan produk, memiliki pengetahuan produk, dan menyediakan kualitas produk yang tak terduga, memiliki dampak paling sedikit pada loyalitas konsumen. Faktor E, yang berkonotasi sensitif terhadap waktu pelanggan dan panjang garis untuk keluar, serta menjadi pro-aktif dalam membantu mempercepat proses belanja, memiliki pengaruh paling tinggi terhadap loyalitas konsumen. Sementara faktor PR, yang berarti membantu menyelesaikan dan mengkompensasi masalah, meningkatkan kualitas, dan menjamin kepuasan pembeli, memiliki dampak paling sedikit pada loyalitas konsumen.

KATA KUNCI: Pengalaman belanja, loyalitas konsumen, pengecer terorganisir dan tak terorganisir, pelaksanaan terkait keunggulan, kecepatan, dan pemulihan masalah.

About the Author: Dr. Adil Zia is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Business Administration, Murshidabad Centre AMU (Aligarh Muslim University), Uttar Pradesh, India. His areas of interest include Research Methods, Consumer Behavior & Marketing Management. E-mail address: adilzia@live.com

How to cite this article? Zia, Adil. (2014). “Impact of Shopping Experience on Consumer Loyalty: An Empirical Study of Organized and Unorganized Retailers in India” in SOSIOHUMANIKA: Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Vol.7, No.1 [Mei], pp.134-144. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press owned by ASPENSI, UNHAS Makassar, and UNIPA Surabaya, ISSN 1979-0112.

Chronicle of article: Accepted (March 19, 2014); Revised (April 26, 2014); and Published (May 20, 2014).

Anic, I.D., S. Radas & Privredna. (2006). “The Role of Satisfaction and Demographic Factors in Building Store Loyalty” in Kretanja i Ekonomska Politika, 108(19), pp.67-86.

Bove, L.L. & L.W. Johnson. (2009). “Does True Personal or Service Loyalty Last?” in Journal of Services Marketing, Vol.23(3), pp.187-194.

Bruner, G.C. (1986). “The Role of Homeostasis in Explaining Problem Recognition” in Proceedings of the Southwestern Marketing Association, pp.35-38.

Cheng, L.W., S.N. Yee-Man & A.S.Y. Hui. (2002). “Demographics and Shopping Orientation for Apparel Products: A Hybrid Segmentation of Chinese Consumers” in Journal of Asian Business, 18(3), pp.31-44.

Dalwadi, R., H.S. Rathod & A. Patel. (2010). “Key Retail Store Attributes Determining Consumers’ Perceptions: An Empirical Study of Consumers of Retail Stores Located in Ahmadabad (Gujarat)” in SIES J. Mgt., 7(1), pp.20-34.

Darden, W.R. & D. Ashton. (1974). “Psychographic Profiles of Patronage Preference Groups” in Journal of Retailing, 50(4), pp.99-112.

Dick, A.S. & K. Basu. (1994). “Customer Loyalty: Toward an Integrated Conceptual Framework” in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22, pp.99-113.

Dickson, D.L. & D.L. MacLachlan. (1990). “Social Distance and Shopping Behavior” in Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 18(2), pp.153–161.

Dickson, J. & G. Albaum. (1977). “A Method for Developing Tailor-Made Semantic Differentials for Specific Marketing Content Areas” in Journal of Marketing Research, pp.87-91.

El-Adly, M.I. (2007). “Shopping Malls Attractiveness: A Segmentation Approach” in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 35(11), pp.936-950.

Ghosh, P., V. Tripathi & A. Kumar. (2010). “Customer Expectations of Store Attributes: A Study of Organized Retail Outlets in India” in J. Ret. Leis. Prop., 9(1), pp.75-87.

Hair, J.F. et al. (2006). Multivariate Data Analysis. New Delhi: Pearson International Edition, sixth edition.

Hansen, R.A. & T. Deutscher. (1977). “An Empirical Investigation of Attributes Importance in Retail Store Selection” in Journal of Retailing, 53[Winter], pp.59-72.

Howard, E. (2007). “New Shopping Centres: Is Leisure the Answer?” in International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 35(8), pp.661-672.

Jansone, Anna. (2012). “Determinants of Store Loyalty: An Empirical Investigation in the Latvian Grocery Market” [Master Thesis, Master of Science in Marketing]. Available [online] also at http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/44586869/master_thesis_anna_jansone.pdf [accessed in Uttar Pradesh, India: May 20, 2013].

Kalhan, A. (2007). “Impact of Malls on Small Shops and Hawkers” in Economic and Political Weekly, June 2, pp.2062-2066.

Kearney, A.T. (2012). “Global Retail Development Index: The 11th Annual Edition”. Available [online] also at http://www.atkearney.com/consumer-products-retail/global-retail-development-index/full-report [accessed in Uttar Pradesh, India: May 20, 2013].

Keng, C.J., T.L. Huang & T.L.J.Z. Taipei. (2007). “Modeling Service Encounters and Customer Experiential Value in Retailing: An Empirical Investigation of Shopping Mall Customers in Taiwan” in International Journal of Service Industry Management, 18(4), pp.349-36.

Kewlani, S. & S. Singh. (2012). “Small Retailers or Big Shopping Malls: Will Big Fishes Eat the Small?” in Radix International Journal of Research in Social Science, 1(2), pp.21-49.

Kushwaha, S. & M.K. Gupta. (2011). “Customer Perception in Indian Retail Industry: A Comparative Study of Organized and Unorganized Retail Industry” in Research Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 1(1), pp.61-73.

Mazursky, D. & J. Jacoby. (1985). “Forming Impressions of Merchandise and Service Quality” in J. Jacoby & J. Olsen [eds]. Perceived Quality: How Consumers View Stores and Merchandise. Lexington, M.A.: Lexington Books.

Molina, M.E.R. & I. Gil-Saura. (2009). “Retail Customer Segmentation Based on Relational Benefits” in Journal of Relationship Marketing, 8(3), pp.253-266.

Oliver, R.L. (1999). “Whence Consumer Loyalty? Fundamental Issues and Directions for Marketing” in Journal of Marketing, 63, pp.33-44.

Raut, M. & S.K. Das. (2011). “The Factors Predicting Buying Behavior in Organized Retailing: A Study with Special Reference to Malls in Noida and Greater Noida” in International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow, 1(3), pp.1-10.

Reichheld, F.F. (2003). “The One Number You Need to Grow” in Harvard Business Review, 81 [December], pp.46-54.

Sinha, P.K. (2003). “Shopping Orientation in the Evolving Indian Market” in Vikalpa, 20, pp.13-22.

Sinha, P.K. & D.P. Uniyal. (2005). “Segmenting Shoppers on Behavior” in International Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12(1), pp.35-48.

Sreedhara, R., K. Babu & Nagendra. (2010). “Factors Influencing Store Loyalty: A Conceptual Approach on Supermarkets” in Global Management Review, Vol.4, Issue 2, pp.37-42.

Terblanche, N.S. & C. Boshoff. (2006). “A Generic Instrument to Measure Customer Satisfaction with the Controllable Elements of the In-Store Shopping Experience” in South African Journal of Business Management, 37(3), pp.1-14.

Thang, D. & B. Tan. (2003). “Linking Consumer Perception to Preference of Retail Stores: An Empirical Assessment of the Multi-Attributes of Store Image” in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Service. Available [online] also at http://www.sciencedirect.com/journalofretailingandconsumerservice [accessed in Uttar Pradesh, India: May 20, 2013].

Tsai, Ming-Tien, Tsai, Chung-Lin & Chang, Han-Chao. (2010). “The Effect of Customer Value, Customer Satisfaction, and Switching Costs on Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Study of Hypermarkets in Taiwan” in Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, Vol.38, Issue 6, pp.729-740.

Vijayasarathy, L. & J.M. Jones. (2000). “Print and Internet Catalog Shopping: Assessing Attitudes and Intentions” in Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 10(3), pp.191-202.

Vogel, V., H. Evanschitzky & B. Ramaseshan. (2008). “Customer Equity Drivers and Future Sales” in Journal of Marketing, 10, pp.98-108.

Westbrook, R.A. & L.O. Richard. (1981). “Sources of Consumer Satisfaction with Retail Outlets” in Journal of Retailing, l(3), pp.68-85.

Wilhelm, W.B. & S. Mottner. (2005). “Teens and Shopping Mall Preferences: A Conjoint Analysis Approach to Understanding the Generational Shift toward an Experiential Economy” in Journal of Shopping Centre Research, 12(1), pp.78-121.

Zia, A., A. Akhtar & M.K. Azam. (2012). “Factors Influencing Shopping Experience in Organized Retailing: An Empirical Investigation” in South Asian Journal of Marketing & Management Research, Vol.2, ISSN: 2249-877X, pp.138-152.

Zia, A., M.K. Azam & A. Akhtar. (2012). “Knowing Consumer Loyalty: A Comparative Study of Organized and Unorganized Retails” in S. Gurusamy et al. [eds]. The Emerging Landscapes of Retail and Impact on Economy. FICCI: MJP Publishers, ISBN 978-81-8094-158-0, pp.538-546.