Effect of store atmospherics in creating brand loyalty an empirical investigation in single brand retail context

Abstract

newline Offering engaging brand experiences to customers is an important element of a brand-building exercise. Brand managers understand that brand experience influences patronage, which in turn affects decisions on purchase intentions. Marketing literature states that the store atmosphere is one of the primary drivers of brand. Although interest regarding creating positive brand experience has emerged as a major trend, there is a scarcity of marketing literature that discusses the role of various elements in creation of brand experience, specifically in context of the Indian retail market. The Indian retail sector is one of the most exciting and underpenetrated market in the world. As per the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, organized retail in India which was about 7% of the total retail in 2011-2012, is estimated to grow at a healthy rate of 24 percent and attain a share of 12 percent of the total retail by 2016-2017; and preference for modern retail, rising population of working women with a desire for better quality are driving growth in single brand retail in India. Single brand retail regulations have been consistently liberalized compared to the multi-brand retail regulations. In between April 2010 and May 2013, FDI proposals worth $173 million dollars have been cleared by the Indian government in the single brand retail sector; and, besides that, big brands like Ikea and HandM have mega investment plans lined up for India. The introduction of international brands form a major chunk of brands available in India and it is expected that the demand for such brands will continue to be strong in the coming years. This study examines and empirically tests the effect of store atmospheric variables (ambient cue, design cue, social cue and merchandise cue) on creating brand experience and its subsequent impact on patronage behavior in context of single brand apparel stores in India. newlineA survey based research was carried out to empirically test the objectives of this study.