Understanding consumers in-store behavior: The dual role of episode-specific motive adjustment and motive selection

Soumya Mukhopadhyay, Akshaya Vijayalakshmi and Shailendra P. Jain

Journal of Retailing, 2023, vol. 99, issue 3, 460-479

Abstract: Understanding purchase motivations is vital but challenging due to their unobservable, concomitant, and dynamic nature. Recent research has proposed frameworks to examine their impact on choice by treating motivations as latent states. This study contributes to this line of research by introducing the notion of “episode-specific motive adjustment,” that accounts for variations in consumers' willingness to pursue specific motives during a shopping trip. Utilizing this concept, the study uncovers valuable insights into how different types of purchase motivations influence consumer product interactions and choices. Analyzing a comprehensive dataset from multiple Indian cities, the research contributes to a theoretical understanding of and practical applications for businesses seeking to comprehend and influence consumer behavior. Theoretically, we show that consumers display diverse patterns of in-store product engagement behavior as they adjust the intensity of instrumental and experiential motives across purchase episodes. Furthermore, we illustrate that the relationship between willingness to pursue a motive (motive intensity) and the likelihood of making a choice follows distinct functional patterns. We highlight the significance of considering individual-level heterogeneity and dynamic behavioral patterns to enhance consumer experiences and purchase decisions. Practically, this research identifies the key drivers that influence motive intensity in stores, providing managers with insights to optimize store layouts and effectively influence consumer purchase motives that align with their business objectives. Emphasis is placed on context-specific strategies, as the impact of these drivers varies with purchase context.

Keywords: In-store behavior; Instrumental & experiential motivation; Intrinsic & extrinsic cues; Indian retail (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022435923000374
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jouret:v:99:y:2023:i:3:p:460-479

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2023.08.004

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Retailing is currently edited by A. Roggeveen

More articles in Journal of Retailing from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().