Identifying the dimensions to retail centre image
| Published date | 01 August 2004 |
| Date | 01 August 2004 |
| Pages | 298-306 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14635780410550858 |
| Author | Valerie Kupke |
| Subject Matter | Property management & built environment |
Identifying the dimensions to
retail centre image
Valerie Kupke
School of International Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide,
Australia
Keywords Perception, Retail marketing, Shopping centres
Abstract First feelings and first impressions largely govern and delimit the kinds of experiences
one expects and seeks. This paper reviews the application of multidimensional scaling (MDS) to
retail market research and discusses how MDS is able to map these impressions and hence explain
the retail centre image held by consumers. It proposes that retail centre image is not just relevant to
marketers and retailers, but is also of importance to property managers who need an informed and
holistic consumer orientation in order to create and sustain property value. By means of
illustration MDS is applied to data based on shopper evaluations of seven retail centre items and an
interpretation the results is offered.
Introduction
Zajonc (1980) argued that “we are never wrong about what we like or dislike” and that
once formed, an evaluation is not readily revoked. He argued against the notio n, that
before we can like something we must know what it is, that objects must be understood
before they can be evaluated. Instead Zajonc suggested it was possible to like
something without knowing precisely what it was. Newell and Simon (1972, in Hardin,
1999) have suggested that while an individual may interpret a task and try to
formulate it into a known item, through comprehension and problem space definition,
processes Zajonc describes as “cold cognition”, they also recognise that information
processing has an important preconscious component. Information, they suggest, is
processed preconsciously even before humans are conscious of the presence of
information (Hardin, 1999). Ittelson (1974) argues that first feelings and first
impressions largely govern the directions taken and delimits the kinds of experiences
one expects and seeks.
These first feelings and impressions are a key factor in understanding retail
consumer behaviour. The limited nature of the human attention span results in the
need for the selective processing of information especially within retail environments
that offer multiple stimuli and choices (Lindquist, 1973; Phillips et al., 1997). Thus
initial perceptions play an important role in explaining the images held by consumers
of retail outlets, images which in turn account for customer evaluations and patronage.
This paper reviews multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a market research methodology
that is capable of mapping out the “feelings” or perceptions held by shoppers in terms
of retail images. MDS attempts to detect the constructs that frame the highly selective
shopping process by identifying the key elements of a store image which are retained
by the consumer and influence their purchaser behaviour. This paper emphasises that
a research methodology which offers a better understanding of store image should
correspond to a more holistic approach to the management of retail centres,
management which offers competitive advantage by being more consumer focused.
It proposes that retail centre image is not just relevant to marketers and retailers, but is
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JPIF
22,4
298
Received January 2002
Accepted December 2002
Journal of Property Investment &
Finance
Vol. 22 No. 4, 2004
pp. 298-306
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1463-578X
DOI 10.1108/14635780410550858
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