Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education on the influence of impulse buying behaviour of consumers. A survey research design was used for the study. The study was carried out in the North-west geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The population of the study was 219 Business Education Lecturers in 10
Colleges of Education. The entire population was studied since it was small and manageable. Seven research questions were answered and three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance and 202 degrees of freedom. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data for the study. The questionnaire items were structured on a 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was face-validated by three experts in Business Education. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test was used to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire. A reliability coefficient of 0.75% was obtained. The researcher and three research assistants administered the questionnaire to the respondents in their various locations. A total of 204 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved from the respondents for analysis. The data collected were analyzed using Mean statistic to answer the research questions, while t-test and analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that all the items of retail store location, design, merchandise display, merchandise assortment, price of merchandise, customer service, and promotion were accepted by the respondents as having influence on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers. The findings also revealed that there was no significant difference in the Mean responses of Business Education Lecturers with regards to their ranks, gender and age on the influence of most of the retail store variables on consumer impulse buying behaviour. One of the implications of the findings of this study for Marketing Education is in the area of providing retail information for improving teaching and learning in Business Education which would help students to establish retail enterprises or work effectively in retail outlets after graduation. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended, among others, that Business Education Lecturers should effectively teach the retail variables so as to encourage retail entrepreneurship among their students after graduation. Retailers should adopt the retail store variables identified in this study in order to boost their trade and provide a satisfying shopping experience for their customers.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Retailing plays a major role in the distribution of goods and services to the final consumers. Most buying activities for household products are done in retail stores. This is because retail stores hold items which are commonly characterized by low price, low marginal need, short life span, small size and ease of storage which are the daily needs of consumers. The retail store provides an assortment of goods which a consumer can easily walk in, choose and buy without any unnecessary stress. The retail store also ensures the availability of desired consumer products which the consumer can, within a few minutes, conveniently shop with satisfaction. The retail store ensures local supply of goods and services personally to the consumers.
According to Osuala (1998), retailing includes all the activities in selling of goods and services directly to final consumers for their personal or non business use. McGoldrick (2001) defined retailing as the sale of goods and services in smaller quantities to consumers for their own use. According to McGoldrick, retailing activity takes place both in a store and in non- store outlets.
A retail store is defined by McGoldrick (2001) as a source of supply to end-users, rather than to industrial buyers. Stanton (1981) viewed a retail store as an institution which carries on such activities in the business premises which are directly related to goods and services required by the ultimate consumers for their personal or non-business use. Similarly, James, Walker, and Etzel (1981) described a retail store as a physical site of a retail business where consumer goods are sold. It is different from non-store retail outlets in which retailing occurs through the mail, telephone, vending machines, door-to-door selling, and internet, otherwise called online retailing. Store based retail outlets have characteristics referred to in this study as store
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variables. The store variables are expected to make the store attractive and present conducive buying environment for the consumer. The retail store variables include store location, store design, merchandise display, merchandise assortment, price of the merchandise, customer service, as well as promotion.
The store location is a major element of the retail mix which plays a significant role in meeting consumer’s shopping convenience. James, Walker and Etzel (1981) defined a store location as the physical site of a retail business. It is the place where the consumer can easily locate the retailer whenever he needs to buy. The consumer is sure of where to go for his shopping after having identified where a particular retail store is located. The store location also provides the retailer the convenience of displaying and selling his merchandise without having to wander about with them to look for consumers. Consumers are more often disposed to stores that are strategically located with easy accessibility and close proximity to their residence. Consumers look out for location features such as traffic flow and parking lot that provide soothing shopping environment to them. This is why Samson, Little, and Wingate (1984) opined that to facilitate merchandising process and arouse the consumer’s curiosity to visit the store, it must be conveniently located near the consumer.
Another feature of a retail store is the store design. The store design gives the store a desirable image and is capable of influencing the consumer to make impulse purchase. McGoldrick (2001) described store design as representing the general atmosphere of the store, including the visual aspects, the sounds, the scents, and the textures. It also includes adequate fixtures and fittings, good lighting, wall shelves, adequate space, air conditioning, soft music, television set, and sweet fragrance. Good store counters and furniture are considered to be extremely important because they contribute a lot in the visual effect of the store. Consumers generally have the tendency to shop in good looking stores as compared to unattractive ones. Good looking store environment seems to increase consumers’ adrenaline and their curiosity to
buy more. They derive pleasure buying from stores where they obtain maximum satisfaction. Lewison and Delozier (1988) thus describe these features as attractors and interceptors in the store which can be used to induce buying decision.
A feeling of an overwhelming force from the way products are displayed is an element of store design. Howe (1992) described merchandise display as the art of positioning items in the store according to their classes. Modern retailing is very competitive. Even if a retailer’s product is completely unique, his product is still exposed to competition because there is always another store down the area that is equally aiming at the consumer’s money. The way a retailer presents his merchandise largely determines how attractive the consumer would be and how much of his interest would be won to the product. Thus, Rook (1987) opined that product display has an important influence on the consumer’s behaviour and can be responsible for impulse buying.
Furthermore, the assortment of items held by a store is a major element of the retail mix which can easily be used to influence consumer buying decision. Kotler and Armstrong (2001) defined merchandise as the products and services or lines that a retailer offers to the target market. The type of merchandise offered by a retailer is probably the major determinant of his business and the variety of his products will have major impact in the buying decision of the consumer. Thus, Bovee and Thill (1992) defined merchandise assortment as the array of products a retailer chooses to carry in the store including the depth and breadth in which these lines are stocked. The breadth of merchandise is described by Levy and Weitz (1998) as the number of merchandise lines carried by a store, while the depth of merchandise is described as the quality of goods carried in the various colours, sizes, styles, and prices in the store. Many retailers nowadays offer a wide variety of merchandise in order to afford the consumer the opportunity to make choice and subsequently buy on impulse.
The price of a product is another element of the retail mix. Price is defined by Hasty and
Reardon (1997) as the value assigned to something bought, sold or offered for sale. Simon
(1989) also defined price as the number of monetary units a customer has to pay to receive one unit of a product or service. Pricing policy is a crucial aspect of merchandise management in a retail outlet. This is because of the important role price plays in the process of buying and selling. While the retailer must protect his business from unwanted losses by fixing appropriate price that covers both cost and profit, he also considers maintaining a reasonable price that consumers can pay and maintain their loyalty. For a price-conscious customer, a slight cut in price is a strong force to drive such customer to make unplanned buying and vice versa. For instance, Grushkin (2001) observed that people who are interested in value more often go to discount stores.
Apart from considering the price factor, every customer desires quality service from a retailer. The nature of customer service rendered in a store has a significant influence on the buying disposition of the customer. McGoldrick (2001) identified customer services to include order-taking and modification, customer problem solution, prompt attention, order inquiry, prompt delivery, and technical information. The customer wants to experience an innovative and welcoming world of shopping. He wants to be treated well and as a king even if it may mean spending more money for that. According to McGoldrick, these services are capable of inducing the customer to make unplanned purchase.
In addition to the above features is promotion which is an essential activity in retailing. It is one of the elements of the marketing mix. Osuala (1998) described promotion as one of the ingredients used to inform and persuade the market regarding a company’s products. Promotion is a marketing tool used by retailers to create awareness and stimulate interest, persuade people and finally sell a product or its brand. Promotion mix is made up of advertising, sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations and publicity, direct marketing, and personal selling. On one hand, Kotler and Keller (2005) defined advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. On the other
hand, Cox and Brittain (1993) defined sales promotion as short-term incentives to encourage a stronger market response and stimulate purchase or sale of a product or service. Kotler (2004) observed that advertising can lead to impulse buying because it creates consumer’s knowledge about the product or brand, thus increasing the chance of the product being recognized and chosen on impulse. Kotler further noted that sales promotion activity is capable of making the customer buy what he never intended to buy.
The consumer is the focus or main target of the retailer. Every marketing effort is directed towards the consumer. The retailer sees the consumer as the reason for his business. According to Osuala (1993) a consumer is a person who actually uses the products or services available in the community. Similarly, Chukwurah (2004) defined a consumer as an individual who buys and makes use of goods and services produced by other persons to satisfy his personal needs. While the retailer focuses on satisfying the consumer by meeting his needs, he is also mindful of his business profitability and sustainability. The retailer’s aim is to make profit through improved sales. This, he can achieve if he understands the buying behaviour of the consumer and presents his product to win that behaviour.
Sullivan (2008) discovered that many retailers are conscious of the consumer impulse buying behaviour. Sometimes, consumers are carried away by certain distinguishing and attractive features of the store and they buy things they never planned to buy. Sullivan described this as unplanned or impulse buying and viewed it as an important consumer buying disposition that retailers can exploit to increase sales.
Hodge (2004) described unplanned purchase as synonymous with impulse buying. Therefore, the two terms mean the same thing and shall be used interchangeably in this study. Rook (1987) observed that impulse buying occurs when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. Furthermore, Miller (2002) described impulse buying as a situation where most purchase decisions are made in-store without
a prior plan before entering the store. In this study, therefore, impulse buying shall be defined in relation to product and store features. Thus, impulse buying is defined as a buying action that occurs when the consumer is exposed to an attractively presented or conveniently located product in a store. This description agrees with the opinion of Sullivan (2008) which focused on the retail environment as being an important feature that can encourage impulse buying by consumers.
Thus, Sullivan (2008) maintained that retailers need to create attractive retail environments to encourage impulse buying behaviour. Similarly, Hodge (2004) observed that impulse buying represents a significant portion of sales in a retail environment. The above assertions were further upheld by Dotson and Dave (2008) who observed that consumers’ retail experiences are affected by their emotional states, retail store attributes and parking facilities. Retailers can, therefore, take optimum advantage of the consumers’ in-store buying decisions to improve or enhance their turnover rate.
It is, however, discovered that the bane of many retail businesses in Nigeria in recent times has been the inability of the retailers to organize their stores with attractive features. Most retail stores in Nigeria appear to lack attractive image and are built with poor fixtures and fittings, poor lighting, poor shelves arrangement, and inadequate parking and floor space. For instance, Ikeazor (2002) and Nwokoye (2004) also observed that the roads are rough and stores are poorly located and organized.
With the exception of a few supermarkets, most retail stores do not consider air- conditioning, soft music, television set, and sweet fragrance as important attractors to consumers. Regrettably too, other important variables such as price reduction, customer service, and promotion activities are seemingly ignored in most of Nigerian retail stores and retailers fail to take advantage of the influence of these variables to better their sales. Since impulse buying is a spontaneous buying decision often made in-store, most retailers in Nigeria appear to have lost
the advantage of increasing their sales and keeping their businesses alive through impulse purchasing largely because of poor organisation and management of their stores.
This study is, therefore, focused on examining the perception of Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education on the influence of retail store variables on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers. Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education are part of the market for consumer goods and services. They are teachers of business courses in the Colleges of Education who are trained in both subject matter and pedagogy. They possess Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education or related discipline as their initial or minimum entry qualification and subsequently Masters Degree and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in the same discipline. The choice of Business Education Lecturers is necessitated by the fact that they teach business and entrepreneurial skills with which the students can utilize in establishing retail businesses while others might be employed in retail outfits after their graduation.
Business Education Lecturers are also chosen for this study because, like other consumers, they patronize the retailers by buying from the stores. Business Education Lecturers are sensitive to store variables that provide a satisfactory shopping experience and are also prone to buying on impulse. The study also considers the Business Education Lecturers gender because research evidence shows that both male and female consumers patronize retail stores. Shopping of household products is no longer the exclusive activity of women. Men equally buy and both male and female buyers are vulnerable to impulse buying. Business Education Lecturers are made up of the young, the middle age, and the old ones ranging from age brackets of 25 to 40 years, 41 to 50 years, and 51 years and above respectively. They all have buying experience irrespective of their age. Whether a lecturer is young, middle age or old, each of them is involved in imparting business and entrepreneurial skills to his or her students.
The Federal Ministry of Education (1989) in its scheme of service for Federal Colleges of
Education and Polytechnics provided for different ranks of Lecturers graduating upward from
Assistant Lecturers, Lecturers III, II, I, Senior Lecturers, Principal Lecturers to Chief Lecturers in that order from point of entry. Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education or related discipline is the minimum entry qualification to teach at the College of Education system. The income of the lecturers depends on their ranks. According to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (2007), circular on consolidated tertiary institutions salary structure for lecturers, salaries range from a minimum of N579,391 for Assistant Lecturers per annum to a minimum of N2,232199 for Chief Lecturers. This study makes use of the 2007 salary structure. As specialists in Business Education and related business disciplines, Business Education Lecturers have the capacity to respond objectively to the issues raised in this study.
Statement of the Problem
There is an encouraging emergence of retail businesses in the North-west region of Nigeria partly because of its historical antecedent of being the hub of the tran-saharan trade and partly because the people are generally business-inclined. It is also observed that in recent times, these enterprises do not last long largely because of ignorance of their owners with regard to store organisation and management. Nwokoye (2004) observed that most retail stores in Nigeria appear to lack attractive image and are built with poor fixtures and fittings, poor lighting, poor shelves arrangement, and inadequate parking and floor space. The inability of the retail store owners to provide attractive buying environment irritates their customers who, in reaction, gradually withdraw their patronage. Consequent upon their inability to provide soothing shopping environment, retail stores in North-west zone of the country have not really taken advantage of consumers’ impulse buying behaviour to enhance their sales.
It is, thus, observed that there is an increasing rate of retail business failure in the region. Retail businesses are seen to crumble almost at the very rate with which they spring up, thus failing to sustain the momentum of providing satisfactory retail services to consumers. Consequent upon their inability to provide soothing shopping environment, retail stores in the
North-west zone of the country have not fully taken advantage of consumers’ impulse buying behaviour to enhance their sales.
It is expected that some of the graduates of Business Education from the Colleges of Education are supposed to make positive impacts in improving retail merchandising as workers in retail outfits or owners of retail businesses having been trained in the skills and knowledge of the trade. It is also expected that much impact would have been made to improve retail business in the zone because of the Business Education students’ involvement in industrial work experience during which they offer advice to owners of retail businesses on how to improve on their enterprises. The extent to which these graduates have been able to utilize the retailing skills learned in school in the real work situation, and how effective their advice to retail business owners have been, give the Business Education Lecturers much concern especially considering the rate at which these retail businesses fail in the zone.
It is on this premise, therefore, that this study is carried out to determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education on how retail store variables can influence impulse buying among consumers in the North-west zone of Nigeria. Scanty empirical evidence is found in this area, hence the present investigation.
Purpose of the study
The major purpose of this study was to determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education on the influence of retail store variables on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west geo-political zone of Nigeria. The specific purposes of this study were:
1. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store location on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
2. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store design on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
3. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store merchandise display on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
4. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store merchandise assortment on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North- west zone of Nigeria.
5. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of price of merchandise on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
6. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of customer service on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
7. To determine the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of promotion on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria.
Significance of the study
The findings of this study would be beneficial to retailers, prospective entrepreneurs, researchers, students of Business Education, as well as consumers of goods and services.
The findings of this study would be beneficial to retailers. It would provide strategic information to the retailers to improve on their store location and design decisions, merchandise assortment and display, proper pricing of products, customer-oriented service delivery, and a well planned promotion programme. The retailers would use the findings of this study to plan their retail activities towards inducing impulse buying decisions among their customers.
The findings of this study would also be of significance to prospective entrepreneurs in retailing. As prospective entrepreneurs plan their new businesses, the findings of this study would provide the basis upon which they give more attention to relevant features of retailing such as store location, store and merchandise organisation, service delivery and sales promotion that would facilitate more sales through impulse buying.
The findings of this study would also be of significance to researchers in retail marketing. The various store variables including store location and deign, merchandise assortment and display, price of product, customer services, as well as promotion would be of interest to retail marketing researchers in further areas of research. Marketing researchers would pay much attention to investigating more retailing strategies within the identified variables to improve retail marketing.
Students of Business Education in Colleges of Education would benefit from the findings of this study. Information provided in the findings of this study would motivate Business Education students to go into retail entrepreneurship after graduation. Students who consequently venture into retailing would apply the various retail variables in store location and design, merchandise assortment, display and pricing, customer service and promotion as bases to induce impulse purchasing by their customers.
Business Education Lecturers would also benefit from the findings of this study. The findings of this study would provide the basis for improved teaching of entrepreneurial skills to students in the areas of store location, design, merchandise assortment and display, pricing, customer service, and promotion.
The findings of this study would also be of significance to consumers. It would enable retailers to improve on their store organisation and management to provide a soothing shopping environment for consumers who would take retail store shopping as a satisfying experience. Consumers would benefit from the improved store location, store design, merchandise display,
merchandise assortment, price of merchandise, customer service, and promotion for a more satisfying shopping experience.
Research Questions
The following research questions were answered in this study:
1. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store location on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
2. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store design on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
3. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store merchandise display on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
4. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store merchandise assortment on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
5. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of price of merchandise on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
6. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of customer service on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
7. What is the perception of Business Education Lecturers on the influence of promotion on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
HO1: There is no significant difference in the Mean responses of Business Education Lecturers with respect to their rank on the influence of retail store variables on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers.
HO2: There is no significant difference between the Mean responses of male and female Business Education Lecturers on the influence of retail store variables on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the Mean responses of Business Education Lecturers with respect to their age on the influence of retail store variables on the impulse buying behaviour of consumers.
Scope of the study
This study was restricted to the perception of Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education on the influence of retail store variables on impulse buying behaviour of consumers in North-west zone of Nigeria. The study population was delimited to Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education in the North-west zone of Nigeria. The population was considered in this study because of their strategic role in the training of students with the knowledge and skills needed for retail entrepreneurship after their graduation. This area was studied because of its relevance in entrepreneurship and development of retailing in Nigeria. It was also studied because there is very scanty empirical evidence in the area in Nigeria. The study did not cover other aspects of impulse buying like types of merchandise prone to impulse buying, psychological aspect of impulse buying (who buys most on impulse between men and women), and impulse buying in on-line stores.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
PERCEPTION OF BUSINESS EDUCATION LECTURERS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION ON THE INFLUENCE OF RETAIL STORE VARIABLES ON IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA>
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