Content area
Full text
1. Introduction
The retail food industry is an extremely competitive trade sector (Giovanni and Tadei, 2014). Companies are forced to constant differentiation, in order to achieve a higher market share, which would ultimately lead to higher profits (Cuthbertson and Reynolds, 2004; Gonzalez-Benito et al., 2007). Particularly in the market of small shops, convenience stores were created, reflecting the necessity for an integrated operating system that would insure easy access, direct service, creation of interpersonal relationships and the possibility of frequent visits (Kirby, 1986).
In the marketing literature, special attention has been given to the operation, description, provided services and development of convenience stores in the global market (e.g. Guberman, 1971; Kirby, 1976, 1986; Jones, 1986). Two interesting issues, not studied in detail, are consumer behaviour towards these stores and the importance of their networks expansion. Previous studies (e.g. Baltas and Papastathopoulou, 2003) that were conducted in Greece referred to consumer behaviour and store choice criteria of all store formats and not specifically to convenience stores.
This paper aims to empirically investigate consumer behaviour and store brand awareness in relation to convenience store chains in Greece and analyse their position in the country's retail sector, since no related research has been published. More specifically, it elucidates:
-
(1) the brand awareness of the Greek convenience store chains and the frequency consumers choose them as their shopping destination;
-
(2) the consumers’ satisfaction level by the provided services;
-
(3) the factors that affect consumer preference for convenience stores; and
-
(4) the reasons for their rejection.
The customer relationship will also be highlighted in terms of demonstrating ways to improve the stores’ dynamics. This approach is not only based on the determination of the variables that influence consumers but also in their combinatorial study.
In the subsequent section, the extant literature on convenience stores is presented, including a description of the Greek convenience store market. This is followed by the research methodology, data analysis, results and a concluding section that summarizes the paper.
2. Conceptual framework
2.1 Characteristics and development
A convenience store is a small shop of less than a supermarket's size, providing a full range of basic goods and household requisites, which is usually in close proximity to a dense concentration of people (Kirby, 1976). Although Guberman...