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Introduction
Understanding customers' in-store experiences is of great importance in today's hyper-competitive retailing environment and a 2014-2016 Marketing Science Institute priority is "understanding customers and the customer experience" (Marketing Science Institute, 2016). Many aspects of the retail environment can affect the customer's in-store shopping experiences (Babin and Darden, 1995). Factors such as merchandise selection, store displays, salespeople, music, lighting and store layout have been shown to affect shopping behavior (Levy et al. , 2013). Factors specific to the shopper, such as shopping motivations, positive and negative affect and regulatory focus, have also been found to influence retail shopping experiences, behaviors and outcomes (Arnold and Reynolds, 2003, 2009, 2012; Mano, 1999).
One shopper characteristic that has not seen research attention is the role that the shopper is playing while shopping, specifically, if the shopper is shopping for him/herself or for someone else. Most people engage in shopping for someone else, whether in the search for a special gift for another person or simply during routine household shopping. Even though many of the purchases individuals make are for another person's use, existing shopping research generally assumes that the purchaser and the user of a product are the same person. However, people do not think and react the same when acting for themselves versus on the behalf of someone else (Aronson, 2008). Therefore, our understanding of shopper behavior and shopper experiences may not be fully articulated because of this lack of distinction in the focus of the shopping trip (purchasing for yourself or someone else). Thus, a gap remains in understanding differences in shoppers' in-store experiences based on whether they are purchasing a product for their own use, they are purchasing a product for someone else to use but the purchase is not intended as a gift (i.e. routine purchases) and gift purchases for others.
The goal of the current study is to address this gap and further explore the differences in shopping experiences (affect, flow and fantasy) and outcomes (satisfaction, hedonic and utilitarian shopping value) between those shopping for themselves and those shopping for someone else during the shopping trip. This research addresses the question: what are the differences in the shopping trip and the outcomes of the shopping trip when a person is shopping for a...