Analyze shopping as a consumer activity using the different categories of shopping activities

Shopping Value

All shopping activities are aimed at one key result: value. Personal shopping value (PSV) is the overall subjective worth of a shopping activity when considering all associated costs and benefits. PSV can be divided into two types: utilitarian shopping value is a value that pertains to the worth obtained because some shopping task or job is completed successfully. Hedonic shopping value is the value that pertains to the worth of an activity because the time spent doing the activity itself is personally gratifying.

Value and Shopping Activities

All shopping activities provide value in different ways to different consumers. Window shopping is used by consumers to find information to gauge the success of a shopping trip or it is simply a way of passing time. Window shopping can provide utilitarian and/or hedonistic shopping value as the case may be. Situational influences can also affect the type of shopping value. Time pressure or mood swings can affect consumption.

Retail Personality

The definition of a retail personality is the way in which a retail store is defined in the mind of a shopper based on the combination of functional and affective qualities. The two retail personality dimensions are extremely useful when viewed as a perceptual map.

1. Affective quality - This quality is emphasized by a store with the help of a unique environment, an impressive décor, friendly employees, and pleasant emotions that can provide relatively high hedonic shopping value.

2. Functional quality - This quality is emphasized by a store by using things such as a wide selection of goods, low prices, guarantees, and knowledgeable employees that can provide a high proportion of utilitarian shopping value.