ZENITH International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research _______________ISSN 2231-5780
Vol.3 (6), June (2013)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in
RETAIL STORE PERCEPTIONS AND CONSUMER PURCHASE
DECISIONS
DR. VENKATA SAI SRINIVASA RAO MURAMALLA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
SALMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY,
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
AT HOTAT BANI TAMIM, RIYADH REGION,
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA.
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ABSTRACT
Keller defined the perceptions of a store as reflected by associations with the store held in the
customer memory. Primary associations with a specific store could be the store’s atmosphere,
customer service, or location, while secondary associations could be the attitudes towards a
particular brand that the store carries, perceptions about the general area in which the store is
physically located, or the beliefs about a generic store category or retailing in general. In order
for marketing managers to build store equity, marketing managers would need to not only create
favorable, unique, and strong primary associations with the store but also evaluate and create
favorable, unique, and strong secondary associations with the store. Thus, the original
conceptions essentially argued that store image is a developed from consumers’ objective and
subjective perceptions learned over time. Consumer response to marketing is defined as
consumer perceptions, preferences, and behavior arising from marketing mix activity (e.g., brand
choice). Customers may exhibit a relatively negative or relatively positive perception of any
specific store subjectively classified under a broader schema of the generic, yet associated, store
category. Hence this paper studies all such factors influencing the consumers’ perception
towards a retail store. The findings and suggestions of the study offered followed by the
conclusion of the study.
KEYWORDS: Perception, Purchase Decision, Customer Service, Advertising Media, Store
Atmosphere.
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