In-store experience, satisfaction, loyalty, and the moderating role of price image in the South African grocery sector

The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew
Volume 21, Issue 2, No embe 2025, Pages 1-12
doi: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.15867822
In-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, loyal y,
and he mode a ing ole o p ice image in he
Sou h A ican g oce y sec o
ABSTRACT
The Sou h A ican g oce y sec o has no shown signi ican inc eases in sales in ecen yea s, sugges ing ha
Sou h A ican consume s emain consis en in hei g oce y pu chases and may ha e become p ice sensi i e.
Agains he backg ound o ying economic imes, his pape explo es whe he a g oce y s o e’s p ice image
mode a es he ela ionship be ween cus ome s’ sa is ac ion and loyal y owa ds g oce y e aile s. The e ec o
in-s o e expe ience on cus ome sa is ac ion is also epo ed, wi h he esul s sugges ing ha in-s o e expe ience
emains key in secu ing sa is ac ion and ha a ocus on he p ice image con eyed should no necessa ily be a key
d i e in he g oce y sec o .
Keywo ds: In-s o e expe ience, Cus ome sa is ac ion, Cus ome loyal y, P ice image.
D Ma ië e F aze *
Depa men o Ma ke ing Managemen
College o Business and Economics
Uni e si y o Johannesbu g
[email p o ec ed]
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-9379-8557
*Co esponding au ho
D B S iehle -Mulde
Depa men o Ma ke ing Managemen
College o Business and Economics
Uni e si y o Johannesbu g
[email p o ec ed]
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-9342-4977
1. INTRODUCTION
High le els o compe i ion and economic p essu e on consume s in he Sou h A ican e ail sec o ha e led e aile s
o look again a he way hey ope a e hei businesses and aim o become mo e cus ome -cen ed. The Sou h A ican
ade sec o , unde which e ail is classi ied, ep esen s one o he la ges con ibu o s o he coun y’s g oss domes ic
p oduc (GDP), and employs jus o e 20% o he o al labou o ce (S a is ics Sou h A ica, 2019). This eme ging
economy is he e o e dependen on he sec o o g ow and be sus ainable. To pu his in o pe spec i e, in 2018
e ail indus y sales amoun ed o R1.045430 billion (abou USD 68.757931 million), wi h a yea -on-yea g ow h o
4.2% – down om 7.2% in 2017 (S a is ics Sou h A ica, 2019). The economy aced se e al un a ou able condi ions,
including a echnical ecession, exchange a e p essu e, limi ed c edi a ailabili y, and high unemploymen igu es
(Eu omoni o , 2017).
E en hough he e ail sec o as a whole is s ill epo ing g ow h in sales, acco ding o S a is ics Sou h A ica (2019)
he g oce y sec o has no shown signi ican inc eases in sales. Combining his wi h poo economic g ow h p ospec s,
g oce y e aile s a e looking again a hei business s a egies. Du ing such imes, d i ing cus ome sa is ac ion and
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In-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, loyal y, and he mode a ing ole o p ice image in he Sou h A ican g oce y sec o
loyal y comes o he o e on o e aile s’ ac ics. Au ho s ha e a gued o he impo ance o in-s o e expe ience as
a key ac o ha in luences hese e ail expe iences and con ibu es o cus ome sa is ac ion (D o skie & He bs ,
2010; Joshi, Waghela & Pa el, 2015; Ven e , Chinomona & Chuchu, 2016). This s udy is he e o e g ounded in
discon i ma ion heo y (Oli e , 1980), and d aws on he wo k o Bus aman e and Rubio (2017), which sugges s ha
e aile s need o p o ide memo able in-s o e expe iences o a ac and e ain cus ome s, while So i iadis (2017)
a gues ha sa is ac o y expe iences lead o cus ome s who a e gene ally willing o epu chase o e isi he business.
This s udy ocuses on cus ome in-s o e expe ience, speci ically in he g oce y e ail indus y, o unde s and wha
e ec s in-s o e expe ience has on cus ome sa is ac ion leading o loyal y. In-s o e expe iences a e o en neglec ed
by g oce y e aile s as hey ocus on a ac ing cus ome s wi h p omo ional i ems such as ee oys o child en,
collec ion o s icke s o ee p oduc s o collec ion o loyal y poin s ha may be used owa ds u u e pu chases.
Also, he challenging economic imes o en see e aile s ying o encou age pu chases by applying p ice discoun s,
hus aiming o c ea e a mo e a ou able p ice image o hei s o es. The mode a ing e ec o s o e p ice image
be ween sa is ac ion and loyal y is he e o e u he explo ed. Owing o eme ging economies ha ing la ge segmen s
o p ice-sensi i e consume s and g oce ies being such a homogeneous ca ego y he ole o p ice image needs o be
conside ed as a ac o in luencing cus ome loyal y.
The au ho s ollow he guidelines p esen ed by Fine and Ku dek (1994), and ecognise ha he da a se used
in his pape is an exis ing one ha was ini ially collec ed by Sedibe, Ma hysen, Biko, Gomez, S iehle -Mulde and
F aze in 2018 and published he ollowing yea (Sedibe, Ma hysen, Biko, Gomez, S iehle -Mulde & F aze , 2019).
This pape , howe e , has a dis inc ocus, wi h he main objec i e o he s udy being he ollowing:
To explo e and desc ibe he e ec o in-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, and he mode a ing ole o
s o e p ice image on cus ome loyal y in he g oce y sec o o Sou h A ica.
The con ibu ion o his s udy is wo old. Fi s , his pape ep esen s an empi ical in es iga ion in a Sou h A ican
con ex whe e he impac o e ail expe ience, sa is ac ion, and cus ome loyal y – wi h he mode a ing ole o s o e
p ice image plays be ween sa is ac ion and loyal y – is explo ed. Second, he s udy adds uniquely o he heo e ical
and manage ial unde s anding o in-s o e expe ience and s o e p ice image on cus ome sa is ac ion and loyal y in
he g oce y sec o .
The o ganisa ion o he pape is as ollows: a li e a u e e iew, consis ing o a b ie discussion o in-s o e expe ience
and o ha expe ience leading o sa is ac ion and loyal y, is ollowed by he heo y o p ice image, and concluding wi h
a discussion o he p oposed esea ch model o guide he hypo heses o his pape . In he me hodology sec ion, he
me hodological choices o he s udy a e desc ibed. The esul s and discussion a e hen p esen ed, ollowed by he
conclusions, ecommenda ions, and sugges ions o u he esea ch.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. Theo y o expecTancy discon i maTion
Expec a ion discon i ma ion heo y (EDT) has been used ex ensi ely in ma king li e a u e o s udy cus ome
sa is ac ion (Bane jee and Chai, 2019). Cus ome s app oach a shopping si ua ion wi h ce ain p e-pu chase
expec a ions agains which hey measu e hei expe ience. Oli e (1980), de eloped a i e-phase model o explain
EDT o gain insigh in o his phenomenon. S a ing wi h he p e-pu chase phase whe e expec a ion a ound he
p oduc and pu chase expe ience de elops, mo ing o he pu chase phase when he p oduc and se ice quali y may
be e alua ed. Du ing he hi d phase, he cus ome compa es he p e-pu chase expec a ions wi h he expe ience
and i hey we e me . I he p e- expec a ions we e no me he expec a ions we e nega i ely discon i med and i hey
we e me o exceeded he p e-expec a ions we e posi i ely discon i med. The ou h phase would hen lead o he
cus ome expe iencing sa is ac ion o dissa is ac ion based on he ype o discon i ma ion expe ienced. The i h and
inal phase consis s o pos -pu chase beha iou o ei he e-pa onising, and sp eading posi i e wo d-o -mou h o
a oiding e-pa onising and sp eading nega i e wo d-o -mou h (Choi, Moon, and Kim, 2019).
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Acco ding o he EDT model, a sa is ied cus ome implies ha a cus ome had a posi i e emo ional eac ion o he
in-s o e expe ience and ha hei expec a ions we e ul illed (Nu adiana and Soba i, 2019). Acco ding o Gillison &
Reynolds (2018), cus ome expec a ions may be based on p e ious expe ience o he expe ience o o he s. Posi i e
expe iences in luence cus ome ’s emo ional s a e and can in u n posi i ely impac cus ome ’s eelings o sa is ac ion
(Wi z and Ba eson, 1999 & Moo e, Collie , Williams, and Moo e, 2020).
2.2. in-sTo e expe ience leading To saTis acTion
Mos o he academic wo k on in-s o e expe ience is g ounded in he s imulus-o ganism- esponse (SOR) heo y
o Meh abian and Russell (1974), which p oposes ha he ex e nal en i onmen can in luence an indi idual’s in e nal
s a e and subsequen beha iou . The e aile p o ides he s imulus in he o m o he senso y, in ellec ual, social, and
p agma ic in-s o e expe ience o he cus ome ( he o ganism), who esponds in alue pe cep ion and sa is ac ion,
which may, in u n, lead o loyal y (Cache o-Ma ínez & Vázquez-Casielles, 2017).
The in-s o e expe ience is he e o e no longe a p oduc acquisi ion exe cise; i is a mul i-senso y and in e ac i e
social expe ience ha emo ionally a ec s and challenges consume s (Te blanche, 2018). Humans a e hedonic, and
so end o a oid pain and seek sa is ac o y expe iences. In-s o e shopping expe iences a e no excluded om his
p inciple (Paul, Sanka ana ayanan & Meko h, 2016). Re ail expe ience is a combina ion o p agma ic and emo ional
expe iences; he p agma ic aspec s ela e o he dimensions o p oduc , p ice, and p omo ions (u ili a ian alue); and
he emo ional expe ience ela es o he in ellec ual and social expe ience wi h employees (hedonic alue) (Cache o-
Ma ínez & Vázquez-Casielles, 2017).
Consequen ly, cus ome expe ience is commonly de ined om a mul idimensional iew and includes i e ypes o
expe ience: a ec i e ( eel), physical (ac ), senso y (sense), social-iden i y ( ela e), and cogni i e ( hink) expe iences
(Lemon & Ve hoe , 2016:70). The a iables ‘sense’, ‘ hink’, and ‘ eel’ a e indi idual-le el expe iences, as hey in luence
a cus ome ’s physical senses, emo ions, and in ellec ; he o he a iables – ‘ac ’ and ‘ ela e’ – may be classi ied as
sha ed expe iences ha a e ocused on a cus ome ’s li es yle and cul u e (Yoon, 2013:696). I has also been ound
ha ac i a ing he senso y expe ience complemen s he o he expe ience dimensions, which in u n con ibu e o
sa is ac ion (Cache o-Ma ínez & Vázquez-Casielles, 2017).
Expe ience ma ke ing conside s ha cus ome s use no only a p oduc ’s a ibu es when making pu chase
decisions, bu also ake in o accoun he expe ience when buying he p oduc (Maghna i, Ling & Nase moadeli, 2012).
Li e a u e suppo ha cus ome expe ience has a subs an ial impac on cus ome sa is ac ion (G zeskowiak, Si gy,
Fosch and Swoboda,2016 & S ein and Ramaseshan, 2019. The heo y o se ice-dominan logic suppo s cus ome
expe ience as a de e minan o cus ome sa is ac ion and iews he cus ome as co-c ea o o alue and cus ome
expe ience which a e de ian ly applicable o a e ail se ing (Mohd-Ramly and Oma , 2017).
Sa is ac ion ela es o wo concep ualisa ions, he i s would be mee ing he needs o he cus ome and he
second “app aisal sa is ac ion” e e s o he o e all judgemen o he expe ience measu ed agains an icipa ions
(Biscaia, Rosa, Mou a e Sá & Sa ico, 2017). The e o e; ‘sa is ac ion’ may be de ined as a condi ion in which he
pe cei ed expe ience o he cus ome mee s o exceeds he p e-pu chase expec a ions, and includes he conscious
e alua ion o he in e ac ions, he p oduc , o he se ice pe o mance (Oli e , 1997; Yi, 1990). In a e ail con ex ,
sa is ac ion e e s o he “pos -consump ion e alua ion o how well a s o e o a p oduc mee s o exceeds cus ome
expec a ions” (Le y and Wei z, 2009, p. 111 ci ed in G ewal, D., Ailawadi, Gau i, Hall, Kopalle, and Robe son, 2011)
Re aile s ha e been s i ing o keep cus ome s sa is ied due o inc eased compe i ion and he inancial loss
ep esen ed by a cus ome swi ching o a compe i o (Bansal & Taylo , 2015). In-s o e expe iences a e key o building
us among cus ome s (Ven e , Cinamona & Chuchu, 2016), in-s o e expe ience (emo ional and p agma ic) has a
signi ican impac on sa is ac ion (Cache o-Ma ínez & Vázquez-Casielles, 2017), and a Sou h A ican s udy ound
ha cus ome sa is ac ion in e ail s o es is also a s ong p edic o o cus ome loyal y (Ma ini & Dhu up, 2015). This
sugges s ha a sa is ac o y in-s o e expe ience is likely o lead o a cus ome being sa is ied and ha a sa is ied
cus ome is likely o be loyal o a e aile . The s udy by S ein and Ramaseshan (2019), suppo ed he posi i e link
be ween cus ome expe ience and cus ome loyal y.
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In-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, loyal y, and he mode a ing ole o p ice image in he Sou h A ican g oce y sec o
2.3. connoTaTion o cusTome saTis acTion wiTh cusTome loyalTy
The ma ke ing li e a u e is clea in ha cus ome sa is ac ion leads o loyal y, and loyal cus ome s ep esen
g ea e p o i abili y (Tweneboah-Koduah & Fa ley, 2016; Awa a & Anyadighibe, 2014; Bag am & Khan, 2012; Yuen &
Chan, 2010). Howe e ; i mus be no ed, ha epe i i e pu chase beha iou does no indica e cus ome sa is ac ion
o cus ome loyal y, as epea buying may esul om cons ain s such as a ailabili y, con enience o high swi ching
cos s (Lo elock and Wi z,2011; Reichheld, 2003 & Reina z and Kuma , 2002). Fu he ; au ho s ag ee ha wi hou
sa is ac ion a cus ome will no be able o mo e o a s a e o loyal y (Oli e , 1999, Lo elock and Wi z, 2011 & Ko le
and A ms ong, 2006).
T ue cus ome loyal y may be de ined as a si ua ion whe e a cus ome becomes an ad oca e o an o ganisa ion
wi hou encou agemen and a e deeply commi ed o e-pa onise said o ganisa ion (Oli e , 1997 & Singh, 2006).
In u n, loyal cus ome s a e less likely o be in luenced by sho e m inciden al e o s o compe i o s, such as p ice
discoun s o p omo ional o e ings. The e o e; cus ome loyal y ela es o bo h cus ome a i udes and beha iou s
(Cues a‐Valiño, Rod íguez, and Núñez‐Ba ioped o, 2019).
The ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y has been ound o be posi i e by au ho s
Johns on, Cla k, and Shul e , (2012) one can ead: “Sa is ied cus ome s who pe cei e alue om he se ice a e
mo e likely o e u n and also mo e likely o p o ide posi i e wo d-o -mou h and ecommend he o ganisa ion and
i s se ices o o he s”. A 2017 case s udy in he e ail sec o by Biscaia, Rosa, Mou a e Sá & Sa ico ound a 2:1
ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and loyal y in ha in cases whe e cus ome sa is ac ion inc ease by wo
uni s, loyal y inc ease o one uni was p edic ed. The s udy suppo ed he posi i e e ec s o sa is ac ion on cus ome
loyal y and in u n be e long e m esul s. Howe e ; conside ing he ecen economic challenges expe ienced in
Sou h A ica, e aile s ha e been ying o encou age pu chases by applying p ice discoun s, he eby c ea ing a mo e
a ou able p ice image o hei s o es. This sugges s ha p ice image also needs o be aken in o conside a ion in
he cu en con ex .
2.4. sTo e p ice image
The g oce y consume ma ke in eme ging economies is commonly cha ac e ised by la ge pocke s o p ice-
sensi i e consume s, due o inc eased u banisa ion ha is o en accompanied by popula ion g ow h and po e y
(Pey on, Moseley & Ba e sby, 2015). This esul s in g oce y consume s being mo i a ed by alue p icing and
discoun s, as hese ep esen pe cei ed sa ings and e en sel -exp ession alue (I anmanesh, Jaya aman, Zailani
& Ghadi i, 2017). I may be said ha his ma ke is mo e u ili a ian mo i a ed as p ice and con enience play a key
ole in he amoun a cus ome will spend du ing a shopping ip (S ein and Ramaseshan, 2019). The e o e, p icing
ep esen s a complex decision o e aile s, as i in luences consume s on many le els.
P ice ep esen s e enue o he e aile ; on he o he hand, consume s see p ice as pe cei ed alue and quali y
compa ed wi h he ‘sac i ice’ hey make o ob ain he p oduc . P ice is used as a cue o quali y pe cep ions, and a
consume will associa e high p ices wi h high-quali y p oduc s and expe iences (Jeong, C omp on & Hyun, 2019).
Howe e , o e ing low p ices does no necessa ily mean ha consume s ha e a nega i e s o e quali y expe ience
e alua ion (Diallo, Cou elle‐B ille , Ri ie e & Zielke, 2015). Cus ome sa is ac ion is in luenced by he pe cei ed
alue, and he mone a y p ice is a p omising p edic o o cus ome sa is ac ion (Raji & Zainal, 2016). In Makhi ha
and Khumalo’s (2019) s udy, i was ound ha he h ee op selec ion a ibu es o g oce y s o es in a Sou h A ican
con ex we e con enience, se ice, and p ice pe cep ion.
Agains his backg ound, he ollowing hypo heses we e o mula ed o his s udy:
H1  In-s o eexpe ienceposi i elyandsigni ican lyin luencescus ome sa is ac ionin heg oce y
e ailsec o inSou hA ica.
H2 Cus ome sa is ac ionposi i elyandsigni ican lyin luencescus ome loyal yin heg oce y
e ailsec o inSou hA ica.
H3 P iceimagemode a es he ela ionshipbe weencus ome sa is ac ionandcus ome loyal yin
heg oce y e ailsec o inSou hA ica.
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2.5. The p oposed Theo eTical model
The p oposed heo e ical model is g ounded in p e ious esea ch on he an eceden s o cus ome sa is ac ion
and loyal y (Cache o-Ma ínez & Vázquez-Casielles, 2017; Ma ini & Dhu up, 2015). ‘Sa is ac ion’ is heo ised, o
he pu pose o his pape , as he posi i e ul ilmen o cus ome needs, ounded on whe he o no he e is a gap
be ween expec a ions and expe ience (Ma ini & Dhu up, 2015). ‘Cus ome loyal y’ is de ined by Jones, Reynolds
and A nold (2006) as he cus ome holding a s ong and deep commi men o epu chase a p oduc o se ice in
u u e. The esea ch model, o his pape , he e o e hypo hesises ha in-s o e expe ience (on an indi idual le el as
‘sense’, ‘ eel’, and ‘ hink’) leads o sa is ac ion, and ha sa is ac ion leads o loyal y, while p ice image mode a es he
ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion and loyal y.
Figu e 1: THeo eTical MoDel
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. sampling and daTa collecTion
A non-p obabili y con enience sampling app oach was used o iden i y esponden s o he s udy. Con enience
sampling allows he esea che s o each a la ge numbe o esponden s who a e eady and con enien ly a ailable
o pa icipa e in a s udy (B adley, 2013). Da a was collec ed using a su ey app oach, a ques ionnai e con aining
i ems adap ed om exis ing scales whe e used wi h a 7-poin Like scale o he esponden s o indica e hei le el o
ag eemen . The ques ionnai e was p e- es ed amongs he a ge popula ion be o e he inal da a collec ion. The da a
was collec ed by ield wo ke s app oaching he a ge popula ion o bo h male and emale g oce y shoppe s in Sou h
A ica o comple e a ques ionnai e. Responden s we e asked o s a e hei mos ecen g oce y shopping ip o a Sou h
A ican e aile , as well as hei eason o hei shopping ip (e.g., weekly o mon hly g oce y shopping). The nex pa
consis ed o 21 i ems measu ing he a iables ‘sense’ ( ou i ems), ‘ eel’ ( ou i ems), ‘ hink’ ( ou i ems), ‘sa is ac ion’
( h ee i ems), ‘loyal y’ ( h ee i ems), and ‘p ice image’ ( h ee i ems). The i ems men ioned as a iables we e adap ed
om Yoon (2013), S i as a a and Kaul (2016), and Wang and Chang (2014). The ques ionnai e concluded wi h
demog aphic ques ions pe aining o age and gende , as well as he amoun spen on g oce ies pe mon h. A o al o
397 esponses we e collec ed, o which 395 we e included in he inal analysis (99.5% esponse a e).
Once he da a we e collec ed he da a we e analysed using o he S a is ical Package o Social Science (SPSS)
e sion 25 o un s a is ical es s on he quan i a i e da a and analyse he cons uc s and i ems o he ques ionnai e.
De ails o he s a is ical es done o analyse he da a will be co e ed in he esul s sec ion ha ollows.

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In-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, loyal y, and he mode a ing ole o p ice image in he Sou h A ican g oce y sec o
4. RESULTS
4.1. demog aphic in o maTion
Table 1 p o ides a summa y o he demog aphic cha ac e is ics o he sample. The la ges numbe o esponden s
we e emale (63.8%), and he wo la ges g oups o all esponden s we e aged om 23 o 30 (34.4%) and om
31 o 35 (23%).
TaBle 1: DeMog apHic inFo MaTion
Demog aphics Pe cen age
Gende Male 36.2
Female 63.8
Age 18-22 16.5
23-30 34.4
31-35 23.0
36-40 10.1
41-45 9.2
46 o mo e 6.8
Table 2 indica es he esponden s’ pu pose o he las shopping ip hey unde ook be o e hey comple ed he
ques ionnai e. Mos indica ed ha he ip was ocused on mon hly g oce y shopping (46.3%), ollowed by a quick
pop-in o a ew i ems (30.9%).
TaBle 2: pu poSe oF SHopping T ip
Pu pose o shopping ip F equency Pe cen
Mon hly g oce y shopping 183 46.3
Weekly g oce y shopping 69 17.5
Jus popped in quickly o ge a ew hings 122 30.9
I bough g oce ies o a speci ic occasion 19 4.8
O he eason 1 0.3
To al 394 99.7
The a e age amoun spen on g oce ies was also eques ed; his was es ima ed a R2591.24 (abou USD170).
4.3. eliabiliTy, mean sco es, and alidiTy
The eliabili y o he scale i ems used in he analysis o he hypo heses was de e mined by calcula ing he in e nal
consis ency eliabili y sco es, o C onbach’s alphas. Table 3 below shows he sco es ob ained and he mean and
s anda d de ia ion o each o he i ems.
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TaBle 3: coeFFicienT alpHa, Mean anD STanDa D DeViaTionS
Cons uc I ems Coe icien
alpha
Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Sense The smell o he s o e was e y good
0.822
4.93 1.456
The shopping expe ience made me elaxed
and com o able
4.62 1.587
The ambience o he s o e was e y
pleasan
4.80 1.495
Feel The shopping expe ience was upli ing
0.774
4.48 1.555
The empe a u e inside he s o e was
com o able
5.10 1.498
The s o e was well li o help me selec my
g oce ies
5.57 1.457
The a mosphe e in he s o e was
welcoming
5.13 1.490
Think I el secu e in dealing wi h he se ice s a
in he s o e
0.866
5.13 1.535
I el sa is ied wi h he ea men I ecei ed
om he se ice s a o he s o e
5.17 1.552
The se ice s a showed commi men o
sa is y my shopping needs
4.82 1.521
Loyal y I am willing o e isi his e aile
0.749
5.63 1.342
I am willing o dedica e all my u u e
pu chases a his e aile
4.40 1.769
E en in he case o a p ice ma k-up, I will
buy om his e aile in u u e
4.23 1.784
Cus ome sa is ac ion My choice o pu chase om his g oce y
e aile was a wise one
0.854
5.00 1.485
I am sa is ied wi h he se ice I ecei ed
om his g oce y e aile
5.13 1.434
I am happy wi h he se ice I ecei ed om
his g oce y e aile
5.18 1.423
P ice image The p ices o he g oce ies sold by his
e ail s o e a e a ac i e
0.830
4.41 1.561
The p ices o he g oce ies sold by his
e ail s o e a e easonable
4.45 1.550
The p ices o he g oce ies sold by his
e ail s o e a e much lowe han o he
s o es
3.73 1.754
The C onbach’s alpha coe icien s o all he cons uc s a e abo e he ecommended h eshold o 0.7 (Saunde s
e al., 2016:223), sugges ing in e nal consis ency and eliabili y. The a iable ‘I paid a en ion o he music played a
he e ail s o e’ unde ‘Sense’ was dele ed, which imp o ed he sco e om 0.704 o 0.822. The a iable was dele ed
o mo e he C onbach’s alpha alue om accep able o s ong (Zikmund & Babin, 2007).
4.4. con i maTo y acTo analysis (c a) and sT ucTu al model
Con e gen alidi y was assessed by e alua ing he a e age a iance ex ac ed (AVE) sco es, which we e all
abo e 0.5 (Fo nell-La cke , 1981); con e gen alidi y was hus achie ed. The composi e eliabili y sco es we e also
e iewed. All alues we e abo e 0.700 (Fo nell & La cke , 1981). The co ela ion be ween ‘sense’, ‘ eel’, and ‘ hink’
was 0.758. As his is lowe han he lowes squa e o AVEs o all he cons uc s (wi h he lowes alue being 0.775),
his indica es ha disc iminan alidi y was achie ed.
This s udy o iginally se ou o measu e in-s o e expe ience h ough he h ee a iables ‘sense’, ‘ eel’, and ‘ hink’.
A CFA analysis was conduc ed o assess he measu emen model. An analysis o he ac o s o he CFA showed
a co ela ion o 0.987 be ween he a iables ‘sense’ and ‘ eel’, sugges ing issues wi h mul icollinea i y. These wo
8
In-s o e expe ience, sa is ac ion, loyal y, and he mode a ing ole o p ice image in he Sou h A ican g oce y sec o
expe ience a iables we e he e o e combined o o m a new a iable ha he esea che s e med ‘en i onmen ’. As
consume s sense and eel a e mainly s imula ed by ex e nal s imuli and he e o e he shopping en i onmen he label
“en i onmen ” seemed app op ia e in he con ex o he s udy. The esea che s hen p oceeded wi h he analysis
using only he wo a iables ‘en i onmen ’ and ‘ hink’ as ep esen a i e o he o e all a iable ‘expe ience’.
The model i and s uc u al model was analysed, using Ben le , (2005), s uc u al equa ions p og am (EQS).
The no malised es ima e was high (57.498), and hus he obus s a is ics we e in e p e ed. The model i o he
measu emen model was assessed using chi-squa e (χ2), no med i index (NFI), compa a i e i index (CFI),
and oo mean squa e (RMSEA). The measu emen model p oceeding wi h he wo ac o s demons a ed a ai i
(χ2 = signi ican , bu accep ed due o χ2 sensi i i y o la ge samples; NFI = 0.932; CFI = 0.929; RMSEA = 0.083).
The low numbe o i ems o he a iables ‘sa is ac ion’ ( h ee i ems) and ‘loyal y’ ( h ee i ems) mean ha i s a is ics
could no be calcula ed.
The s uc u al model also demons a ed a ai i (χ2 = signi ican – 258.898 / 73d = 3.546), bu is accep ed due
o χ2 sensi i i y o la ge samples; NFI = 0.900; CFI = 0.925; RMSEA = 0.081 (0.070 – 0.91). The expe ience a iable
‘ hink’ showed a signi ican posi i e ela ionship wi h sa is ac ion ( = 7.126, p < 0.05), while he a iable ‘en i onmen ’
did no ( = 1.800, p> 0.05). Hypo hesis 1 was he e o e accep ed, wi h only ‘ hink’ ha ing a signi ican e ec on
cus ome sa is ac ion, and no bo h a iables ‘ hink’ and ‘en i onmen ’ as one cons uc ep esen ing cus ome
expe ience. Sa is ac ion o loyal y ( = 10.314; p < 0.05) was signi ican , and so hypo hesis 2 could be accep ed.
Reg ession analysis was conduc ed o de e mine he mode a ion e ec o p ice image on he ela ionship be ween
cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y. The in e ac ion e m be ween sa is ac ion and p ice image was no
signi ican ( = -0.116, p = 0.907). P ice image on i s own as an independen ac o does no signi ican ly in luence
loyal y (T 1.004; p = 0.316). The e was, he e o e, no mode a ion so he e o e hypo hesis 3 was ejec ed.
5. DISCUSSION
Mos o he esponden s we e emale, and he pu pose o hei shopping ips was a mon hly shop, which ended
o be la ge in size. The indings a ound demog aphics and shopping ips we e in line wi h simila s udies in he ield
(Selema and Makgosa,2018 & Mo ime , 2013) The esul s indica ed ha he a iables ‘ eel’ and ‘sense’ we e simila
in loadings, and hey we e he e o e combined o o m a new a iable ha he esea che s e med ‘en i onmen ’. O
he wo expe ience componen s – en i onmen and hink – only he a iable ‘ hink’ posi i ely in luenced cus ome
sa is ac ion. When e e ing o he a iable’s i ems, ‘ hink’ was s ongly ocused on he human and se ice s a
componen o he expe ience. This sugges s ha he in-s o e expe ience – speci ically, he cus ome se ice
componen – plays an impo an ole in con ibu ing o cus ome sa is ac ion, and ha he manne in which cus ome s
pe cei e hei ea men by s o e employees signi ican ly impac s hei sa is ac ion le els. These esul s we e also
epo ed in he i s publica ion whe e his da a se was analysed: ha o Sedibe e al. (2019) (see in oduc ion).
In ex ending he esul s u he , he addi ional objec i es and hypo heses de eloped included he impac o
sa is ac ion on loyal y, and he mode a ing ole o p ice image. These esul s indica ed ha cus ome sa is ac ion
posi i ely and signi ican ly in luences cus ome loyal y, which is in line wi h p e ious indings (Ma ini & Dhu up, 2015).
The esul s on cus ome sa is ac ion and loyal y suppo he s imulus-o ganism- esponse (SOR) heo y o Meh abian
and Russell (1974). Howe e , e en hough he li e a u e sugges s ha p ice plays a signi ican ole in shopping
si ua ions and decisions (Makhi ha & Khumalo, 2019; Raji & Zainal, 2016), he esul s o his s udy ound ha p ice
image did no ha e any speci ic impac on he ela ionship be ween cus ome sa is ac ion and cus ome loyal y. As
p oposed in he li e a u e, p icing may play a ole as an an eceden o sa is ac ion (Makhi ha & Khumalo, 2019; Raji
& Zainal, 2016), bu his does no ha e a co e impac on a consume ’s ansi ion om sa is ac ion o becoming loyal.
The inding also suppo s he li e a u e on cus ome loyal y in ha uly loyal cus ome s will no be in luenced by sho
e m p ice discoun ac ics o compe i o s (Cues a‐Valiño, Rod íguez, and Núñez‐Ba ioped o, 2019).
9
A icle i le
9 The Re ail and Ma ke ing Re iew: Vol 21 Issue 2 (2025) ISSN: 2708-3209
6. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
Despi e challenging economic imes, g oce y e aile s in he eme ging ma ke o Sou h A ica canno ely on p ice
image o build a loyal cus ome base. P icing can be copied by compe i o s, and highly p ice-sensi i e cus ome s –
such as che y picke s’ pu chase beha iou – will ollow p ice discoun s ac oss compe i o s in he ma ke . I is clea
ha loyal y and sa is ac ion a e mul idi ec ional concep s, and canno be buil on p icing s a egies alone. Manage s
need o ecognise he impac o in-s o e expe ience on consume s’ le els o sa is ac ion, and ensu e ha he o e all
en i onmen , bu especially cus ome s’ expe ience le els wi h s a , is posi i e.
Manage s should also s i e o achie e sa is ac ion, as i con ibu es signi ican ly o achie ing loyal y. E en hough
p ice played no ole in he ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion and loyal y, i is s ill iden i ied as a con ibu o o sa is ac ion
in p e ious s udies, and manage s should he e o e always conside he impac and ole o hei p icing s a egies.
Howe e , a s ong p icing ocus is no ecommended when he ocus is on building cus ome loyal y. Ra he , posi i e
expe iences, in pa icula wi h se ice s a , lead o sa is ac ion, which in u n c ea es loyal cus ome s. Re aile s
should ocus on he “ hink” aspec o hei cus ome jou ney, and ain s a o in e ac posi i ely wi h hei cus ome s a
ce ain key in e ac ion poin s wi hin he g oce y shopping expe ience. Re aile s ough o s i e o c ea e memo able
expe iences and o e g ea se ice o cus ome s i hey wan o c ea e loyal y among hei shoppe s. F on line s a
should be ewa ded o hei commi men o se ice, and empowe ed o c ea e excellen in-s o e expe iences o
cus ome s. Re ail on line s a should ecei e ongoing cus ome se ice aining and be gi en he au onomy o make
decisions o se e cus ome s. The o ganisa ion’s mission and alues should embody a commi men o c ea ing an
excellen cus ome in-s o e expe ience and should be d i en om he op managemen le el. Cus ome sa is ac ion is
no an ope a ional issue o s o e employees alone o implemen . The indings suppo he heo y o se ice-dominan
logic as he in-s o e expe ience impac s cus ome sa is ac ion (Mohd-Ramly and Oma , 2017).
Fu u e esea ch could look in o di e en p oduc ca ego ies ha a e less homogenous such as luxu y appa el o
home appliances. The s udy also ocused on a speci ic geog aphic a ea and could be expanded o o he a eas o see
i simila esul s could be ob ained. A longi udinal s udy wi hin a pa icula ocusing on how he a iables change o e
ime could also be bene icial o gain insigh s on he e e eness o said e aile ’s ac ics and s a egies.
We conclude on he no e ha p ice pe cep ion does no c ea e ue loyal cus ome s in he g oce y sec o o
Sou h A ica. S a in e ac ions con inue o play a key ole in sa is ying in-s o e expe iences e en in low in ol emen
si ua ions such as g oce y shopping. The e o e; d i ing cus ome expe ience should emain a ocus e en du ing slow
economic imes while p o iding alue o money o e ings o he consume s.
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