Shopping motivation revised: a means-end chain analytical perspective

Purpose - Shopping motivation is one of the key constructs of research on shopping behavior and exhibits a high relevance for formulating retail marketing strategies. Previous studies of shopping behavior as well as research in the areas of psychology and organizational behavior point towards a need to investigate the hierarchical nature of shopping motivation. The present study intends to take the first steps towards the development of a hierarchical theory of shopping motivation. Design/methodology/approach - Means-end chain theory is adopted to explore the hierarchical nature of shopping motivation. A total of 40 in-depths interviews with apparel shoppers were conducted using the laddering technique. Results are depicted in three hierarchical value maps. Findings - Evidence is provided relating to the social, experiential, and utilitarian aspects of shopping as represented by four dominant motivational patterns referring to the issues of shopping pleasure, frictionless shopping, value seeking, and quality seeking. Concrete retail attributes are presented which allow retailers to correspond to these motivations. Originality/value - The paper identifies the need to introduce a hierarchical perspective to provide an increased understanding of consumers' shopping motivation. First, empirical evidence is provided regarding how consumers' cognitive structures relating to the benefits of shopping are hierarchically organized.