Shopping Orientation as a Stable Consumer Disposition and Its Influence on Consumers’ Evaluations of Retailer Communication

Purpose: Consumers may shop under an experiential or a task-focused shopping orientation. The present research examines whether interindividual differences in consumers’ shopping orientations reflect a stable consumer disposition (i.e., chronic shopping orientation). Furthermore, it examines whether this disposition influences consumers’ evaluations of retailer communication. Design/methodology/approach: This research builds upon four studies; three were conducted online and one was conducted in the laboratory. Study 1 applied a longitudinal design, Studies 2 and 3 applied a cross-sectional design, and Study 4 applied an experimental design. Findings: Study 1 shows that chronic shopping orientation is stable over time. Study 2 finds that interindividual differences in chronic shopping orientation are stable across different retail domains. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that experiential shoppers prefer stimulation-oriented claims, whereas task-focused shoppers prefer efficiency-oriented claims. Originality/value: The value of shopping orientation for customer segmentation and tailored marketing largely depends on whether interindividual differences in chronic shopping orientation are stable. The present research is the first to demonstrate that chronic shopping orientation indeed exists as a stable consumer disposition. In addition, the research demonstrates that shopping orientation moderates the evaluation of retailer communication. Overall, the results demonstrate that chronic shopping orientation is a valuable construct for customer segmentation and tailored communication in retailing.