The Impact of Social Influence and Role Expectations on Shopping Center Patronage Intentions

Abstract

Shopping is generally a socially visible behavior, frequently done while accompanied by friends or family. The importance of the social interaction achieved through shopping would suggest that social referents may affect the patronage behavior of consumers. However, the ability of social referents to influence patronage may depend on how important the role of shopper is to the individual. Historically, females were expected to assume the role of shopper. But there is evidence that currently the role of shopper has increased in importance for males while decreasing for females who do not occupy the role of housewives. This study used a behavioral intentions modeling approach to investigate the strength and significance of social referent influence on three shopper segments with differing types of role expectations. The shopping orientations and retail feature preferences of the three segments were also measured. The findings suggest there are important differences among the three groups.