Fantasy and Utility: The Effect of Lifestyle and Shoppable Product Displays on Consumers‟ Approach and Avoidance Behaviors A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Cara Linn Damminga IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE Kim K. P. Johnson, Adviser May 2011 © Cara Linn Damminga 2011 i Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my adviser Dr. Juanjuan Wu, not only for her guidance in the completion of this thesis, but her continual support throughout my two years at the University of Minnesota. I would also like to thank my committee member Dr. Kim Johnson for her enthusiasm for my thesis topic since its conception in DES 8102 as well as her guidance during the final weeks of this project. I am grateful for the support from the faculty, staff, and fellow graduate students in the department of Design, Housing, and Apparel. I am very appreciative of the opportunities given to me in the past two years and the never-ending and always available support in 240 McNeal Hall. I am especially thankful for my fellow Retail Merchandising graduate students – they are the Korean big sisters I never had! Also, I must give a big thanks to Kerianne for letting me come to her class all of those times. I want to thank my parents, Geezy and Madge, for their support, love, and laughter during my graduate study. With their encouragement and help, I now find myself in a position where I no longer need to do laundry at their house (but might anyways). Lastly, to Ben, for everything. ii Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess consumers‟ approach and avoidance behaviors towards lifestyle and shoppable product displays as mediated by their emotional states and moderated by their convenience orientation and hedonic shopping value. Virtual depictions of four types of product displays (non-lifestyle-non-shoppable, non-lifestyle- shoppable, lifestyle-non-shoppable, and lifestyle-shoppable) were included in questionnaires and completed by 157 participants. ANOVA results indicated a significant effect of lifestyle product display on participants‟ experienced cognitive pleasure and a significant effect of shoppable product display on participants‟ experienced pleasure, arousal, and cognitive pleasure. Participants who viewed the lifestyle-shoppable product display experienced significantly more pleasure, arousal, and cognitive pleasure than those who viewed the non-lifestyle-non-shoppable product display. The lifestyle- shoppable product display also evoked more arousal in participants than the lifestyle-non- shoppable product display. This research supports the S-O link of the S-O-R model (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). Findings have implications for future researchers interested in studying new product display types. It also has practical implications for retailers that sell apparel as part of a wide product assortment or any retailer looking to implement product displays that evoke emotional responses in consumers. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................1 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................6 Research Purpose ...................................................................................................11 Significance of Proposed Research ........................................................................12 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................15 Conceptual Background .........................................................................................15 Related Studies.......................................................................................................22 Hypotheses .............................................................................................................36 Chapter 3: Method .............................................................................................................37 Experimental Design ..............................................................................................37 Instruments .............................................................................................................37 Sample....................................................................................................................45 Survey Administration ...........................................................................................45 Data Collection ......................................................................................................46 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................46 iv Chapter 4: Results and Discussion .....................................................................................48 Participant Characteristics .....................................................................................48 Measurement Reliabilities .....................................................................................48 Manipulation Check ...............................................................................................50 Hypotheses Tests ...................................................................................................50 Discussion ..............................................................................................................57 Implications, Limitations, and Suggestions for Future Research ......................................62 Implications............................................................................................................62 Limitations .............................................................................................................63 Suggestions for Future Research ...........................................................................65 References ..........................................................................................................................68 Appendix ...........................................................................................................................74 v List of Tables Table 1. Sample Characteristics .........................................................................................49 Table 2. The Effect of Product Display Type on Response Variables ..............................51 Table 3. Post-hoc Comparisons of Means for Significant Differences in Response Variables ............................................................................................................................53 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Stimulus-Organism-Response Model .................................................................16 Figure 2. Proposed Conceptual Model ...............................................................................22 Figure 3. Proposed Hypotheses..........................................................................................37 Figure 4. Non-Lifestyle-Non-Shoppable Product Display ................................................40 Figure 5. Non-Lifestyle-Shoppable Product Display .........................................................41 Figure 6. Lifestyle-Non-Shoppable Product Display .........................................................42 Figure 7. Lifestyle-Shoppable Product Display .................................................................43 Figure 8. Adjusted Model ..................................................................................................56 1 Introduction Statement of the Problem This research was inspired by the industry trend of mass merchandisers to expand their product assortment to include food, household goods, furnishings, and apparel (Arnold & Luthra, 2000). The majority of contemporary consumers are shopping at these retailers: 70% of consumers shop at Walmart, 50% shop at other mass merchandisers (i.e. Target, Kmart), and 43% shop at value department stores (i.e. Kohl‟s, JCPenney) (Mintel, 2010a). Accordingly, mass merchandisers have experienced significant sales growth (37% from 2003 to 2008). A considerable portion of these sales are from apparel products: for example, 10% of Walmart‟s and 40% of Target‟s sales are from apparel products (Mintel, 2010b). In fact, half of the women who shopped for clothing in 2010 made purchases at mass merchandisers or value department stores (Mintel, 2010b). Despite this fact, only 16% of a typical mass merchandisers‟ product assortment is apparel products (IBISWorld, 2010). In response to this behavior, some mass merchandisers are taking steps to expand their apparel product