ANALYSIS OF HEDONIC AND UTILITARIAN CONSUMER VALUES AFFECTING THE RETAIL STORE IMAGE IN INDIA

Purpose - Retailers continuously focus on enhancing their success in the area of consumer values. The retail industry has experienced enormous structural and technological development, with hedonic and utilitarian values becoming imperative nowadays. Consumers are always seeking the fulfillment of hedonic and utilitarian values in a retail store. The objective of the present re-search study was to test the dimensionality, validity, and reliability of the measures of hedonic and utilitarian values among retail consumers. In addition, the study was aimed at understanding the role of consumers' hedonic and utilitarian values with respect to the retail store image. Design/Methodology/Approach - Expert Opinions (EO), Focus Group Discussions (FGD), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and path model analysis were used to achieve the objectives of the study. Findings and Implications - The results of the study offer significant implications for retailers. The study's findings elucidate the 13 observed items by relating them to hedonic values, utilitarian values, and retail store image. The impact of hedonic and utilitarian values on retail store image was confirmed. Validity and reliability statistics were also used to confirm hedonic values, utilitarian values, and retail store image. Limitation - Limitations of the study include the cross-sectional nature of the research and skewed sample size towards the younger population. The study's focus on retail store image may lead to a misperception of the respondents due to the store image created in the minds of consumers.Originality - The study provides statistically validated and reliable measures of hedonic and utilitarian consumer values, and retail store image in the Indian retail context. In addition, it helps in providing retailers with a platform to develop strategies that take into account their consumers' hedonic and utilitarian values. The study demonstrates the significance of hedonic and utilitarian consumer values in the context of retail store image.