Do shopping events promote retail brands?

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of in‐store events on customers' attitudes toward the retail brand.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop and empirically test a model of event image, event satisfaction, and retail brand attitudes using structural equation modelling. The paper draws its empirical information from a survey of customers of a cosmetics retailer.FindingsThe results provide strong empirical evidence for the role of in‐store events in retailing, as they reveal significant support for three of the four hypothesised relationships. More precisely, the results show significant effects between an event's image and customers' satisfaction with the event. Further, the results show a positive relationship between customers' satisfaction with the event and their attitudes toward the retail brand.Originality/valueRetailers increasingly use in‐store events to provide customers with a unique shopping experience and differentiate themselves from competitors. The present paper highlights the important role of events as communication measures in retailing by empirically investigating the impact of in‐store events on customers' retail brand evaluation.