Effects of experiental retail strategies on store patronage and consumer purchase behaviour

Recent years have seen an increased interest in industry and academia in what is known as 'experiential retail'. Not much is known however about what generates and determines a retail experience from the consumer's point of view and what are the short and long-term effects of such a strategy on consumer behaviour. This study will examine these issues by way of a field experiment conducted in stores of PAINTRIGHT, a cooperative of specialist paint retailers. A survey approach will be complemented with extensive qualitative investigation to allow a better understanding and assessment of the effects of experiential retail strategies.