The Influence of IKEA Store Appearance on Customers’ Shopping Behavior Pavel Štursa Bachelor Thesis 2009 ABSTRAKT V bakalářské práci se zabývám tím, jakým způsobem může vzhled prodejen, obchodů i dalších prostor určených k prodeji zboží ovlivnit nákupní chování zákazníků. Teoretická část je rozdělena na tři části. V první části jsou uvedeny faktory, které ovlivňují zákazníky k samotné návštěvě prodejny, zejména pak, co všechno přispívá ke vztahu, který má zákazník s konkrétním obchodem. V druhé části je popsán vliv samotného vzhledu prodejního prostředí, dále tzv. visual merchandising, který spojuje prvky úspěšného prodeje s prezentováním a vystavováním zboží takovým způsobem, který je pro zákazníka příjemný. Třetí část obsahuje teoretický základ segmentace zákazníků. Praktická část obsahuje stručné informace o obchodním domě IKEA. Dále jsou zde analyzovány všechny tři oblasti z teoretické části. Analýza byla provedena na základě fotografií a odpovědí z dotazníků pořízených v obchodním domě IKEA v Brně. Klíčová slova: ovlivňování zákazníků, vztah k obchodu, customer experience management, vzhled prodejny, visual merchandising, design, vystavení zboží, segmentace zákazníků ABSTRACT In the bachelor thesis I deal with how the appearance of stores, shops and other places used for selling affect the customers’ shopping behavior. The theoretical part is divided into three parts. In the first part, there are factors influencing customers to visit a certain store, in particular, what contributes to the relationships between customers and particular shops. The second part describes the influence of the appearance of the shopping environment, furthermore visual merchandising, which connects sales success with promoting and displaying merchandise in a way which is pleasant for customers. The third part contains the theoretical background of customer segmentation. The practical part contains brief information about IKEA department store. There are also all the three areas of the theoretical part analyzed in this practical part. The analysis was made on the basis of photographs and responses of questionnaires made in the IKEA store in Brno. Keywords: affecting customers, shopping experience, customer experience management, store appearance, visual merchandising, design, displays, customer segmentation ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family who has always supported me during my studies. I would also like to thank my supervisor Ing. Michal Pilík, Ph.D. for allowing me to have this topic. I appreciate his helpful comments and advice. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 12 I THEORY ........................................................................................................................ 13 1 AFFECTING CUSTOMERS .................................................................................... 14 1.1 Factors Assisting to the Choice of Retailer ........................................................... 14 1.2 Shopping Experience ............................................................................................. 16 1.3 Customers’ Experience in the Retail Environment ............................................... 17 1.3.1 Customer Experience Management (CEM) ................................................... 18 2 STORE APPEARANCE AND DESIGN .................................................................. 22 2.1 Fundamental Features ............................................................................................ 22 2.1.1 Shop Windows ................................................................................................ 22 2.1.2 Basic Characteristics of Store Equipment ...................................................... 22 2.2 Visual Merchandising ............................................................................................ 23 2.2.1 Storefront ........................................................................................................ 24 2.2.2 Store Layout ................................................................................................... 26 2.2.3 Store Interior ................................................................................................... 27 2.2.4 Interior Displays ............................................................................................. 28 2.3 Artistic Design ....................................................................................................... 29 2.3.1 Display Design and Preparation ..................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Display Maintenance ...................................................................................... 30 2.4 Manipulating Artistic Elements ............................................................................. 31 2.4.1 Lines ............................................................................................................... 31 2.4.2 Colors ............................................................................................................. 31 2.4.3 Shape .............................................................................................................. 33 2.4.4 Direction ......................................................................................................... 33 2.4.5 Texture ............................................................................................................ 35 2.4.6 Proportion ....................................................................................................... 35 2.4.7 Balance ........................................................................................................... 35 2.4.8 Motion ............................................................................................................ 36 2.4.9 Lighting .......................................................................................................... 36 2.4.10 Rhythm ........................................................................................................... 37 2.4.11 Harmony ......................................................................................................... 38 2.5 Not-for-sale Articles .............................................................................................. 38 2.5.1 Props ............................................................................................................... 38 2.5.2 Fixtures ........................................................................................................... 39 2.5.3 Signage ........................................................................................................... 39 3 CUSTOMERS TYPOLOGY AND SEGMENTATION ......................................... 40 3.1 Customer Market Segmentation ............................................................................ 40 3.2 Segmenting Consumer Markets ............................................................................. 41 3.2.1 Geographic Segmentation............................................................................... 41 3.2.2 Demographic Segmentation ........................................................................... 41 3.2.3 Psychographic Segmentation .......................................................................... 42 3.2.4 Behavioral Segmentation ................................................................................ 42 II ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................... 45 4 IKEA STORE CHARACTERIZATION ................................................................. 46 4.1 History of IKEA Company .................................................................................... 46 4.2 Globalization vs. Adaptation ................................................................................. 47 4.3 IKEA customer segmentation ................................................................................ 49 5 RESEARCH ON AFFECTING IKEA STORE CUSTOMERS ............................ 51 5.1 Questionnaire 1, Background ................................................................................ 51 5.1.1 First Part Conceptualization ........................................................................... 51 5.1.2 Second Part Conceptualization ....................................................................... 52 5.2 Questionnaire 1, Data Collection ........................................................................... 52 5.3 Questionnaire 1, First Part Results ........................................................................ 53 5.3.1 Social Motives ................................................................................................ 54 5.3.2 In-store Design ............................................................................................... 54 5.3.3 Product Availability ........................................................................................ 55 5.3.4 Information Availability ................................................................................. 56 5.3.5 Access ............................................................................................................. 56 5.3.6 Speed of Delivery ........................................................................................... 56 5.3.7 Amount of Shopping Time ............................................................................. 57 5.4 Questionnaire 1, Second Part Results .................................................................... 57 5.4.1 Experiential Positioning ................................................................................. 58 5.4.2 Experiential Value Promise ............................................................................ 58 5.4.3 Retail Factors .................................................................................................. 59 5.4.4 Transport Factors ............................................................................................ 59 5.4.5 Customer Factors ............................................................................................ 60 5.4.6 Product and Design Factors ............................................................................ 61 6 RESEARCH ON IKEA STORE APPEARANCE AND DESING ......................... 62 6.1 IKEA Store Visual Merchandising ........................................................................ 62 6.1.1 IKEA Storefront ............................................................................................. 63 6.1.2 IKEA Store Layout ......................................................................................... 66 6.1.3 Store Interior ................................................................................................... 67 6.1.4 Interior Displays ............................................................................................. 68 6.2 Artistic Design in the IKEA Store ......................................................................... 70 6.2.1 IKEA Store Maintenance................................................................................ 71