Multicultural consumers and the retail service experience

Abstract

The recent economic crisis in the U.S. and global economies has marked the beginning of a turbulent climate for numerous retailers, many of whom have filed for bankruptcy, closed stores nationwide, and downsized the workforce and inventory levels drastically to deal with declining sales. While some of these measures have helped is sustaining retail businesses, the road to recovery for U.S. retailers is -long-drawn and far from being smooth, with every season potentially spelling the need for more closures and bankruptcies. Given these challenging conditions, the question arises whether there is a single, effective strategy that can help retailers sustain in this turbulent climate and remain poised for future growth? The ubiquitous answer to this question is centered around creating and fostering a superior and memorable retail shopping experience for the customer. As a result, customer experience management has emerged as a key retailing strategy in depressed economic times to combat declining sales and customer loyalties (Grewal et al. 2009; Puccinelli et al. 2009; Verhoef et al. 2009).