Creating Memories and Bonding through Competitive Shopping: Evidence of Co-creating Experiential Retail Value

Abstract

While researchers have identified personality traits and situational circumstances as drivers of general competitive consumer behaviors (e.g., Mowen 2000), competitive shopping itself has not garnered significant attention. As such, the purpose of this research was to better understand the motives, nature, and nuances of competitive shopping. Drawing from a sample of twenty-three informants who were engaged in a competitive shopping event, we sought to enrich our understanding of the phenomenon. The Grounded Theory (Glaser & Straus 1967) method was employed for data collection and analysis. Our findings indicate that although the primary phenomenon incorporates aspects of competing, participants were predominantly engaged in a process of creating memories. At the heart of creating memories was interpersonal bonding manifested through competitive shopping. Creating memories through bonding and competing highlights how consumers can take part in creating experiential value during a retail shopping experience. It is well established that, in exchange relationships, people derive utility not solely from the products and services they receive, but also from interpersonal relationships that develop during the exchange process (Wathne et al. 2001; Frenzen & Davis 1990). The present research suggests that within some exchange circumstances, utility can be derived from the interpersonal relationships and primary-group bonds fostered by the exchange context. Furthermore, along with studies from the leisure and services domain, this study contributes by exposing how and why customers bond with one another, and the significance that bonding opportunities may hold. The creating memories process provides specific psychological, social, and behavioral patterns experienced by our set of informants. Despite numerous studies regarding experience-seeking consumers and experiential market offerings (e.g., Babin et al. 1994), there is little research that examines how and why these experiences become meaningful and memorable. These issues are important because consumer memories can have longstanding effects on outcomes like brand loyalty, awareness and recall, and positive word of mouth. Understanding these phenomena can also assist the retailer in learning how to build meaningful relationships with customers and become integrated into consumers’ memory. Although there are advocates from the experiential view for the consideration of consumer experiences to include aspects of fantasy, play, and emotional responses (Holbrook & Hirschman 1982; Thompson et al. 1989), there is little empirical or theoretical literature of substance in the marketing, consumer, or retail domain that specifically inspects the significance of memorable consumer experiences (and events) in peoples’ lives. This is surprising given the vast array of experiential consumption opportunities in the marketplace. The findings in this article suggest that memorable customer experiences may closely mirror social processes that are reflections of peoples’ everyday lives and relationships.