International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Analyzing the relationship between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage-

intention and lifestyle in food and grocery store choice behavior
Suja R. Nair,
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Suja R. Nair, (2017) "Analyzing the relationship between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage-
intention and lifestyle in food and grocery store choice behavior", International Journal of Retail &
Distribution Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-06-2016-0102
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Food
Analyzing the relationship and grocery
between store attributes, store choice
behavior
satisfaction, patronage-intention
and lifestyle in food and grocery
store choice behavior Received 23 June 2016
Revised 29 July 2016
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28 December 2016
Suja R. Nair 6 January 2017
14 March 2017
CMS Business School, Bangalore, India 30 April 2017
Accepted 4 September 2017

Abstract
Purpose – There is tremendous growth potential for food and grocery (F&G) retail in an emerging market
like India. Bengaluru is the third most populous city of India. With a total consumption expenditure of
Rs 2,020 billion and per capita retail expenditure of Rs 67,289 (in 2015), Bengaluru has emerged as a
sought-after retail market with many foreign and national brands opening stores here. The purpose of this
paper is to use the sign of causality to determine the relationships between store attributes, satisfaction,
patronage intention and lifestyles in F&G retailing in Bengaluru.
Design/methodology/approach – An experimentation framework using causal design was developed to
establish relationships between variables: store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle.
A primary survey was conducted using a structured non-disguised questionnaire involving 346 F&G
shoppers from Bengaluru. Hayes regression models were adapted and hypothesized relationships between
the variables tested using correlation, multiple regression and Hayes regression/path analysis.
Findings – Satisfaction acts as a mediator in the relationship between store attributes and patronage intention.
Lifestyle does not act as the moderator in the relationships between store attributes and patronage- intention;
and, satisfaction and patronage intention.
Research limitations/implications – In experiments that test for causality a big limitation is lower
internal validity in the absence of control mechanisms, unlike laboratory studies. Another limitation is that
this study is limited to urban Bengaluru F&G shoppers, variations could occur if the study is extended to
include rural shoppers.
Practical implications – With 100 percent foreign direct investment permitted in the F&G category in
India, the research outcomes will be useful to all food retailers (prospective and current) interested in this
retail market. Moreover, in the existing competitive scenario, understanding of associative influences between
store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle will enable retailers comprehend F&G
shoppers retailing behavior. This information can be used for targeted marketing and operational strategies,
which will deliver more success in marketing relationship management, building competitive advantage and
enhancing marketing efforts profitably.
Originality/value – This paper is a new and original contribution to the existing literature on causal
relationships among variables in retail marketing research. It is different from prior studies that analyzed
shoppers F&G behavior, in that it extends the understanding of the role of “satisfaction” as a mediator and
“lifestyle” not a moderator, when testing the causality of store attributes on patronage intention.
Keywords Satisfaction, Lifestyle, Mediation analysis, Moderated mediation, Patronage intention,
Store attributes
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Indian retail is recognized as a huge, fast and growing market in the world triggered by
evolving socio-economic dynamics resulting in increased consumerism. With Indian economy
posed to grow, consumer spending is likely to take a modern style influenced by psychological
variables (Lysonski and Durvasula, 2013; Nair, 2015) that require retailers to gain knowledge
on attributes primarily focusing on convenience, quality and value added services to influence International Journal of Retail &
Distribution Management
shopping behavior (Sinha and Banerjee, 2004; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011). With a plethora of © Emerald Publishing Limited
0959-0552
formats to choose from customers are seeking experiences that go beyond products and DOI 10.1108/IJRDM-06-2016-0102
 IJRDM quality aspects – a synthesis of multi-attributes associated with a retailer’s store image
(Das, 2014).
Long back, Berkman and Christopher (1978) referred to store choice behavior as a pattern/
lifestyle that determines and is determined by consumption. Some researchers felt socio-
economic and demographic variables influence retail behavior with store attributes primarily
driving store choice decisions (Dholakia and Uusitalo, 2002; Sinha and Banerjee, 2004;
Tripathi and Sinha, 2008; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011; Carpenter and Brosdahl, 2011; Mortimer,
2012; Basu et al., 2014). In the contemporary competitive marketing scenario when most of the
store-attribute offerings are similar, the focus is on relationship marketing with store
managers striving to create a retail environment that will induce positive evaluation of the
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store; prompting customers to re-visit the outlet in future. Soderlund et al. (2014) felt that
positive evaluation of the store can result in customer satisfaction. The relevance of customer
satisfaction emanates because of its likely influence on customers’ future behavior intentions,
opined Jani and Han (2014). For example, some studies found that positive physical/store
environment is likely to have a positive influence on satisfaction, loyalty and purchase
intentions (Das, 2014; Ali and Amin, 2014). Since repurchase intention is recognized as an
indicator of customer loyalty (Soderlund et al., 2014), there is an increasing interest among
researchers to examine the role and impact of satisfaction on consumer retail behavior.
Homburg and Giering (2001) found that consumers’ personal characteristics moderate the
satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Pappas et al. (2014) felt retail experiences had moderating
effects on the relationship between performance expectancy, satisfaction and purchase
intentions, whereas Soderlund et al. (2014) found that satisfaction and purchase intention links
are moderated by actual purchases. Few studies have brought out the role of satisfaction as a
mediator in relationships involving different variables. Satisfaction mediates service quality
and loyalty relationship (Srivastava and Rai, 2013), perceived product/service quality, price,
etc. act as antecedents influencing shoppers satisfaction, which as a mediating variable
affects patronage intentions (Akbar, 2014); satisfaction mediates the influence of shopping
value on patronage intentions (Moharana et al., 2014). Satisfaction and patronage intentions
can be termed as consequences of customers’ evaluation of shopping experiences
(Soderlund et al., 2014; Jani and Han, 2014) and, thus, are very relevant in modern day
retailing. Additionally, researchers have found that lifestyle also plays a pivotal role in
influencing consumption behavior especially due to evolving consumer dynamics
(Kureshi et al., 2007; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011). Going by this, researchers suggest using
lifestyle to target consumer segments and design effective marketing-mix strategies aimed at
them (Valentine and Powers, 2013; Yu et al., 2015).
Previous studies have reported about the relationship between attributes, satisfaction and
behavioral/patronage intentions (Ali and Amin, 2014; Soderlund et al., 2014) with some
illustrating the impact of lifestyle on purchase intentions (Qing et al., 2012). The current study
attempts to examine the causality of relationships between store attributes, satisfaction,
patronage intentions and lifestyle using experimentation. Consumer-behavior researchers are
increasingly using experimentation to test for causal relationships (Green et al., 2000;
Bhatacherjee, 2012). By using mediation and moderation models, researchers can hypothesize
about the cause-and-effect relationships existing between two or more variables (Wu and
Zumbo, 2008; Prado et al., 2014; Hernandez et al., 2014). In the current study, the research
framework suggests mediating construct, satisfaction is hypothesized to relate the store
attributes to patronage intention, and lifestyle, as a moderating construct, is hypothesized to
relate: satisfaction and patronage intention; store attributes and patronage intention.

Indian food and grocery (F&G) retail

Indian F&G segment occupies 8 percent of the organized market, accounting for almost
69 percent of the total revenues in 2014 and is expected to become the third largest grocery
 market across the globe by 2016 with an estimated revenue of US$566 billion (IBEF, 2016). Food
There is tremendous scope in this segment, although intense competition among domestic, and grocery
corporate and global retailers with not much value differentiation among store product service store choice
offerings (Dutta et al., 2016) and evolving consumer demographics (Prasad and Aryasri, 2011),
is a call for retailers to enhance efforts at understanding customers’ needs and store choice behavior
behavior. Existing studies in Indian F&G indicate contextual variations, few analyzed
customer patronage (Goswami and Mishra, 2009; Zameer and Mukherjee, 2011); other
examined the effect of shopper attributes (Prasad and Aryasri, 2011), and so on. The current
study, an experiment, uses causal research (mediation and moderated mediation analysis)
to determine the signs of causality between variables: store attributes, satisfaction, patronage
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intentions and lifestyles in the Indian F&G retailing context.

This study is expected to contribute to the literature on shopping behavior especially
based on the associative relationship between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage
intention and lifestyle. Such information would help retailers gain better understanding on
shoppers’ retailing behavior enabling formulation of marketing and operational strategies
that will deliver more on successful marketing relationship management, building
competitive advantage and profitably enhance marketing efforts.
The rest of the paper is structured as follows. We first provide a theoretical background,
hypotheses and research framework. Then, the research method is described, followed by
findings and analysis, discussions on the implications of the study and concludes with the
limitations and future research directions.

Theoretical background
Store attributes
From decades till recent times, researchers have been examining store attributes as a very
important marketing-mix variable that influences consumers’ buying intentions,
evaluation of stores and store choice behavior (Kotler, 1973-1974; Schiffman et al., 1977;
Hansen and Deutscher, 1977-1978; Mazursky and Jacoby, 1986; Baker et al., 1994;
Birtwistle et al., 1998; Paulins and Geistfeld, 2003; Du Preez et al., 2008; Mortimer, 2012;
Basu et al., 2014). Studies on store attributes have helped to analyze shopping behavior
from various perspectives. Parasuraman et al. (1988) opined that there is a link between
store environment, store choice and patronage intention and attributes can be used to
create typology of male grocery shoppers (Mortimer, 2012), which helps initiate marketing
and retailing strategies related to store format choice behavior (Prasad and Aryasri, 2011),
and fosters patronage and purchase intentions (Zameer and Mukherjee, 2011; Das, 2014;
Ballantine et al., 2015). The above studies are suggestive of the pivotal role store
attributes play in influencing store-related decisions. Retailers can use store attributes to
create retailing experiences that pave the way for customer satisfaction, resulting in
patronage intentions.

Satisfaction and patronage intention

Satisfaction is viewed as a state of mind characterized by positive effect likely to influence
purchase intention (Soderlund et al., 2014). Consumers seek cues in the physical
environment and satisfaction is closely linked to store choice depending upon whether the
chosen store meets or exceeds expectations (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Cronin et al., 2000).
Typically, retailing behavior will depend upon the shopper’s subjective evaluation of the
store experience. So it is important that retailers create a shopping environment, which
positively impacts satisfaction (Ali and Amin, 2014). Among online shoppers prior customer
experience (CE) influences the relationship between performance expectancy and
satisfaction, posited Pappas et al. (2014). Interestingly, Lin and Bennett (2014) used retail
 IJRDM attributes to develop a CE construct which they found impacted customer satisfaction and
store loyalty.
Satisfaction, according to researchers (Ali and Amin, 2014; Sharma, 2014; Soderlund
et al., 2014; Ballantine et al., 2015), is closely related to customers’ future behavior (in the
current study this is measured as patronage intention). Profitability of an organization
greatly depends on the positive patronage intention of its customers. Moreover, as
competition intensifies with evolving retail and changing consumer demographics, it is
crucial for retailers to work toward expanding retail patronage behavior. Studies from
recent past have also brought out the link between satisfaction and patronage intention.
Sharma (2014) found perceived service quality positively influenced customer satisfaction
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and patronage intentions, whereas Das (2014) felt store image (attributes) influenced
attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, and purchase intentions among departmental stores
shoppers. However, Soderlund et al. (2014) who examined the link between satisfaction and
future intention felt the need for further research to determine whether satisfaction actually
resulted in patronage intention. Nevertheless, the above studies have clearly indicated a
close link between satisfaction and patronage intention in retailing context.

Lifestyle
Another variable that affects consumption behavior is consumer lifestyles, which
Plummer (1974) referred to as customers unique style of living based on a wide range of
activities, interests and opinions. Researchers found lifestyle analysis to be effective in
understanding customers’ attitudes, dynamics, consumption pattern and daily needs and
wants (He et al., 2010; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011; Qing et al., 2012) and these can affect
shoppers’ purchase decisions (Sinha and Uniyal, 2013). For instance, Yu et al. (2015) found
e-lifestyles effected consumers resistance to mobile banking; Ting and Foong (2014) felt
lifestyle influences perception and behavior of apparel customers; Qing et al. (2012) found
lifestyles can impact consumers’ purchase intentions of food product; He et al. (2010) felt
affluent Chinese customers lifestyles influenced their purchase and consumption pattern.
These studies are pointers of lifestyle influences impacting customers’ consumption
pattern and buying behavior.
Although the above discussions signify the existence of relationships between store
attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle, a lacuna was felt in terms of
studies that examined the associative link between all of them. Previous studies that
examined these variables have more relevance to Western or other emerging markets, while
studies in the Indian context had different research objectives, were carried out in different
market-regions, during different time periods and were either descriptive or exploratory in
nature. Further, some researchers opined the need for more causal research studies in the
retailing context. For example, Bagdare and Jain (2013) felt the need for studies that measure
retail experience by examining the mediating and moderating effects of contextual
variables. Similarly, Chinomona and Omoruyi (2015) suggested future studies to examine
customer satisfaction as a mediator that influences loyalty and purchase intentions.
The current study, an attempt in this direction, is an experimentation using causal research
to examine the signs of causality between store attributes (cause/independent variable),
satisfaction (mediator), patronage intention (effect/dependent variable) and lifestyle
(moderator) in F&G retailing context. The following research questions were framed to
test for causality:
RQ1. Does satisfaction mediate the relationship between store attributes and
patronage intention?
RQ2. Does lifestyles moderate the relationships between (a) satisfaction and patronage
intention; and (b) store attributes and patronage intention?
 Hypotheses and research framework Food
The current study fulfills the conditions for valid causal inferences (Aaker et al., 2009; and grocery
Bhatacherjee, 2012). For determining the cause-and-effect relationships among the variables, store choice
the bottom-up conceptual analysis approach (Bhatacherjee, 2012), which suggests set of
predictors (satisfaction as a mediator, and lifestyle as a moderator) relevant to the behavior
phenomena of interest (effect of store attributes on patronage intention) with a research
framework, has been used. Non-directional hypothesis statements were formulated as the
study only measures how a cause leads to an effect (correlation between the variables)
without specifying the direction of the same (Marczyk et al., 2005).
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Satisfaction-mediator
In general, studies on shoppers’ store behavior have established store attributes effect on
retailing behavior through creating customer satisfaction that positively impacted customers’
behavioral intentions (Sharma, 2014; Pappas et al., 2014; Ali and Amin, 2014). Long back,
Grace and O’Cass (2005) suggested customer satisfaction to be the strongest antecedent to
patronage intention. Other studies found store attributes help in creating shopping
experiences that become strong determinants of customer satisfaction and patronage
intention (Sharma, 2014; Pappas et al., 2014). The study by Söderlund and Colliander (2015)
reported that retail loyalty reward impacts customer satisfaction and re-patronizing
intentions. Further, there exist studies, that have established satisfaction as a mediator
(Srivastava and Rai, 2013; Akbar, 2014). From these studies, it can be inferred that there exists
a relationship between store attributes, satisfaction and patronage intention, where store-
attribute(s) is the cause, and the effects are satisfaction and patronage intention. However,
Soderlund et al. (2014, p. 534) cautioned against interpreting satisfaction intentions association
with one store, as an indicator of intention to patronize that store only. Nevertheless, despite
conflicting findings, we hypothesize that there exists a correlation between store attributes,
satisfaction and patronage intention. Accordingly, in the current study, satisfaction as a
mediator is hypothesized to indirectly effect the relationship between store attributes and
patronage intention. Going by the above discussion, the following non-directional hypothesis
statements were formulated:
H1. There is a relation between store attributes and patronage intention.
H2. There is a relation between store attributes and satisfaction.
H3. There is a relation between satisfaction and patronage intention.
H4. Satisfaction acts as a mediator between store attributes and patronage intention.

Lifestyle-moderator
Psychographics, such as lifestyle, indicate ways in which consumers behave in social and cultural
environment. In this age of e-technology, evolving lifestyles can impact ocio-demographics and
the consumption pattern of shoppers (Mortimer, 2012; Das, 2014; Nilsson et al., 2015). Lifestyle is
considered as an important variable when developing marketing strategies for market
segmentation (Kureshi et al., 2007; Qing et al., 2012; Ting and Foong, 2014). Other studies have
shown that lifestyles can affect store choice and purchase behavior intentions (Ko and Zhang,
2009; He et al., 2010; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011; Qing et al., 2012; Valentine and Powers, 2013).
Given that lifestyles affect purchase behavior, researchers have investigated its role as a
moderator in effecting customers purchase intentions. For example, Wang and Sun (2014) found
that while customer lifestyle has no moderating effects on colors (hotel environment)
and consumer emotions, it had a moderating influence on music and perceived quality.
Ko and Zhang (2009) and Ting and Foong (2014) found that lifestyle played a significant role in
moderating the relation between brand equity and purchase intentions; and satisfaction and
 IJRDM store loyalty of sportswear and fashion products, respectively. The above study’s findings do
not give consistent results on the moderating role of lifestyle. Further, although there exist
studies indicating relationships between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention
(e.g. Carpenter and Brosdahl, 2011; Ali and Amin, 2014; Das, 2014), there is no explicit academic
literature stating lifestyles moderate the relationships of satisfaction on patronage intention,
and store attributes on patronage intention. This study proposes to fill-up this gap by
hypothesizing on the conditional indirect effect (mediated effect of satisfaction) of store
attributes on patronage intention, moderated by lifestyle.
Accordingly, the following non-directional hypothesis statement was formulated:
H5. Lifestyle can act as a moderator between (a) satisfaction and patronage intention,
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and (b) store attributes and patronage intention.

In this study, moderated mediation is used to estimate the extent to which an indirect effect of
the causal agent store attributes on patronage intention through the mediator satisfaction will
depend on the moderator (lifestyle). Typically, mediation and moderated mediation analysis
are used for testing hypotheses regarding mechanisms that explain how certain effects occur
(causes) and to determine how indirect effects can be moderated (Preacher et al., 2007;
Hayes, 2013; Prado et al., 2014). Mediation is a process wherein, an independent variable (X)
affects the dependent variable (Y ) through an indirect effect of one or more mediating
variables (M). Moderated mediation is a conditional process and occurs when mediation
relations are contingent on the level of a moderator (Preacher et al., 2007, p. 193). Moreover, for
experiments related to modeling the mediation and moderation effects, design control can be
gained by drawing correlational inferences, opined Wu and Zumbo (2008).
Going by prior studies which established customer satisfaction affects patronage intentions
(Sharma, 2014; Pappas et al., 2014) and lifestyle acts as a moderator in relationships between
variables (Ko and Zhang, 2009; Ting and Foong, 2014) and the main purpose of this study, a
research framework (Figure 1) was worked out. The research framework shows the relationship
between the “cause” variable, store attributes (hypothesized to have an effect on patronage
intention) with satisfaction (a mediator) and lifestyle (a moderator, which indirectly affects the
relationships between variables: store attributes, satisfaction and patronage intention).

Research method
This study survey involved adult household shoppers at modern stores (include organized
and upgraded traditional/kirana formats) in urban Bengaluru (India). Bengaluru is the third
most populous city of India with 54 percent households earning more than Rs 300,000
annually primarily contributing to the retail growth. With a total consumption expenditure
of Rs 2,020 billion and per capita retail expenditure of Rs 67,289 (in 2015), Bengaluru has
emerged as a sought-after retail market with many foreign and national brands opening
stores here (Dutta et al., 2016).

(Mediator)
(Moderator)
Satisfaction
Lifestyle

Figure 1. Store-attributes Patronage-intention

Research framework
Source: Adapted from Hayes (2013)
 Questionnaire development Food
Initial discussions held with few modern retailers and 20 adult F&G shoppers helped to and grocery
identify perceived important store attributes influencing store choice behavior. store choice
Subsequently, literature review of prior studies substantiated the discussions and helped
in the development of the questionnaire. The questionnaire adapted from earlier studies was behavior
suitably modified for the current study. A pre-test (a pilot study) was carried out with
40 representative respondents who agreed to fill-up the questionnaire that contained
75 statements measuring the various dimensions of the variables under study. The data
were tested for reliability and validity using Cronbach’s α. The value of the dimensions
measured was found to be within the acceptable range, except for one item under promotion.
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The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistical concepts of mean and standard
deviation, and Pearson correlation which was found to be significant at the 0.01 level
(one-tailed). The pilot study results helped to finalize the questionnaire (that contained
74 statements), which was used in the actual survey conducted during the April-August
2015 period.
In the final questionnaire, store attributes (adapted from Du Preez et al., 2008) were
measured with eight sub-constructs, namely, atmosphere (four-item statements), convenience
(three-item statements), facilities (two-item statements), institutional (four-item statements),
merchandise (six-item statements), promotion (three-item statements), sales personnel
interaction (five-item statements) and service (five-item statements); satisfaction (adapted
from Parasuraman et al., 1988; Dabholkar et al., 1996) was measured using four dimensions,
namely, physical aspects (two-item statements), reliability (two-item statements), personal
interaction (two-item statements) and policy (three-item statements); patronage intention
(adapted from Grewal et al., 2003) measure (three-item statements); and lifestyle (adapted from
Plummer, 1974; Prasad and Aryasri, 2011) measure had AIO (Activities 11, Interests 8 and
Opinions 10) statements.
Five point rating scales were used. The multiple items under variables store attributes,
satisfaction and patronage intention were measured using a five-point Likert scale requiring
respondents to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement (where 1 ¼ strongly
disagree (SD), 2 ¼ disagree (D), 3 ¼ neutral (N), 4 ¼ agree (A) and 5 ¼ strongly agree (SA)),
with a variety of statements pertaining to the construct being measured. For measuring
lifestyle, respondents had to indicate their response on a five-point scale (1 ¼ never,
2 ¼ rarely, 3 ¼ occasionally, 4 ¼ often and 5 ¼ always) against 29 AIO statements.
A stratified random sampling method was used for the survey. The geographic scope of
the study was limited to urban Bengaluru and the sample unit comprised of a household
(respondent). Households purchasing F&G at modern outlets for more than three months
were only involved in the survey. For sample size determination, Kaden (2006) stated
“a robust sample for most research studies other than a strategy study is 300” (p. 168).
Going by this and prior F&G studies references (e.g. Zameer and Mukherjee, 2011;
Mortimer, 2012), the final sample had 346 respondents. The respondents were administered
the structured non-disguised questionnaire by providing an online survey link (similar to
Carpenter and Brosdahl, 2011), although a few respondents (18) preferred filling up a hard
copy of the questionnaire. Totally 600 questionnaires were distributed to adult F&G
shoppers in Bengaluru, of which 352 questionnaires were received back and 346 were found
to be complete and usable.
The profile of the sample (respondent/household) is provided in Table I, and geographic
factors and the shopping pattern of the sample are provided in Table II.
Female constituted 62 percent of the sample, 81 percent was married, with the family size
varying between three and five members (51.2 percent) and more than five members
(9.5 percent), about 56 percent were professionals/post-graduates, about 53 percent paid
employees, with about 45 percent of them earning more than 10 lakhs per annum.
 IJRDM Variables Count (N) %

Gender of respondent
Female 213 61.60
Male 133 38.40
Age
Below 30 years 77 22.20
31-40 87 25.10
41-50 120 34.60
51-60 45 13.00
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Above 60 years 18 5.20

Marital status
Married 281 81.00
Unmarried 66 19.00
Highest education of respondent
Graduation 139 40.10
Professional/post-graduates 194 55.90
SSC 14 4.00
Occupation of respondent
Business 47 13.60
Housewife 70 20.20
Paid employment 184 53.20
Retired 11 3.20
Student 34 9.80
Family size
1-3 members 136 39.30
3-5 members 177 51.20
More than 5 members 33 9.50
Annual household income
Up to 2 lakhs 27 7.80
Table I. 2-5 lakhs 69 20.00
Demographic profile 5-10 lakhs 93 27.00
of respondents above 10 lakhs 156 45.20

For about 41 percent of the sample, the travel distance to the store is less than 1 km, and
40 percent preferred traveling by car to the store. The shopping pattern shows about
45 percent of them go “occasionally” for F&G purchases, with the monthly spent ranging
between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000 (21 percent) to less than Rs 3,000 (27.4 percent).
The main purpose of this study is to examine the cause-and-effect relationships between
store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle in F&G retailing for which the
non-directional hypotheses formulated had to be tested and validated. Research findings
after data analysis using multiple regression and Hayes regression are discussed in the
following section.

Findings and analysis

To begin with the overall measures of mean and standard deviation of the four variables
store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyles were obtained (illustrated in
Table III). The reliability test Cronbach’s α value for each variable is found to be more than
0.72, which is satisfactory ensuring the consistency of the instrument and the reliability of
the data (Nunnally, 1978).
 %
Food
and grocery
Travel distance to store store choice
1-2 Km 115 33.2
2-3 Km 50 14.5 behavior
3-4 Km 20 5.8
Less than 1 Km 140 40.5
More than 4 Km 21 6.1
Mode of transport to store
Bicycle and/or walking 76 22.0
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Car 139 40.2

None 6 1.7
Public/private transport 25 7.2
Two wheeler 100 28.9
How often one goes for F&G shopping at modern outlets?
Always 33 9.6
Occasionally 155 45.1
Often 134 39.0
Rarely 22 6.4
Frequency of purchase of F&G products from modern outlets
Once a fortnight 85 24.5
Once a month 103 29.7
Once a week 100 28.8
Once in six months 9 2.6
Twice a week 50 14.4
Per month amount spent by household on F&G purchases at modern outlets
Less than Rs 3,000 95 27.4
More than Rs 5,000 89 25.6 Table II.
Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 90 25.9 Geographic factors
Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 73 21.0 and shopping pattern

Construct Overall mean score SD Cronbach’s α

Store attributes 3.85 0.50 0.72

Satisfaction 3.83 0.70 0.81 Table III.
Store patronage intention 3.89 0.73 0.88 Descriptive statistics
Lifestyle 1.98 0.30 0.72 and reliability test

Correlation analysis is done to determine the degree of association/relationship between the

variables: store attributes, satisfaction and patronage intention. The Pearson correlation
coefficient measuring the degree of association between the constructs under study is
shown in Table IV.
The Pearson correlation coefficient measures indicate that all the constructs are
positively related, the values are 1, 0.46 and 0.27, respectively. The association between
patronage intention and satisfaction is statistically significant at 1 percent level.

Multiple regression analysis

Going by the purpose of the study, nature of the measurement scales and prior research
studies that examined retail store attributes association to other variables using multiple
 IJRDM Store attributes Satisfaction Patronage intention

Store attributes
Pearson correlation 1 0.460** 0.271**
Sig. (1-tailed) 0.000 0.000
N 346 346 346
Satisfaction
Pearson correlation 0.460** 1 0.583**
Sig. (1-tailed) 0.000 0.000
N 346 346 346
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Patronage intention
Pearson correlation 0.271** 0.583** 1
Table IV. Sig. (1-tailed) 0.000 0.000
Pearson N 346 346 346
correlation analysis Note: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (one-tailed)

regression (Carpenter and Brosdahl, 2011; Nilsson et al., 2015) and those which suggested
Hayes regression analysis to examine causal relationships between variables (Wu and
Zumbo, 2008; Hernandez et al., 2014), it was decided to use these methods for analyzing data
in the current study. Moreover, Aaker et al. (2009) and Bhatacherjee (2012) suggested using
multiple regression model for analysis purposes in studies involving predictor and
outcome variables.
In this study, to relate the dependent variable (patronage intention) to two independent
variables (store attributes, satisfaction) the following multiple regression model is used:

Y ¼ a þb1 X 1 þb2 X 2 þe

where Y is patronage intention (dependent variable), X1 is store attributes, X2 is satisfaction

(independent variables), b1 and b2 are β coefficients of the independent variables, e is error/or
unexplained variance, a is constant, in the absence of independent variables, dependent
variable value.
From the model summary (Table V ), it is seen that R2 is 0.340, implying 34 percent of
change occurs in dependent variable due to changes in independent variable. F is 88.47;
significance value is less than 0.05, which implies that β is not equal to 0. In other words,
there is a relation between independent variables and dependent variable. To know about
the individual predictors on dependent variable, coefficients are referred (Table VI).
Unstandardized β value is substituted in the equation given earlier:

Y ¼ 1:551 þ0:005X 1 þ0:607X 2 þe

The equation can be interpreted as 1 unit increase in X1 leads to Y as 0.005. Further, 1 unit
increase in X2 leads to 0.607 keeping X1 as constant in the model, a is 1.551 which is quiet
high, indicating more of the level of unexplained variance in the given model. Table VI

ANOVA
Model R R2 Adjusted R2 SE of the estimate F Sig.
Table V. a
Model summary Linear 0.583 0.340 0.336 0.59356 88.472 0.000
(regression analysis) Notes: aPredictors: (constant), satisfaction, store attributes; Dependent variable: patronage intention
 shows significance value of X1 is 0.941, which is more than 0.05, while X2 is 0.000, less than Food
0.05. This implies there is no direct relation between store attributes and patronage and grocery
intention, although there is a statistically significant relation between satisfaction and store choice
patronage intention.
behavior
Hayes regression for mediation analysis
Since the linear regression output revealed that there is no direct relation between store
attributes and patronage intention, it was decided to test whether there exists an indirect
relation between store attributes and patronage intention through satisfaction. A mediator
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is the third variable that links a cause and an effect (Wu and Zumbo, 2008, p. 368).
Researchers can investigate “how” there is a cause-and-effect relationship between an
independent variable “X” and dependent variable “Y” by using mediation analysis
(Hayes, 2013). In the current study, the researcher wants to examine satisfaction as a
mediator in the cause-and-effect relationship between the independent variable (store
attributes) and dependent variable (patronage intention). Since long, seminal work on
mediation and moderation analysis by Baron and Kenny (1986) has been well established in
the behavioral science arena. These have been complemented by studies from other
researchers, such as Preacher et al. (2007), Edwards and Lambert (2007) and Hayes (2013).
In the current study, Hayes framework termed as Hayes regression approach, a path
analysis approach toward regression analysis, has been used.
The conceptual framework is illustrated in Figure 2.
The framework (Figure 2) is based on Model 4 (Hayes, 2013) of the mediation analysis.
In this model, a is the predicting coefficient of the impact of X (store attributes) on M
(satisfaction), and b and c’ are the predicting coefficients of the impacts of M (satisfaction)
and X (store attributes) on Y (patronage intention), respectively. Path b indicates the causal
effect of the mediator (satisfaction) on the dependent variable (patronage intention) without
taking into account the impact of the independent variable (store attributes), whereas, the
path c’ indicates the direct causal effect of the independent variable (store attributes) on the
dependent variable (patronage intention) controlled by the mediator (satisfaction).
When carrying out the empirical test of the mediation model, the direct and indirect
effects as well as the total effect are to be taken into consideration (Wu and Zumbo, 2008;

Unstandardized coefficients Standardized coefficients

B SE β t Sig.

(Constant) 1.551 0.258 6.023 0.000

Store attributes 0.005 0.072 0.004 0.074 0.941 Table VI.
Satisfaction 0.607 0.052 0.582 11.775 0.000 Coefficients

Satisfaction
(M)
a b
c’

Figure 2.
Store-attributes Patronage-intention
c Conceptual
(X) (Y) framework of simple
mediation model
Source: Hayes (2013)
 IJRDM Prado et al., 2014). In this study, path analysis is used to determine the direct, indirect and
total effects in the above mediation model. The outcome of the indirect effect of X on Y
through the mediator (M) quantified by the product of two paths a and b that connect X to Y
through M is provided in Tables VII and VIII.
Table VIII shows that the relation between store attributes (X ) and satisfaction (M) is
statistically significant and the β value a is 0.6415 in the above path model. From Table VIII,
it is inferred that although store attributes and satisfaction are in direct relation (c ¼ 0.005),
this relationship is not statistically significant. While the relation between satisfaction and
patronage intention is statistically significant; path b ( ¼ 0.6070) quantifies the direct effect
from the mediator (satisfaction) on patronage intention in the path model. Thus, direct
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relation c is 0.005 and indirect relation ab is 0.389. Path c’ represents the total effect of store
attributes on patronage intention and is represented as c’ ¼ c+ab, which is, 0.39.
Since path a and path b are statistically significant while path c is not statistically
significant, it can be inferred that M (satisfaction) is a mediator in the relationship between X
(store attributes) and Y (patronage intention) (Wu and Zumbo, 2008; Hernandez et al., 2014).
However, some studies (like Hayes, 2013) have pointed to a drawback on the above mediation
analysis which presupposes that the distribution between the paths a and b is a normal
one. To address this issue, Hernandez et al. (2014) and Prado et al. (2014) suggested using the
bootstrapping method (Preacher et al., 2007) to draw inferences about a value whose
distribution is unknown.
The total, direct and indirect effects of X (store attributes) on Y (patronage intention)
using the bootstrapped method are shown in Table IX.

Outcome: Satisfaction
Model Coeff. SE t p
Table VII.
Mediation outcome: Constant 1.3555 0.2592 5.2288 0.0000
satisfaction Store attributes 0.6415 0.0667 9.6171 0.0000

Outcome: Patronage intention

Model Coeff. SE t p

Table VIII. Constant 1.5511 0.2575 6.0233 0.0000

Mediation outcome: Satisfaction 0.6070 0.0516 11.7748 0.0000
patronage intention Store- attributes 0.0053 0.0718 0.0736 0.9413

Total effect of X on Y
Effect SE t p
0.3947 0.0755 5.2299 0.0000
Direct effect of X on Y
Effect SE t p
0.0053 0.0718 0.0736 0.9413
Indirect effect of X on Y
Table IX. Effect Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI
Bootstrapped effects SAT 0.3894 0.0894 0.2368 0.5905
 The output (Table IX) provides the bootstrapped confidence intervals at 95 percent level. Food
This output will indicate whether 0 lies within the interval levels (LL and UL). Table IX and grocery
shows that true indirect effect with 95 percent confidence level is likely to range from store choice
0.2368 (LL) to 0.5905 (UL) and the estimated effect is 0.3894. According to Hayes, since
0 does not occur between the LL and UL, it can be concluded that the indirect effect is behavior
significant. This implies that satisfaction is a mediator in the relationship between store
attributes and patronage intention. In other words, although store attributes cannot directly
be related to patronage intention, it can have an indirect relation through satisfaction.
The outcome of statistical test – mediation analysis is illustrated in Figure 3.
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Hayes moderated-mediation analysis

To further explore whether lifestyle can moderate the relationships between store attributes,
satisfaction and patronage intention, the conditional process modeling was used to test for
moderated mediation, as outlined by Hayes (2013). Moderated mediation is present if the
strength or direction of the mediation effect depends on the level of the moderator (Wu and
Zumbo, 2008, p. 384). In this study specifically, the researcher wanted to test whether
lifestyle can moderate the relationships between store attributes, satisfaction and patronage
intention. This moderated mediation conceptual model, an adaptation of model 15
(Hayes, 2013) is illustrated in Figure 4.
Hayes (2013) referred to moderated mediation as “Conditional process analysis,”
describing the contingent nature of the mechanisms that are quantified by indirect effects
which can be moderated. Just as in mediation analysis, the distinct paths by which the
independent variable X can influence the independent variable Y are indicated by paths
(like a, b, c) and represent the corresponding effect to each of the relations. When carrying
out the empirical test of the conditional model, it is necessary to consider the direct and
indirect effects of X on Y (Hayes, 2013). For model 15, the following equations were used to
estimate M and Y (Hayes, 2013):
(1) conditional indirect effect of X on Y through M ¼ a (b1+b2V ); and

Satisfaction

a = 0.64 b = 0.60

Figure 3.
C’ = 0.39 Statistical test-
Patronage-Intention mediation analysis
Store attributes
C = 0.005

Satisfaction (M)
Lifestyle (V)

Store
Patronage-Intention (Y) Figure 4.
Attributes (X) Moderated mediation
conceptual model
Source: Hayes (2013)
 IJRDM (2) conditional direct effect of X on Y ¼ c1+c3 V, where a, b1, b2, c1 and c3 are the
regression coefficients.
The moderated-mediation statistical model with the value of the regression coefficients is
illustrated in Figure 5.
The conditional modeling of moderated mediation with output satisfaction and output
patronage intention involving the two interactions MV and XV is shown in Table X. Under
outcome “satisfaction,” the p value of store attributes is 0.0000, which is less than 0.05 and so
is statistically significant. Under outcome “patronage intention,” lifestyle is tested as a
moderator variable. There are two interactions: Interaction 1 is “satisfaction and lifestyle,”
and Interaction 2 is “store- attributes and lifestyle.” The “p” value of all the variables is more
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Satisfaction (M)

a = 0.64 b1= 0 .85

Store Attributes c1= –0.29 Patronage-Intention (Y)

(X)

c2 = 0.023
b2 = – 0.13
c3 = 0.16

Lifestyle (V)

Figure 5.
Moderated mediation
statistical model MV XV

Model ¼ 15
Y ¼ Patronage Intention
X ¼ Store Attributes
M ¼ Satisfaction
V ¼ Lifestyle
Outcome: satisfaction
Model Coeff. SE t p
Constant 1.3555 0.2592 5.2288 0.0000
Store attributes 0.6415 0.0667 9.6171 0.0000
Outcome: patronage intention
Model Coeff. SE t p
Constant 1.4208 1.4684 0.9676 0.3339
Satisfaction 0.8584 0.2810 3.0551 0.0024
Store attributes −0.2914 0.3876 −0.7519 0.4527
Life style 0.0234 0.7638 0.0307 0.9756
int_1 −0.1321 0.1494 −0.8838 0.3774
int_2 0.1658 0.2062 0.8044 0.4217
Table X. Interactions
Moderated-mediation int_1 Satisfaction X Life style
analysis outcome int_2 Store image X Life style
 than 0.05 and so is not statistically significant. In other words, both the interactions, int_1 Food
and int_2, are not statistically significant implying that there is no moderated effect of and grocery
“lifestyle” in the current study model. store choice
Conditional process using bootstrapped approach
behavior
As in mediation, the bootstrapped approach helps in estimating the sampling distributions of
the moderated mediation model in order to generate confidence intervals. Table XI indicates
that the conditional direct effect of X on Y at values of the moderator (V ) is not statistically
significant. The conditional indirect effects of X on Y at values of the moderators (MV) using
the bootstrapped approach show that 0 does not occur between the LL and UL. So it can be
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stated that the conditional indirect effects are statistically significant. Given the complexity of
the theoretical associations between the variables, a conditional model may present significant
total, direct and indirect effect, however, even partial models that present significant indirect
effects should be considered valid (Prado et al., 2014, p. 16).

Discussion
The main purpose of this study was to determine the cause-and-effect relationships between
store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and lifestyle in F&G retailing. Since the
objective was to examine the mediator and moderator effect between independent and
dependent variables, multiple regressions (Hayes mediation and moderated mediation) were
used. In response to the research questions that guided this study, the findings indicate that
there exists a relationship between store attributes and patronage intention, although it is an
indirect one. Mediation analysis helped to establish satisfaction as a mediator in the
relationship between store attributes and patronage intention. This implied a correlation
between the variables where store attributes, an independent variable, cause an indirect
effect on patronage intention through the mediator satisfaction. Hence, the first four study
hypotheses are supported and validated by this study. To get an answer to the second
research question on whether lifestyle can moderate the relationships between store
attributes, satisfaction and patronage intention, conditional modeling process moderated
mediation was used. The findings indicated that the interactions were not statistically
significant implying that there is no moderated effect of “lifestyle” in the current study
model. Hence, the fifth hypothesis on the role of lifestyle as a moderator in F&G retailing is
not supported by this study.

Implications of the study

This study contributes to the growing retail marketing literature by providing empirical
evidence on the correlation between store attributes, satisfaction, patronage intention and

Direct and indirect effects

Conditional direct effect(s) of X on Y at values of the moderator(V )

Life style Effect SE t p
1.6763 −0.0134 0.0803 −0.1673 0.8672
1.9774 0.0365 0.0770 0.4742 0.6357
2.2785 0.0864 0.1145 0.7548 0.4509
Conditional indirect effect(s) of X on Y at values of the moderator(s)
Mediator Life style Effect Boot SE Boot LLCI Boot ULCI
Satisfaction 1.6763 0.4086 0.0903 0.2471 0.6199
Satisfaction 1.9774 0.3831 0.0985 0.2067 0.5968 Table XI.
Satisfaction 2.2785 0.3576 0.1204 0.1496 0.6123 Conditional effect
 IJRDM lifestyle and its effect on store choice behavior. One of the study findings is that store
attributes can influence satisfaction, which, in turn, can have a positive effect on
patronage intention. This finding is in line to prior study findings (Goswami and
Mishra, 2009; Dado et al., 2012; Ali and Amin, 2014; Das, 2014; Lin and Bennett, 2014;
Soderlund et al., 2014). An implication is that retailers should determine store attributes
that satisfy their target market and operationalize marketing strategies to enhance
patronage intentions. For instance, retail managers through market segmentation can
work out retail mixes that attract shoppers through product/service offerings and adopt
promotional tools and techniques that help to communicate and engage with the
customers. Such moves will convey a feeling of “we care”, enabling retailers build
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competitive advantage that would enhance their marketing efforts profitably in the long
run. Additionally, with 100 percent foreign direct investment permitted in the F&G
category, this research outcome will be of interest to all food retailers (prospective and
current) interested in being part of the future growth retail story in an emerging market
like India.
This study by establishing the role of satisfaction as a mediator, like prior studies
(Srivastava and Rai, 2013; Akbar, 2014), will be another contribution to the literature on
mediation analysis. An implication is that awareness on the mediated role of satisfaction
should encourage F&G retailers to focus on targeted marketing and operational strategies that
will help create store loyalty and deliver more success in customer relationship-management
through enhanced promotional techniques.
The study finding that the conditional direct effect of store attributes on patronage
intention at values of the moderator, lifestyle, is not statistically significant implies that it
(lifestyle) cannot moderate the relationships among store attributes, satisfaction and
patronage intention. This lack of significant moderating effects is worth discussing as it
does not confirm to prior studies that had established the role of lifestyle as a moderator
(Ko and Zhang, 2009; Ting and Foong, 2014). A possible explanation for this could be that
F&G shopping in general is considered as a utilitarian task and so lifestyle may not actually
affect the relationships between store attributes, satisfaction and patronage intention.
However, it could be argued that the retailing contexts of the studies are different.
This implies that further research is required to examine the moderating influence of
lifestyle on store buying behavior.

Limitations and future research directions

This study was limited to F&G shoppers of urban Bengaluru. To get a picture of the entire
city, future researchers could purport a similar study that includes shoppers from rural
Bengaluru. With the growth of organized retail across India and other countries, this
study provides an opportunity for future research to examine comparative shopping
behavior in areas such as regional differences, cross gender, cross-cultural and
cross-contextual variations. The non-significant moderating effect of lifestyle on the
relationship between store attributes and patronage intention suggests the possible
operation of other moderating variables. Future research may want to consider retail
experience to be having a moderating effect on the relationship between store attributes
and patronage intention. For, as stated by Pappas et al. (2014), satisfaction and retail
experience are pivotal for customer retention.
An interesting finding by Soderlund et al. (2014) cautions against interpreting a
satisfaction-intentions association to indicate customer-patronage for that store only. Future
research could attempt to consider satisfaction as a mediator in the relationship between
purchase-intention and store patronage. Additionally, a natural extension of patronage
intention is store loyalty (Das, 2014); so, future research may consider investigating whether
patronage intention can mediate the relationship between satisfaction and store loyalty.
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Corresponding author
Suja R. Nair can be contacted at: sujarnair@rediffmail.com

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