Shop-hop till you drop! The effect of the image gap on spillover patronage within retail agglomerations

Abstract: Despite strong evidence for the existence of spillover effects in consumer patronage between anchor stores and other less dominant stores in shopping malls, research on spillover patronage antecedents and its underlying formation mechanisms appears to be sparse. The current study explores the effect of the difference between perceived store image for anchor versus non-anchor stores on cross-shop consumer behavior drawing from theories of spillover shopping and retail patronage. Employing a questionnaire survey and laboratory experiments to obtain data on shopping experiences, this study shows that the smaller the image gap between an anchor store and non-anchor stores, the greater the likelihood of non-anchor store patronage by customers originally attracted to the anchor store. This study also finds that when customers attracted by the anchor store experience greater self-image congruity with non-anchor stores, the extent of spillover patronage increases, while this happens irrespective of whether they engage or do not engage in purchase in the anchor store. This study provides a viable theoretical basis for facilitating decision-making in both planning and design of effective retail agglomerations.