How Store Flyers Design Affect Perceived Variety of Retailers' Assortment

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between several aspects of store flyers design (presence of a institutional slogan, type of product (national brand (NB) or store brand (SB)) featured on the cover page, the size of the flyer, number of featured NBs, type of brand (NB vs. SB) on promotion, and price difference between the most expensive (NB) and the cheapest SB) and the consumer's perceived variety of the retailer's assortment, as a dimension of its global image. A mixed laboratory experiment that combined a between-subjects experimental design and inter-subject conjoint analysis was conducted. A fictitious flyer from a fictitious supermarket was created that included both real national brands and fictitious store brands. Twelve scenarios (i.e., flyers) were tested using a sample of 406 participants. Analysis suggests that longer flyers have the greatest influence on consumers' perceived variety of a retailer's assortment; a greater number of national brands in a category influenced consumers' perceptions positively, and featuring store brands on the cover enhanced perceived variety. If a retailer features store brands on a flyer's cover, longer flyers are recommended, and shorter flyers are recommended if national brands are featured on the cover. A retailer should promote its own brand only if the most expensive national brands are featured with store brands. This study analyses a single aspect of consumers' purchasing behaviors¿variety of a retailer's assortment. Future research should examine other variables related to consumers' purchasing behaviors. This study uses an online context to test hypotheses, but many aspects of flyer design are physical. Future research should test current findings in offline contexts to compare results. Research should also explore moderation by consumer variables such as brand and store loyalty. To researchers, we offer improved understanding of how a flyer's design affects the first stage of purchasing. To practitioners, results offer better understanding of positive returns on investment of store flyers, and to retailers, results offer a guide to creating and organizing flyers. This study is first to assess how a flyer's design influences a dimension of store image. Unlike extant research that examines store flyers using econometric models at the aggregate level, this study uses a laboratory experiment that combines a between-subjects design with conjoint analysis.