VISUAL MERCHANDISING STRATEGY FOR POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF TRADITIONAL SPORTING GOODS RETAIL STORES

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study a structural equation model for visual merchandizing for a traditional retail sporting goods store and propose business strategies to create competitive advantages. A quantitative research method was employed to collect data from a sample of 657 people who had experience shopping at a traditional sporting goods retailer. The research tool was an online questionnaire. The descriptive statistics used comprised of frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The analysis and conclusions of the research involved exploratory factor analysis techniques and confirmatory factory analysis. The research results showed that: 1. Factors for creating visual merchandising elements including merchandising display, store layout, window display, point-of-purchase display, and store ambiance had statistically significant (p-value = 0.000) positive influence on store benefits, i.e. functional benefits, emotional benefits, and symbolic benefits. 2. Functional benefits had a positive influencing on consumers behavior. The symbolic benefit had a positive influence on purchasing intention, impulse buying, and spending time in stores were statistically significant (p-value = 0.000). The results of this research can be applied to the traditional retail business as a guideline for strategic planning to meet the needs of consumers and increase the competitiveness of the operators of traditional sports equipment retailers