Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

Entertaining Shopping Experiences: An Exploratory Investigation

M.A. Jones
Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA
(Received 7 October 1998)

Abstract
Previous research has provided much evidence to support the notion that shopping can be entertaining. In addition, many
retailers are continually seeking new ways to entertain their customers. Although several studies have identified the existence
of entertaining shopping experiences, few studies have investigated the factors important to the creation of these experiences.
Using the critical incident technique, 724 incidents were collected and two broad groups including nine unique factors were found
to be characteristic of entertaining shopping experiences. The two broad groups were retailer factors and customer factors. Retailer
factors include selection, prices, store environment, and salespeople, while customer factors include social, task, time, involvement,
and financial resources. Interestingly, customer factors were mentioned more often than retail factors in respondents descriptions of
entertaining shopping experiences.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Entertainment in retailing; Shopping; Critical incident technique

The literature is replete with studies indicating that

consumers may view either shopping in general or specific shopping experiences as entertainment or recreation
(e.g., Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980; Kowinski, 1985;
Babin, et al., 1994). Emotions characteristic of these
shopping experiences have been linked to several important outcomes such as increased time spent in the store,
increased spending, increased unplanned purchasing,
and increased liking of the store (Babin et al., 1994;
Donovan et al., 1994; Sherman et al., 1997). In addition,
the ability to generate entertaining shopping experiences
is considered to be a source of competitive advantage for
retailers (Talmadge, 1995; Berry, 1996).
Entertaining shopping experiences can be defined as
fun and pleasurable shopping experiences and are similar
to leisure or recreational experiences in that both are
characterized by intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom,
and involvement (Gunter and Gunter, 1980; Mannell,
1980; Hirschman, 1983; Unger and Kernan, 1983; Bloch
et al., 1986; Babin and Darden, 1995). In addition, these
shopping experiences reflect the experiential benefits of
shopping and provide intrinsic or hedonic value to shoppers (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Babin et al., 1994).
The purchase of a product may or may not be an important element of entertaining shopping experiences. In
other words, customers may have an extremely fun and
entertaining shopping experience without making a pur-

chase. Conversely, in some instances, customers may find

purchasing a product fun and exciting. Although not
every shopping experience should be an entertaining
shopping experience, turning shopping into an entertaining experience has become a frequent strategy of many
retailers (Mendelson,1994; Talmadge, 1995; Berry, 1996).
Non-entertaining shopping experiences are shopping
experiences that are not considered to be fun and pleasurable. To some shoppers, pure utilitarian shopping experiences may be considered non-entertaining because of
the lack of pleasure. Other shoppers, as indicated in the
results section, equate non-entertaining shopping experiences to much more extreme cases in which the shopping
experience was completely miserable. Thus, non-entertaining shopping experiences include many types of
shopping experiences that are viewed as not very fun and
pleasurable and may reflect a wide range of experiences
(e.g., from a utilitarian shopping experience in which the
product was bought in an efficient manner to a shopping
experience in which the salespeople were extremely rude).
Previous research has focused on identifying the existence of entertaining shopping experiences while failing to
adequately address the factors that induce these experiences (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980; Babin et al.,
1994). Furthermore, given the widespread occurrence of
entertaining shopping experiences and the attempt of
retailers to induce such shopping experiences, it seems

0969-6989/99/$ see front matter  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0969-6989(98)00028-9

130

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

imperative that researchers and practitioners go beyond

just the classification and identification of such shopping
trips and further seek to understand the factors contributing to the entertaining nature of shopping. Therefore,
the purpose of this study was to answer the following
research questions.
E What factors are characteristic of entertaining shopping experiences?
E What factors are characteristic of non-entertaining
shopping experiences?
E Are the factors characteristic to entertaining and nonentertaining shopping experiences similar?
It is believed that the identification of these factors will
assist researchers in further investigating entertaining
shopping experiences, as well as assist practitioners in
developing strategies aimed at the creation of entertaining shopping experiences.

1. Literature review
Since the 1950s, researchers have been concerned with
reasons why people shop (Stone, 1954). During this time
period, researchers have determined that some consumers simply enjoy shopping for reasons other than
pure product acquisition. Research that has related
the concepts of shopping and entertainment can be classified into three research streams: (a) as an enduring
tendency or trait, (b) as a motive for a particular shopping trip and (c) as a description of particular shopping
experiences.
The literature is replete with research supporting the
notion that some consumers have an enduring tendency
to shop for entertainment purposes. Previous typologies
of customer orientations have typically included a category reflecting an entertainment orientation. Consumers who fall into this category have been referred to
as recreational shoppers (Stephenson and Willet, 1969;
Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980; Sproles and Kendall,
1986). Other researchers describe the enduring tendency
in terms of the consumer personality trait shopping enjoyment (e.g., Ellis, 1995; Forsythe, Butler, and Schaefer,
1990). Shopping enjoyment can be defined as the degree
to which individuals enjoy the shopping process and has
been linked to the decision to use a surrogate shopper as
well as the desire to establish relationships with retail
salespeople (Ellis, 1995; Forsythe et al., 1990). This
stream of research emphasizes that consumers possess
general tendencies regarding the shopping process that
are consistent across situations.
Another research stream has focused on consumer
motivations for specific shopping trips. Typologies focusing on consumer shopping motivations are more situation specific when compared to overall shopping
orientations or enduring tendencies to enjoy the shop-

ping process. Tauber (1972) developed a typology that

included the motives of diversion, self-gratification,
learning about new trends, and sensory stimulation.
Likewise, Westbrook and Black (1985) determined that
some consumers shop to seek sensory, emotive, and/or
cognitive stimulation. Dawson, Bloch, and Ridgway
(1990) posited that some consumers have experimental
motives for shopping which result from hedonic or
recreational motivations. Finally, Bloch, Ridgway,
and Dawson (1994) found that in addition to acquiring
goods, many consumers seek to experience a habitat
(the shopping mall) in many others ways (p. 39).
These other ways reflect the entertaining capabilities
of shopping and include looking at mall exhibits, talking
with other shoppers, socializing with friends, and
browsing with no intentions of buying. It should be
noted that consumers may have multiple motives
for a single shopping trip. These motivational typologies clearly indicate the entertaining capabilities of
shopping.
Finally, shopping and entertainment has been researched in terms of the description of particular shopping experiences. This research differs from the previous
two areas in that entertaining shopping experiences are
viewed as experience specific, indicating that consumers
may have entertaining shopping experiences regardless of
their motivations or enduring tendency to enjoy the
shopping process. Many researchers provide vivid examples of entertaining shopping experiences. For example,
Fischer and Arnold (1990, p. 334) state that some shoppers appear to derive their gratification mostly from
immediate hedonic pleasure. Referring to shopping at
a flea market, Sherry (1990) concludes that a consumers
quest for a pleasurable experience is often more significant than the acquisition of products. On a number of
occasions Bloch and his colleagues (Bloch and Richins,
1983; Bloch et al., 1986, 1989) have discussed the entertaining capabilities of shopping. In two studies (Bloch
and Richins, 1983; Bloch et al., 1989), browsing, a specific
type of shopping behavior, is identified as a source of
recreation which may be done for the fun of it (Bloch
and Richins, 1983, p. 389). Likewise, Babin et al. (1994)
provide clear evidence that some shopping experiences
can be considered fun and entertaining. They posited that
a shopping trip can produce hedonic shopping value
which refers to shoppings potential entertainment and
emotional worth (Bellenger et al., 1976). This value results more from fun and playfulness than from pure task
completion. Hedonic shopping value is contrasted with
utilitarian shopping value that results from the deliberant
and efficient purchase of a product.
As indicated in the literature review, the majority of
previous research has concentrated on the existence of
entertaining shopping experiences, on the tendencies
of individual shoppers to have entertaining shopping
experiences, and on the motives of shoppers. Little

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

research has been conducted to understand what factors

are characteristic of entertaining shopping experiences
or, in other words, what consumers find entertaining
about the shopping process. In addition, previous research has focused primarily on retailer factors (i.e., the
physical environment such as color, crowding, lighting,
etc.) while ignoring other factors that might play a key
role in creating entertaining shopping experiences. Thus,
as previously discussed, the goal of this study was to
identify factors characteristic of entertaining shopping
experiences from the consumers perspective.

2. Research method
Given the overall lack of knowledge and the relative
newness of the topic, an exploratory research design
which emphasizes discovery over confirmation was used
(Deshpande, 1983). This research design is consistent
with Wells (1993) who emphasized the need to start with
real-world behavior and the need for ground-level generalizations. The critical incident technique (CIT) was the
method chosen to identify the underlying factors characteristic of entertaining and non-entertaining shopping
experiences. The CIT has been successfully used in
a number of retailing and services studies in which the
goal was to provide research relevant to both managers
and consumer researchers (Bitner et al., 1990, 1994;
Kelley et al., 1993; Keaveney, 1995). The CIT takes the
stories that people have told and asks questions of the
stories in order to classify each one within the scheme
(Bitner et al., 1990, p. 73).

131

taining. Please provide a complete and detailed

description.
2. In the space below, please describe a recent shopping
trip that you recall as being NOT very fun and
entertaining. Please provide a complete and detailed
description.
The specific wording of the questions was based on
several in-depth interviews that indicated that these
phrases effectively generated responses consistent with
the definition of entertaining and non-entertaining shopping experiences. Approximately one-half page was allocated for each response and instructions informed respondents to use the back of the page if additional room
was required. Respondents were also instructed to think
about shopping in stores, not shopping through television or catalogs.
A total of 400 questionnaires was completed. Since
multiple interviewers were used in the second stage of
data collection, 12.5% of the respondents (one respondent from each set of eight) were contacted by telephone
in order to validate their participation in the research
project. All contacted respondents verified their participation. Flanagan (1954, p. 340) states that If full and
precise details are given, it can be assumed that this
information is accurate. Vague reports suggest that the
incident is not well remembered and that some of the
data may be incorrect. Therefore, incomplete and vague
responses were not included in the analysis. This resulted
in a usable sample of 386 entertaining shopping experiences and 338 non-entertaining shopping experiences for
a total of 724 critical incidents. Forty-eight percent of the
respondents were men and 52 percent were women. The
average age was 34 yr, with a range from 20 to 76.

2.1. Data collection

2.2. Data analysis
Two methods of data collection were used for the CIT.
First, data were obtained from 131 students enrolled in
upper level marketing classes at a major southern university. A second sample of 269 non-student respondents
was recruited by 34 students enrolled in a marketing class
at the same university. This sampling method has been
successfully used in prior studies utilizing the CIT (Bitner
et al., 1990; Keaveney, 1995). Each student was asked to
recruit eight non-students over the age of 25. Students
received detailed training before recruiting respondents
and course credit for their participation in the research
project. Respondents were asked to complete the openended questions on a standardized form. This method
allows the benefit of having an interviewer present while
preserving the language of the respondent (Flanagan,
1954). Furthermore, allowing respondents to complete
standardized open-ended questions removes much of the
variance associated with multiple interviewers. The following questions were asked of all respondents.
1. In the space below, please describe a recent shopping
trip that you recall as being very fun and enter-

Since either the overall story or individual factors can

be analyzed, the first step is to determine the unit of
analysis (Kassarjian, 1977; Keaveney, 1995). Because
many of the respondents identified more than one factor
characteristic of the entertaining shopping experience,
discrete factors within each story were used as the unit of
analysis. Synonymous factors within a story were coded
only once. Two researchers parsed the discrete factors
from each critical incident until complete agreement was
obtained. This process identified 756 critical factors from
the 386 entertaining incidents and 611 critical factors
from the 338 non-entertaining incidents.
A coding scheme was then developed in order to classify the critical factors. The author identified some coding
categories a priori (e.g. environment, browsing, bargains,
and social), while others were developed using a subsample of 20 responses. Using another subsample of 100
responses, two additional researchers used the coding
scheme to categorize the critical factors. These researchers identified potential factors that were not

132

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

included in the coding scheme and helped to further

refine other categories. Based on these researchers input,
appropriate changes were made to the coding scheme.
Two additional independent judges were used to analyze the entire set of verbal protocols. Although the
judges were instructed to create additional factors if they
detected the need, no new factors were needed. There
were 32 disagreements for the critical behaviors of entertaining shopping experiences and 31 disagreements for
the non-entertaining shopping experiences. The two
judges resolved all disagreements. This resulted in an
interjudge reliability of 96% for entertaining shopping
experiences and 95% for non-entertaining shopping experiences. These percentages are well above the accepted
criteria of 80% (Kassarjian, 1977). The reliability index
developed by Perreault and Leigh (1989), I , which as
sesses the reliability of nominal data based on qualitative
judgments (Kelley et al., 1993, p. 433) was also computed. This reliability index was found to be an acceptable level of 0.98 for entertaining shopping experiences
and 0.97 for non-entertaining shopping experiences.

ences. Two broad groups and nine factors emerged from

the classification procedure. Two additional groups,
never and other, were created and will be discussed.
Although every factor did not appear in each reported
experience, most factors appeared with great frequency
or seemed conceptually important despite lower frequency. The two broad groups that emerged were retailer
factors and customer factors. Retailer factors are those
factors which retailers may use in influencing shoppers
experiences. Customer factors are those factors important to entertaining shopping experiences that are characteristic or associated with the customers. Categories
referred to as retail factors include selection, deals, environment, and salespeople, while categories referred to as
customer factors include social, task, time, involvement,
and financial resources. Table 1 shows the factors and
their reported frequencies for both entertaining and
non-entertaining shopping experiences. Tables 2 and
3 provide sample excerpts from respondents critical incidents for each of the nine categories for both types of
shopping experiences. The factors will now be discussed
in decreasing order of their reported frequency for entertaining shopping experiences.

3. Results
3.1. Social aspects
The open-ended responses provided a rich source of
data in which to investigate the factors characteristic of
both entertaining and non-entertaining shopping experi-

Socializing with family and friends emerged as the

highest reported factor characteristic of entertaining

Table 1
Classification of factors influencing entertaining and non-entertaining shopping experiences
Entertaining shopping experiences

Factor

No of critical
factors*

Retailer factors
Retail prices
Selection
Store environment
Salespeople
Subtotal

70
67
42
38
217

Customer factors
Social aspects
Tasks
Time
Product involvement
Financial resources
Subtotal

% of critical
factors*

Non-entertaining shopping experiences

% of critical
incidents**

No of critical
factors*

% of critical
factors*

% of critical
incidents**

9.3
8.9
5.6
5.0
28.8

18.1
17.4
10.9
9.8

26
85
79
76
266

4.3
13.9
12.9
12.4
43.5

7.7
25.1
23.4
22.5

139
131
96
70
37
437

18.4
17.3
12.7
9.3
4.9
62.6

36.0
33.9
24.9
18.1
9.6

63
131
54
41
21
310

10.3
21.4
8.8
6.7
3.4
50.6

18.6
38.8
16.0
12.1
6.2

Never
Other

46
20

6.1
2.6

11.9
5.2

12
23

2.0
3.8

3.6
6.8

Total

756

100.0

611

100.0

* Critical factors refer to discrete factors identified in a critical incident. Most respondents reported multiple factors in their critical incident.
** Critical incidents refer to the story told by respondents. There were 386 critical incidents for entertaining shopping experiences and 338 for
non-entertaining shopping experiences. Percents sum to greater than 100 due to multiple factors per shopping experience. Thus, the first percentage
under entertaining shopping experiences could be interpreted as follows: Eighteen percent of all critical incidents or stories describing entertaining
shopping experiences mentioned retail prices.

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

133

Table 2
Sample incidents for retailer factors
Entertaining shopping experiences

Non-entertaining shopping experiences

Retail prices

I went to Parisian and found2 a pair of riding

pants and a sweater. I enjoyed this very much
because I got these two items for $117 which
if they werent on sale, I would have paid $218.

I found something I liked but it was too expensive.

Selection

I went to a place called Discovery Store. It had

neat scientific experiments, puzzles, gadgets,
and home decorations. Overall, it was the
unusual and unique items that the store offered.

Went to Food World to buy some Cokes that they had

a special sale on, however, they were completely out of
Cokes. Only had Mountain Dew which I hate. I had gone
out of the way to go to this store.

Store environment

I remember one store in particular in which the

merchandise was arranged around exotic plants
and where live animals were freely roaming the
building. As a customer, we walked on wooden
planks and dodged flying birds2 Another
store I liked was one which had huge figurines
of the entire Peanuts Gang in its picture window.

Ive only been in there once and I dont think I will ever
go back because its so dreary drab. You can tell that they
havent changed2the style of the store in years.

Salespeople

The salespeople were so friendly and helpful2

Every person there had a smile on their face
and seemed genuinely interested in my needs
and my disappointment over the desk. I was
very impressed.

It took forever to get a salesperson to wait on me. When

I did get someone, this person did not know anything
about the items I was shopping for. Another salesperson
was called to wait on me but this person was not much
help either.

Table 3
Sample incidents for customer factors
Entertaining shopping experiences

Non-entertaining shopping experiences

Social aspects

I recently enjoyed a trip with my daughter to

shop for my wifes Mother Day present. My
daughter is 4 years old and I enjoyed letting her
select her Mothers Day present. The enjoyment
was actually derived from the time spent with
my child.

I took my daughter shopping for a bathing suit. It was

not fun at all. I had to listen to her complain about the
bathing suits not fitting. About her being overweight2It
was a very long day.

Tasks

We were looking for Christmas gifts out of

season. We went to almost all of the stores
because we had list of items we would like to
purchase for people. After spending 10 hours
shopping, all three of us had every item on
our lists.

I was buying a gift for the shower and2 Im looking,

I had no clue, I have her colors and I know what she likes
but I dont know like what kind of things are unique2I
got frustrated.

Time

The thing that was most pleasant for me was the

time I had was leisure and I did not have to
rush anywhere. I took my time and just
enjoyed myself.

What was going to take 30 minutes to an hour took

several gut-wrenching, stressful hours until I accomplished my mission.

Product involvement

I went to Office Depot last month to go

computer shopping and thoroughly enjoyed
it. I am fascinated by computers and therefore
all of the new technology impresses me.

My wife asked me to go shopping with her, and all we

visited was the ladies wear.

Financial resources

I was looking for some new clothes and I had a

new credit card so I could buy anything I
wanted within reason. It was thrilling.

I went CD shopping 2 weeks ago and realized I was

broke. That made the shopping experience not very fun
or entertaining.

shopping experiences. Over one-third (36%) of the

respondents mentioned the social aspects of their entertaining shopping experience. In their recollections, many
respondents specifically referred to the people with
whom they were shopping. Socializing was not limited to

the shoppers in a particular group, as many respondents

reported interactions with other shoppers encountered
during the shopping trip. This finding is consistent with
McGrath and Otnes (1995) who investigated social interactions of shoppers.

134

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

Nineteen percent of the respondents indicated that the

shopping experience was not fun and entertaining due to
social reasons. This usually resulted from shopping with
someone who had different interests or who was in a hurry,
from shopping alone and wanting to interact with others, or
from not enjoying the company of shopping companions.
3.2. Tasks
Many respondents indicated that they had a specific
task in mind (i.e., finding a dress or a gift) when they went
shopping. Often, accomplishing this task by making
a purchase led to an entertaining shopping experience
(34% of the respondents). This is consistent with Babin
et al. (1994) who indicated that shopping experiences
can indeed produce both utilitarian and hedonic value
(p. 645). Although some respondents did not have a specific task to complete, they enjoyed the act of purchasing
and leaving the store with a new product. This finding is
consistent with Babin and Darden (1995) who found that
resource expenditure was positively associated with
hedonic shopping value.
The mere presence of a task while shopping, however,
may reduce the entertaining nature of the shopping trip.
The added stress of needing to accomplish a task was
present in many, 39%, of the respondents non-entertaining shopping stories. These respondents often started
their story with phrases such as, I went to the mall last
week looking for a particular item or I had to go
shopping for 2. While failing to accomplish the task
often accentuated the problem and lowered the level of
hedonic shopping value, respondents still viewed many of
their shopping experiences as non-entertaining even
when the task was accomplished. Shopping for gifts was
a task mentioned by many respondents.
3.3. Time
Twenty-five percent of the respondents indicated that
they spent leisurely time browsing during their entertaining shopping experiences. These shoppers seemed to enjoy having a sense of unlimited time and freedom in
which to look around and browse. This finding is consistent with Bloch and Richins (1983) who argue that shoppers may browse for recreational purposes.
Some respondents, sixteen percent, mentioned time
inconsistencies in their description of non-entertaining
shopping experiences. These respondents felt as if either
too much or too little time was spent shopping and this
discrepancy seemed to influence their overall evaluation
of the shopping experience.
3.4. Product involvement
Product involvement emerged as an important factor
in entertaining shopping experiences. Eighteen percent

of the respondents indicated that they were interested

in the product class during the entertaining shopping
experience. Consistent with past research showing
that product involvement is a source of leisure for
many consumers (Bloch and Bruce, 1984), it appeared
that many shoppers must be interested or involved with
the product category that is being shopped for in order
to have an entertaining shopping experience. Many times
this product involvement/interest was evident in informants level of excitement generated while discussing
shopping experiences which involved trying on clothes,
searching for specific products of interest, interacting with products such as books or computers, or
browsing a particular store that carried products of
interest.
Lack of interest or involvement in the product category that is being shopped for was an important theme
identified in non-entertaining shopping experiences.
Twelve percent of the respondents indicated that they
were not interested in the product category during
a non-entertaining shopping experience.
3.5. Retail prices
Smart-shopper feelings appeared important in
creating entertaining shopping experiences (Schindler,
1989). This excitement resulted from finding a good bargain or partaking in a sales event. Eighteen percent of the
respondents volunteered in their recollection the importance of finding a bargain. The excitement generated
from sales events or low prices appeared to transfer into
the overall judgment of shopping experiences.
Eight percent of the respondents indicated that high
prices were a factor in their non-entertaining shopping
experiences. These respondents seemed disappointed at
the high prices because they were not able to make
a purchase or because they spent more money than
expected. A typical response included the phrase, I
found something I liked but it was too expensive.
3.6. Selection
Based on the reported incidents, entertaining shopping
experiences frequently occurred in stores with good variety and/or unique products. Seventeen percent of the
respondents mentioned this aspect. Respondents enjoyed
shopping at stores that carried a good selection of merchandise and/or unique products not typically seen in
every store. Selection was also used to describe entertaining experiences at shopping centers. Informants enjoyed
shopping centers that had a variety of stores. The importance of selection also emerged when shoppers traveled to
new places (cities, individual stores, or shopping centers).
It was evident that new places offering different or new
selections added to the entertainment level of shopping
experiences.

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

Poor selection of products or stores was mentioned

by 25% of the respondents. Many times this poor selection resulted in failure to accomplish a task, which,
as previously discussed, was a common occurrence in
non-entertaining shopping experiences. Having a poor
selection, being out-of-stock or sizes, and carrying products that are not unique were all factors discussed.

135

In addition, consumers seemed to feel more powerful

and in control of their environment if they had the means
to make a purchase.
A small group of respondents, six percent, indicated
that having limited financial resources while shopping
often took away from a fun experience. These shoppers
appeared to have felt restrained or a lack of freedom
while shopping.

3.7. Store environment

3.10. Never
Another factor that emerged from the data was the
store environment or servicescape. Eleven percent of
the respondents mentioned this factor that included the
decor, the organization, and the overall layout of the
store. Respondents indicated that the store should be
well organized and have a good layout that facilitates
locating products with ease. Interestingly this factor has
received the majority of research on consumers in-store
experiences (Bitner, 1992; Donovan et al., 1994), yet
received relatively little acknowledgment in shoppers
recollections.
Twenty-three percent of the respondents discussed
the store environment in their recollection of a nonentertaining shopping experience. This category included
factors such as unorganized, bad decor, overall bad
atmosphere, and crowded.
3.8. Salespeople
Ten percent of the respondents indicated the importance of salespeople in their entertaining shopping
experiences. According to respondents, salespeople can
really make the shopping experience fun and enjoyable
by providing extraordinary service. Furthermore, respondents enjoyed shopping without the presence of an
overbearing salesperson. Respondents did, however, appreciate when a salesperson was nearby and helpful when
asked.
While employees were able to make many shopping
experiences more fun and entertaining, they also had the
opposite effect in many instances. Twenty-three percent
of the respondents mentioned employees in their description of non-entertaining shopping experiences. Many of
these respondents explained how overly aggressive salespeople took away from their shopping experience. Other
salesperson factors that were not conducive to entertaining shopping experiences included slow/bad service and
lack of product knowledge.
3.9. Financial resources
Some respondents, 10%, expressed that having a feeling of unlimited financial resources while shopping added to their fun experience. Shoppers with the financial
resources to make a purchase appear to have a sense of
freedom or excitement during their shopping experience.

Approximately 12% of the respondents indicated that

they could not remember a funny and entertaining shopping experience. These respondents may represent pure
economic shoppers whose only motive for shopping is for
economic reasons (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980). Approximately 4% of the respondents stated that they
could not remember a shopping experience that was not
fun and entertaining.
3.11. Other
Three percent of the 756 behaviors discussed in the
entertaining shopping experiences were classified as
other. No cohesive themes emerged from these critical
behaviors. Four percent of the 611 critical behaviors of
non-entertaining shopping experiences were classified
as other. No cohesive themes emerged from these
critical behaviors which ranged from being involved
in a traffic accident to witnessing a shoplifter being
apprehended.
3.12. A comparison of factors across entertaining
and non-entertaining shopping experiences
The classification of the factors and their reported
frequencies as reported in Table 1 helped in comparing
the factors characteristic of entertaining shopping experiences with factors characteristic of non-entertaining
shopping experiences. Although the comparison of frequencies for each factor is problematic due to the nature
of the data analysis. Important insights can be gained by
comparing subtotals of retailer factors and customer
factors across entertaining and non-entertaining shopping experiences. An examination of Table 1 reveals that,
although the underlying similarities are the same, the
frequency of occurrence for retailer and customer
factors differs when entertaining and non-entertaining
shopping experiences are compared.
Interestingly, the results indicate many shoppers attribute entertaining shopping experiences to factors they
control such as the people with whom they shop and the
amount of available time. In fact, 62.6% of the factors
mentioned in entertaining shopping experiences were
customer factors. Conversely, only 28.8% of the factors
of entertaining shopping experiences were retailer factors.

136

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

When shopping experiences were viewed as non-entertaining, however, retailer factors comprised 43.5% of the
factors, a large increase when compared to entertaining
shopping experiences. In addition, the number of customer factors mentioned in non-entertaining shopping
experiences decreased when compared to entertaining
shopping experiences.
Thus, it appears that many of the retailer factors go
unnoticed when consumers have entertaining shopping
experiences. It seems as if consumers are not aware of the
importance of these factors until they fall below a certain
minimum. Consumers expect a large selection of unique
products, extraordinary service, and a comfortable atmosphere and the failure to meet these expectancies is highly
memorable and influential to shoppers.

4. Discussion
Before the implications are discussed, limitations
should be noted regarding the results of this study. The
convenience sampling used in this study may have resulted in bias due to selection error. The respondents recruited by students may not be representative of the true
population of all shoppers. Another limitation of this
study concerns the use of the CIT. The data collected
were based on respondents recollections of shopping
experiences. It is possible that forgetting and mistakes
altered respondents recollections. Given the frequency of
shopping, however, the negative influence of these factors
is believed to have been minimal. Another limitation
involves the analysis of relevant frequencies using the
CIT. Caution should be used when comparing factors
based on relative frequency since relative frequency may
not always reflect importance.
While previous studies have identified the existence of
entertaining shopping experiences, the purpose of this
study was to identify factors characteristic of entertaining
shopping experiences. The nine factors that were identified based on consumers responses provide information
on conditions that make it favorable and unfavorable for
entertaining shopping experiences. Unlike previous research that focuses on the ability of the physical environment to influence customers in-store experience (Bitner,
1992; Darden and Babin, 1994; Donovan et al., 1994), the
current study includes other factors controlled by the
retailer and customer factors that influence customers
shopping experiences.
In general, the findings provide a broad framework
that should be further investigated to better understand
and encourage entertaining shopping experiences. While
several of these factors have been previously investigated
in isolation e.g., browsing (Bloch et al., 1989), the retail
environment (Kotler, 1973; Bitner, 1992; Donovan et al.,
1994), social interactions (Bloch et al., 1994; McGrath
and Otnes, 1995), and bargains (Schindler, 1989) this is

a first attempt at organizing a framework to help further

understand entertaining shopping experiences from the
consumers perspective. Although consequences of these
previously identified factors have included opinion
leadership, purchase intentions, unplanned spending,
extra time spent in the store, and return intentions (Bloch
et al., 1989, Donovan et al., 1994), the findings from this
study extend the knowledge of these factors by suggesting
that they are critical in an additional way: making shopping a fun and entertaining experience for consumers.
This study also highlights the need to further investigate
the identified factors and their sub-dimensions to gain
a better understanding of their influence on consumer
shopping experiences.
The results also indicate the importance of other factors in the shopping experience that have received less
attention. For example, the importance of product selection and financial resources has received very little attention. The results indicate that retailers product selection
plays a meaningful role in creating entertaining shopping
experiences for consumers. Although this factor seems to
have been absent from academic research, the continued
growth of category killers suggests that practitioners are
well aware of the importance of selection.
The importance of financial resources has also received
little attention. While it may seem intuitive that the
financial resources of shoppers are important to retailers,
its importance reaches beyond just having the means to
make a purchase. Possessing the means to makes purchase influences shoppers enjoyment of the shopping
process whether or not a purchase needs to be made. The
mere presence of sufficient funds seems to give shoppers
a feeling of dominance over the environment which
makes the shopping experience much more enjoyable
and entertaining.
These findings also identify important factors that detract from the pleasantness of shopping experiences. This
represents an area that has received very little attention.
Previous research has concentrated on factors which
create positive emotion in the shopping environment
while devoting little attention to the factors which
create negative emotions (Bitner, 1992; Donovan et al.,
1994). Although the results of this study indicate
that some factors possess the capability of both enhancing and detracting from shopping experiences, as previously discussed, the frequencies of occurrence differed
across entertaining and non-entertaining shopping
experiences.
Using the S-O-R paradigm popular in the environmental psychology literature (Mehrabian and Russell,
1974), past research has focused on the ability of the
environment to influence shoppers levels pleasure and
arousal (Darden and Babin, 1994; Donovan et al., 1994).
Entertaining shopping experiences can be characterized
by increased levels of pleasure and arousal (Babin et al.,
1994; Babin and Darden, 1995). This study provides

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

preliminary evidence that suggests that additional factors

other than the physical environment may play critical
roles in increasing shoppers levels of pleasure and
arousal. In fact, based on the reported frequencies, customer factors were found to be more memorable than
retailer factors such as the environment. For example,
sale prices, unique products, and store employees seem
just as capable of influencing pleasure and arousal when
compared to the physical environment, yet these factors
remain relatively unexplored. Thus, this study provides
a starting point for the investigation into many of the
influences on customers levels of pleasure and arousal
while in the shopping environment.
The nine factors also further theory on entertaining
shopping experiences by suggesting possible antecedents
to the three previously mentioned determinants of a leisure or recreational experience intrinsic satisfaction,
perceived freedom, and involvement. Shoppers may receive intrinsic satisfaction from the social aspects of shopping, the act of purchasing or acquiring something new,
finding a good deal, and/or browsing. The freedom shoppers feel when they have no time pressures, no budget
constraints, no salesperson pressure, and no task to complete may lead to their overall sense of freedom which is
associated with leisure experiences. Finally, the retail
environment and product involvement can lead to the
mood elevation and an escape from reality that is common to the high level of involvement associated with
leisure experiences (Gunter and Gunter, 1980). Future
research should investigate these antecedents and verify
their relationship with these critical aspects of recreational experiences.
This study also presented a research technique that has
received little use in shopping research. Although the
CIT has traditionally been used in services research, the
CIT can be effectively used to investigate consumers
retail store experiences. Future use of the CIT may help
in discovering information not conveyed through traditional Likert-type surveys.
As Berry (1996) indicates, retailers should continue
trying to induce fun and entertaining shopping experiences. It should be noted, however, that it is unlikely that
customers will want entertaining shopping experiences
on every shopping occasion as this would most assuredly
result in a sensory overload. It is likely that customers
motives will have a large influence on the type shopping
experience that is sought (Dawson et al., 1990). Thus, one
possible strategy for retailers could entail making both
types of shopping experiences possible in their stores so
to satisfy their customers regardless of their motives (i.e.,
hedonic benefits or utilitarian benefits). This strategy
would entail a store design that allows for quick and
efficient purchase trips for those seeking a utilitarian
shopping experience, while at the same time providing
opportunities for entertaining shopping experiences. Another strategy could involve segmentation based on the

137

type of value (i.e., hedonic versus utilitarian value) customers are seeking. As such, retailers targeting customers
seeking fun and entertaining shopping could design their
store to maximize hedonic value for those customers
interested in entertaining shopping experiences.
The findings from this study offer a number of implications for retailers who want to encourage entertaining
shopping experiences. For instance, retailers should
stress to salespeople the importance of not being overbearing to the customers. Although many customers
want the freedom to look around, they want salespeople
to be readily available when needed. Obviously there is a
fine line between being readily available and being overbearing but it is one of great importance in encouraging
entertaining shopping experiences.
Salespeople can also assist in creating entertaining
shopping experiences by aiding customers who are trying
to accomplish a task. If a shopper is having difficulty
locating or deciding on a particular item, a salesperson
should go to great lengths to assist this shopper so that
the task may be accomplished. Finally, salespeople
should be trained and knowledgeable about the merchandise. Knowledgeable salespeople can help consumers efficiently accomplish their purchasing task by
providing information to them.
Another factor that retailers can control is the store
environment. The store environment should make the
shopper comfortable yet excited. Shoppers cannot have
fun and entertaining experience in a store that has
a dreary environment or in a store that is organized so
poorly that merchandise is not easily located. The layout
of the store should also be spacious enough so shoppers
do not feel crowded from other shoppers or the merchandise. As indicated by this study and many others (e.g.,
Kotler, 1973; Baker et al., 1994; Donovan et al., 1994), the
store atmosphere plays an important role in influencing
shoppers in-store experiences.
Retailers can also induce entertaining shopping experiences by promoting sales events. Sales promotions seem
to elicit positive emotions which lead to fun and entertaining experiences. Retailers can also attempt to create
entertaining shopping experiences by stocking a variety
of items. Shoppers have fun looking at a wide assortment of products which is evident by the growing
number of category killers who carry extensive lines of
specific types of merchandise (e.g., toys, books, sporting
goods, etc.).
There are many opportunities for future research
concerning entertaining shopping experiences. Future
research should investigate entertaining shopping experiences over various retail avenues. How are entertaining
shopping experiences that take place in a traditional
retail setting similar/different than entertaining shopping experiences which occur while browsing through
a catalog or shopping via the Internet. It is probable that
these different retail avenues need to focus on different

138

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

factors in order to promote entertaining shopping experiences. Future research could use the factors identified in
this study to model the antecedents of entertaining shopping experiences. An investigation into the antecedents
could determine which factors have the most influence in
creating entertaining shopping experiences.
Future investigation of the influence of these nine
factors on consumer evaluations would also expand our
knowledge of this phenomenon. As indicated by Kerin,
Jain and Howard (1992), the store shopping experience
influences merchandise price perceptions, merchandise
quality perceptions, and overall store value perceptions.
How do the nine factors identified in this study influence
these same evaluations? While it is obvious that this
exploratory study leaves many unanswered questions,
hopefully, it will instigate future research which will lead
to a better understanding of this important retail phenomenon.

References

Babin, B.J., Darden, W.R., 1995. Consumer self-regulation in a retail

environment Journal of Retailing 71, 4770.
Babin, B.J., Darden, W.R., Griffin, M., 1994. Work and/or fun: measuring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value. Journal of Consumer
Research 20, 644656.
Baker, J., Grewal, D., Parasuraman, A., 1994. The influence of store
environment on quality inferences and store image. The Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science 22, 328339.
Bellenger, D.N., Korgaonkar, P.K., 1980. Profiling the recreational
shopper Journal of Retailing 56, 7791.
Bellenger, D.N., Steinberg, E., Stanton, W.W., 1976. The congruence of
store image and self image. Journal of Retailing 52, 1732.
Berry, L.L., 1996. Retailers with a future. Marketing Management 5 (1),
3946.
Bitner, M.J., 1992. Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings
on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing 56, 5771.
Bitner, M.J., Booms, B.H., Mohr, L.A., 1994. Critical service encounters: the employees viewpoint. Journal of Marketing 58, 95106.
Bitner, M.J., Booms, B.H., Tetreault, M.S., 1990. The service encounter:
diagnosing favorable and unfavorable incidents. Journal of Marketing 54, 7184.
Bloch, P.H., Bruce, G.D., 1984. Product involvement as leisure behavior. In: Kinnear, T.C. (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research vol
11. Association for Consumer Research, Provo, UT, pp. 197202.
Bloch, P.H., Richins, M.L., 1983. Shopping without purchase: an investigation of consumer browsing behavior. In: Bagozzi, R., Tybout,
A.M. (Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research, vol 10. Association
for Consumer Research, Ann Arbor, MI, pp. 389393.
Bloch, P.H., Ridgway, N.M., Dawson, S.A., 1994. The shopping mall as
consumer habitat. Journal of Retailing 70, 2342.
Bloch, P.H., Ridgway, N.M., Sherrell, D.L., 1989. Extending the concept of shopping: an investigation of browsing activity. Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science 17, 1321.
Bloch, P.H., Sherrell, D.L., Ridgway, N.M., 1986. Consumer search:
an extended framework. Journal of Consumer Research 13,
119126.
Darden, W.R., Babin, B.J., 1994. Exploring the concept of affective
quality: expanding the concept of retail personality. Journal of
Business Research 29, 101109.

Dawson, S., Bloch, P.H., Ridgway, N.M., 1990. Shopping motives,

emotional states, and retail outcomes. Journal of Retailing 66,
408427.
Deshpande, R., 1983. Paradigms lost: on theory and method research
and method in marketing. Journal of Marketing 47, 101110.
Donovan, R.J., Rossiter, J.R., Marcoolyn, G., Nesdale, A., 1994. Store
atmosphere and purchasing behavior. Journal of Retailing 70,
283294.
Ellis, K., 1995. The determinants of the nature and types of customersalesperson relationships in a retail setting: an empirical study.
Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama.
Fischer, E., Arnold, S., 1990. More than a labor of love: gender roles and
christmas gift shopping. Journal of Consumer Research 17,
333345.
Flanagan, J.C., 1954. The critical incident technique. Psychological
Bulletin 51, 327357.
Forsythe, S., Butler, S., Schaefer, R., 1990. Surrogate usage in the
acquisition of womens business apparel. Journal of Retailing 66,
446469.
Gunter, B.G., Gunter, N.E., 1980. Leisure styles: a conceptual framework for modern leisure. Sociological Quarterly 21, 361374.
Hirschman, E.C., 1983. Predictors of self-projection, fantasy, fulfillment,
and escapism. Journal of Social Psychology 120, 6376.
Holbrook, M.B., Hirschman, E., 1982. The experiential aspects of
consumption: consumer fantasies, feelings, and fun. Journal of Consumer Research 9, 132140.
Kassarjian, H.H., 1977. Content analysis in consumer research. Journal
of Consumer Research 4, 818.
Keaveney, S.M., 1995. Customer switching behavior in service industries: an exploratory study. Journal of Marketing 59, 7182.
Kelley, S.W., Hoffman, K.D., Davis, M.A., 1993. A typology of retail
failures and recoveries. Journal of Retailing 69, 429452.
Kerin, R.A., Jain, A., Howard, D.J., 1992. Store shopping experience
and consumer price-quality-value perceptions. Journal of Retailing
68, 376397.
Kotler, P., 1973. Atmoshperics as a marketing Tool. Journal of Retailing 49, 4864.
Kowinski, W.S., 1985. The Malling of America. William Morrow and
Company, New York, 1985.
Mannell, R.C., 1980. Social psychology techniques and strategies for
studying leisure experiences. In: Iso-Ahola, S. (Ed.) Social Psychology Perspectives on Leisure and Recreation, Thomas, Springfield,
IL, pp. 6288.
McGrath, M.A., Otnes, C., 1995. Unacquainted influencers: when
strangers interact in the retail setting. Journal of Business Research
32, 261272.
Mehrabian, A., Russell, J.A., 1974. An Approach to Environmental
Psychology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Mendelson, S., 1994. A proposition to entertain. Supermarket Business
49, 53.
Perreault, Jr., W.D., Leigh, L.E., 1989. Reliability of nominal data based
on qualitative judgments. Journal of Marketing Research 26,
135148.
Schindler, R.M., 1989. The excitement of getting a bargain: some
hypotheses concerning the origins and effects of smart-shopper
feelings. In: Srull, T.K. (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research,
vol. 16. Association for Consumer Research, Provo, UT,
pp. 447453.
Sherman, E., Mathur, A. and Smith, R.B., (1997) Store Environment
and Consumer Purchase Behavior: Mediating Role of Consumer
Emotions Psychology and Marketing 14 (July) 361378.
Sherry, Jr., J.F., 1990. A sociocultural analysis of a Midwestern
American flea market. Journal of Consumer Research 17,
1330.
Sproles, G.B., Kendall, E.L., 1986. A methodology for profiling consumers decision-making styles. Journal of Consumer Affairs 20,
267279.

M.A. Jones / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 6 (1999) 129139

Stephenson, P.R., Willet, R.P., 1969. Analysis of consumers retail
patronage strategies. In: McDonald, P.R., (Ed.), Marketing Involvement in Society and the Economy. American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 316322.
Stone, G.P., 1954. City shoppers and urban identification: observation
on the social psychology of city life. American Journal of Sociology
60, 3645.
Talmadge, C., 1995. Retailers injecting more fun into stores. Advertising
Age 66 (44), 38.

139

Tauber, E.M., 1972. Why do people shop. Journal of Marketing 36,

4649.
Unger, L.S., Kernan, J.B., 1983. On the meaning of leisure: an investigation of some determinants of the subjective experience. Journal of
Consumer Research 9, 381392.
Wells, W.D., 1993. Discovery-oriented consumer research. Journal of
Consumer Research 19, 489504.
Westbrook, R.A., Black, W.C., 1985. A motivation-based shopper
typology. Journal of Retailing 61, 78103.