Other motivations for consumers to shop in brick-and-mortars are more psychological than the specific need for a good, including; social interaction (especially, but not limited to those that live alone), entertainment (levels of which varies from one person to another), recreation, trip changing or intellectual stimulation (Mokhtarian 2004; Price et al. 2009).
2.2.3 Age and Gender Attitude toward Brick-and-Mortar Shopping
Various characteristics distinguish males from female consumers; for instance, females rarely see shopping as a chore. In fact, these prefer to shop with other family members and friends to make an event out of it. This is in complete contrast to males, where these prefer that others do their shopping for them and when they actually shop, they seek to do so in the least possible time (Settle & Alreck 2002).
However this trend is changing and males, especially in the white collar class, are engaging in more shopping activities which could be attributed to the fact that now-a-days both males and females are in the workforce (Mortimer & Clarke 2011).
2.3 Brand Loyalty
Brand is defined as a ‘name, term, symbol, design or a combination of these, that identifies the maker or seller of the product or service’ (Kotler et al. 2005, p. 549). However, brands are not just the names and symbols but rather ‘everything that the product or service means to consumers’ (Kotler et al. 2005, p.555).
Kotler et al. (2005) continue to explain that having a strong brand means that a brand is capable to capture consumers’ preferences and brand loyalty which is measured through brand equity. This is defined as ‘the value of a brand, based on the extent to which it has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived associations, and other assets such as patents, trademarks and channel relationships’ (Kotler et al. 2005, p.556).
Other papers on brand equity ‘ Keller 1998; Aaker 1991, Barwise 1993 ‘ focus on components of brand equity.
However, for this particular study the focus will be on one of these components, mainly the brand experience. This is defined as ‘sensations, feelings, cognitions and behavioural responses evoked by brand-related stimuli that are part of a brand’s design and identity, packaging, communications, and environments’ (Brakus et al. 2009, p. 52). Brakus et al. (2009) further explain how brand experience is related to but at the same time different from other bra
