Enhancing Consumers’ Satisfaction and Loyalty of Retailers in Romania through Store Ambiance and Communication

Building and, more particularly, cementing a strong relationship between consumers and retail format is a major goal that any retail chain attempts to achieve through its marketing strategy. By resorting to various procedures and tools, the management of any retail brand seeks to develop in the consumer's mind a unique, different, attractive and particularly strong image of its own chain of stores. In addition to the supply of own items and brands, the location of store and the decision on the price levels, communication and store atmosphere fully contribute to shaping the customer's preference, contentment, satisfaction and, in the end, loyalty toward the store. The empirical research conducted on a sample of about 2000 people highlights, by comparison, the effect of communication and store atmosphere on building consumers’ satisfaction with, and loyalty toward, various food and non-food retail formats. Based on the survey methodology and using the face-to-face questionnaire administration, the research reveals major differences in building loyalty. Concepts are carefully operationalized and analyzed with the aid of structural equation modeling. Finally, significant scientific results and a number of managerial implications are revealed.