The effects of general source and task definition on relative attribute importance when in-home catalog shopping

This study of consumer behavior used a two-factor fixed effects two-by-two between-subjects experimental design model. Four experimental treatments (independent variables) consisted of two factors: cataloger-type (general merchandise versus specialty) and task definition (for oneself versus as a gift). The study was also: mode specific--mail/telephone order catalog shopping; product specific--clothing; and target market specific--white collar working women. The dependent variables were operationalized as five attributes applicable to the in-home catalog shopping decision. They were: highest quality; largest merchandise selection; lowest price; prestige brand; and ease of merchandise return/exchange.; Two-way analysis of covariance was used to determine the effect of the experimental treatments on each of the five dependent variables. The covariates used in these analyses included the shopping orientation factors (price, recreational shopper, brand, shopping loyalty) and previous in-home cataloger shopping experience.; The need for obtaining the largest merchandise selection was found to be more important when shopping from a general merchandise cataloger than from a specialty merchandise cataloger, and the need for obtaining a prestige brand was found to be more important when shopping from a specialty merchandise cataloger than from a general merchandise cataloger. The need for obtaining a prestige brand was found to be more important when in-home catalog shopping for a gift than when shopping for oneself, and the need for the ease of merchandise return/exchange was found to be more important when in-home catalog shopping for oneself than when shopping for a gift.; An understanding of the antecedents of in-home catalog shopping attribute importance was hypothesized to be a critical element for furthering understanding of the catalog patronage decision and development of a stable and generalizable model of consumer patronage theory. The results of this exploratory research indicated that attribute importance may vary across types of catalogers and across different purchase situations. The implications of these results are also important in directing future store choice research. The past research practice of examining attribute importance in general may have resulted in a loss of explanatory or predictive power. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)...