| A pop-up store is a retail format designed to provide an experiential shopping environment. The popularity of pop-up stores in the fashion industry are increasing and many retailers are implementing this retail format in the U.S. Evidence suggests that pop-up stores are most embraced by the younger generation, also known as Millennials. Hence, understanding of Millennials' behavior toward pop-up stores is warranted. In order to understand Millennials' behavior toward pop-up stores, insights about how they make choices while shopping is important and these insights are captured by their decision-making styles. Hence, the first objective of this study was to investigate Millennials' decision-making styles by using the Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) framework proposed by Sproles and Kendall (1986). The second objective was to explore relationships between Millennials' decision-making styles, beliefs (hedonic & utilitarian), attitudes and behavioral intentions toward pop-up stores following the framework of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Furthermore, considering the experiential nature of pop-up stores, the study also aimed to explore how Millennials' need for touch (NFT) was related to their attitudes toward pop-up stores.;An online survey research methodology was employed to collect the data. This study implemented convenience-sampling method and recruited undergraduate students from a mid-western university reflecting younger Millennials in the U.S. An online survey was sent to approximately 400 respondents, out of which 268 responses were usable. Based on the results of factor analysis, this study proposed the revised version of the CSI framework and identified Millennials' decision-making styles. Majority of the Millennials desire trendy clothes, consider shopping as fun leisure activity and seek for quality products. Findings from linear regression analysis further showed that Millennials' hedonic beliefs about pop-up stores were positively related to their attitudes toward pop-up stores; and positive attitudes toward pop-up stores were related to behavioral intentions toward pop-up stores. The need for touch was associated with Millennials' attitude, such that Millennials with higher need for touch had positive attitude toward pop-up stores as compared to the Millennials with lower need for touch.;The findings of this study offer both theoretical and managerial implications. The insight about Millennials' decision-making styles broadens the current scant literature about Millennials' behavior towards pop-up stores. The findings will also help pop-up retailers and marketers to effectively execute this retail format and attract more potential consumers. |
