The Influence of in-store Marketing Activities on Consumer Purchase Decision in Supermarkets Within Kisumu County

Abstract

The concept of In-Store Marketing has gained much attention in the scholarly circles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether In-Store Marketing activities/strategies do influence shopper purchase decision in supermarkets within Kisumu County, Kenya. Supermarket environment enhances consumers’ chances of engaging in impulsive buying, under the influence of well targeted marketing stimuli. The in-store marketing activities adopted in supermarkets in Kisumu are product displays, sweepstakes/product banding/free samples, sales promoters, price markdown/discounts, and in-store advertising. There exists a great need to establish whether these activities contribute to positive influence in brand selection in supermarkets in Kisumu, Kenya. The study adopted The Theory of Planned Behaviour and Hawkins Stern Impulse Buying Theory, the two being relevant to the study; the shopper either follow a planned shopping list and intentions or impulsive in nature. The design employed in the research was descriptive. The collection of primary data from the respondents (shoppers of selected supermarkets) was done by administering a close-ended, 5-point Likert scale questionnaire through fac-to-face interview. A sample size of 100 respondents was targeted, achieving 93% success rate. Quantitative analysis of the data was done through descriptive statistics (means and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (regression analysis). The analysis was done by use of SPSS. The regression analysis of the findings showed an overall positive and significant influence of in-store marketing strategies on consumer purchase decisions in supermarkets within the city of Kisumu, Kenya. The researcher concludes that sweepstakes, in-store promoters/merchandisers, product display and price mark-downs/discounts positively and significantly affect consumer purchase decisions in supermarkets within the city of Kisumu. There is a positive correlation between the in-store marketing activities and shopper purchase decision making with exception of advertising. While the other four indicated moderate to great extent in influencing purchase decision, in-store advertising campaign do not attract attention of shoppers and therefore has insignificant influence on purchase decision. Marketers are encouraged to find a way of blending the various in-store marketing activities while targeting shoppers’ attention towards the respective brands and eventual probable selection for purchase. Further studies can be done to ascertain how best in-store advertising can be used to effectively contribute to shoppers’ purchase decision.