Receptivity to advertising messages and desired shopping values

Advertising designed around the 'value' notion represents a way to deal with widespread retail competition and knowledgeable, empowered consumers. This study empirically examines the influence of receptivity to advertising messages (RTAM) on desired shopping values and assesses whether this relationship is moderated by gender, age, and income. The structural model indicates that, compared to low-RTAM shoppers, high-RTAM shoppers tend to perceive each of the six value dimensions, (i.e. monetary cost saving, time cost saving, energy cost saving, post-sale customer support, engaging store environment, and personal leisure experience) as more important in making a retail patronage decision. Further analysis shows that the links from RTAM to monetary cost saving and to post-sale customer support are stronger for younger male shoppers. Another interesting finding is that the link from RTAM to monetary cost saving is stronger for high-income shoppers whereas the link from RTAM to engaging store environment is stronger for low- and middle-income shoppers. If retail advertisers are aware of the value dimensions that are crucial to the high-RTAM segment within specific target markets, they could achieve advertising goals more effectively and efficiently through tailored advertising messages.