Title: Retail store layout characteristics as a mechanism for enhancing customer relationships in a retail website environment

Authors: Craig A. Martin, Mark L. Gillenson, Robert P. Bush, Daniel L. Sherrell

Addresses: Gordon Ford College of Business, Western Kentucky University, Grise Hall 412, 1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green, KY 42101-3576, USA. ' Department of Management Information Systems, University of Memphis, BA 329, USA. ' B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration, Department of Marketing and Legal Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA. ' Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, University of Memphis, FEC 150, USA

Abstract: As retailers move into the realm of designing website environments, three critical elements of commerce, content and community must be addressed in order to build and facilitate customer relationships. Yet, as often happens with the internet, the enthusiasm generated by future technology overshadows reality. Many retailers have not yet achieved the basics of customer retention, loyalty, and intimacy in the online world as they have in the brick and mortar setting. In this paper, the authors explore the use of established and successful store layout and design characteristics as applied to a retailer|s website environment. The utilisation of these characteristics in terms of building stronger customer relationships through the elements of commerce, content, and community in a web page environment is addressed.

Keywords: retail store layout; customer relationships; website environments; retail websites; internet; retail store design; e-tailing; website design; web retailers; e-commerce; electronic commerce; layout design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2004.006332

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2004 Vol.1 No.4, pp.413 - 430

Published online: 20 Feb 2005 *

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