Consumer Business Relationship with Retailer and Etailer for the Purchase of Clothing : A Network Perspective

Abstract: This licentiate thesis deals with relationships between retailers and consumers. To see what makes the consumers engage in a relationship with a retailer, consumers' choices between two different purchasing situations are studied; purchasing in physical stores (retailers) and purchasing on Internet (etailers or e-commerce). In the theoretical framework, ideas from business netork studies are applied to consumer marketing to illustrate a consumer-business network. To study what characterises the relationship between reatilers and consumers, etailers and consumers and whether something differs in those relationships, interviews with producers, retailers and etailers are carried out, as well as focus group interviews with consumers. In the analysis, it is argued that important characteristics in the relationship between retailers and consumers are the relationship elements of convenience, experience/knowledge, trust, and price. These are presented as elements holding actors together. These elements are finally introduced to depict the characteristic behaviour of retailers an etailers. It is concluded that consumers mostly engage in relationships with retailers/etailers they have knowledge and/or experience of, or turn to one recommended by trusted people in relationships in which the consumer is connected.