Table 2

Alignments and misalignments

AlignmentsMisalignments
AccessibilityDifferentiated experience
Customers, managers and experts agreed that city-centre concept stores are an important tool for increasing market penetration because of their favourable locationWhile managers and experts worried about consistency of format and product offering (compared to the traditional store), customers emphasised that a differentiated experience attracted them to concept stores
AwarenessRelative accessibility
Adding new touchpoints (in the form of concept stores) attracts customers that would otherwise have bought from a competitorHow accessible customers perceive the concept store to be (in terms of location) depends on the relative size of the city in which it is located. Managers and experts did not seem to consider this factor
InspirationAccess to personnel
Customers visit concept stores to find inspiration or for an appointment. They were not upset that they could not make direct purchases in-storeLack of evening and drop-in appointments made concept-store personnel seem inaccessible to customers. Meanwhile, managers suggest that availability of personnel in concept stores is higher than in traditional stores
New touchpointsTraditional touchpoints
Concept store customers add new digital touchpoints to their journey by ordering online during or after a visitManagers hoped concept stores would entice new customers to visit traditional stores but concept-store customers were generally unwilling to do so

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