Consumer Religiosity and Retail Store

Evaluative Criteria

Stephen W. McDaniel
Texas A&M University

John J. Burnett
Texas A&M University

Consumer religiosity, which includes the religious com- While there has been very little research in marketing in
mitment and religious affiliation of consumers, may be a which "religiosity" has served as a segmentation variable, it
significant construct in explaining retail store patronage. appears to meet the criteria stated above. Religiosity is a
The present study used several measures of religiosity to sub-category of human values and relates specifically to a
investigate the influence of this possible segmentation vari- person's relationship with a supreme being and how an indi-
able on consumer evaluation of the importance of various vidual expresses that relationship in society. It is recognized
retail department store attributes. Support was found for the as one of the most important social forces in history as well
religious commitment construct but not for religious affilia- as being a key force in individual behavior (LaBarbera
tion. The most consistent relationship found was between 1987). Religiosity is traditionally couched as an individual's
religious commitment and the importance placed by the level of spiritual commitment or religious affiliation. Sur-
consumer on sales personnel friendliness~assistance. Direc- prisingly, this phenomenon is just beginning to be examined
tion for future research is provided. in the business environment, with recent studies (Hirschman
1983; LaBarbera 1987; Wilkes, Burnett, and Howell 1986)
strongly suggesting a possible association between religi-
osity and specific aspects of consumer behavior.
INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to relate the religiosity con-
struct to one aspect of marketing: consumer retail store pa-
Being able to discern viable target markets is an extremely tronage behavior. This examination seems warranted since,
important skill for today's marketer. A prerequisite for de- first, religiosity represents an inherent human value which
veloping an effective marketing strategy is obtaining an tends to be stable over a fairly long period of time; second,
in-depth understanding of the customer. Unfortunately, many of the elements of religiosity are observable, and are
much about the typical customer is in a state of constant therefore of pragmatic value to marketers; and, third, patron-
flux, and what is valid about an individual or a group today age behavior is critical to the success of marketers, particu-
is quite different tomorrow. Even implications related to larly retailers.
basic demographics, such as age, income, and occupation,
change over time and from one generation to the next. Thus,
the challenge facing the marketing strategist is to identify RETAIL STORE PATRONAGE
human characteristics or behaviors which tend to be stable
over a reasonable period of time, offer profit potential, and Fifteen years ago Monroe and Guiltinan (1975) observed
which can serve as the basis for target market selection and that "the major existing consumer behavior models have
the ensuing marketing strategies. concentrated on brand choice behavior almost to the exclu-
sion of retail patronage behavior." Since that time, consid-
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
erable work has been done in this area, resulting in at least
Volume 18, Number 2, pages 101-112. seven additional models of retail store patronage (Bellenger
Copyright 9 1990 by Academy of Marketing Science. and Moschis 1982; Darden 1979; Faik and Julander 1983;
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. Laaksonen 1987; M611erand van den Heuvel 1981 ; Paltschik
ISSN 0092-0703. and Strandvik 1983; Sheth 1983). These models, along with

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CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

other research in this area, have attempted to explain "all effectively matching retail store product and service offer-
the possible inner features of dynamism around the shopping ings with these evaluative criteria.
behavior phenomenon in terms of store choice" (Laaksonen In a review of the hypothetical assertions and empirical
1987, p. 12). Accordingly, various approaches have been findings of twenty-six studies designed to identify key attri-
taken and assorted variables have been investigated in an butes affecting store image formation and patronage behav-
attempt to gain understanding of retail store patronage. ior, Lindquist (1974-1975) found seven attributes to arise
One of the most comprehensive frameworks of patronage more frequently than others: (1) merchandise selection or as-
behavior is Sheth's (1983) integrative theory of retail store sortment, (2) merchandise quality, (3) merchandise pricing,
patronage preference and behavior. His model actually con- (4) locational convenience, (5) merchandise styling or fash-
tains two separate subtheories: one related to an individual's ion, (6) general service, and (7) salesclerk service. Tigert
shopping preference for an outlet and the other focused on (1983) analyzed the results of thirty-eight studies across four
an individual's actual buying behavior from that outlet. For retail sectors (retail food, fast food, do-it-yourself, and fash-
the purposes of the present study, we restrict our attention ion) and derived similar results. Specifically, Tigert found
to the first part of this theory. that "locational convenience," "low price," "merchandise
Sheth (1983) identifies four basic constructs in his shop- assortment," "service," and "merchandise quality" consis-
ping preference theory: (1) shopping motives--either func- tently arose as key store attributes across all four sectors.
tional needs or nonfunctional wants, related to the choice However, the relative importance of the key attributes was
of outlets at which to shop for a specific product or service found to differ among retail sectors, over time in the same
class; (2) shopping options--the evoked set of outlets avail- market for the same retail sector, across markets for the
able to customers to satisfy their shopping motives for a same sector, and across demographic segments within the
specific class of products and services; (3) choice calculus-- same sector in the same market. For example, "low prices"
the decision rules applied by customers in establishing shop- was found to be a more critical store attribute and "locational
ping predispositions toward certain outlets; and (4) shopping convenience" less critical for males with large families, aged
predispositions--the relative shopping preferences, among 31-40, and with higher incomes. Similarly, in a study of
an evoked set of alternative outlets, for a specific product- customers of department stores and grocery stores, Hansen
class purchase situation. For investigation in the present and Deutscher (1977-1978) found several differences be-
study, we focus our attention on the shopping motives con- tween demographic segments with regard to store attribute
struct and specifically on the consumer's functional needs. importance. Their results indicate, for example, that older
By functional needs, Sheth refers to consumer needs that are consumers and those with lower income and education levels
anchored in the store attributes and that are intrinsic to the tend to place more weight on store advertising and its policy
retail store. Examples of such attributes are one-stop shop- on adjustments, whereas younger and better educated con-
ping, cost and availability of needed products, convenience sumers are more concerned about prices and convenience.
in parking and shopping, and accessibility of the retail store. Virtually all retail patronage models include various con-
sumer characteristics, particularly as to their effect on retail
Retail Store Evaluative Criteria store attribute importance or other precursor to actual store
choice. Typically, religiosity or religious orientation of the
The importance of identifying key retail store attributes or consumer is not specifically addressed, but is treated as a part
evaluative criteria has long been recognized in the consumer of consumer values. For example, Darden (1979) includes
behavior as well as the retailing literature. This interest is in his model Rokeach's (1968-1969) two types of values:
grounded in the traditional model set forth by Fishbein instrumental and terminal. Terminal values are viewed by
(1966) depicting the relationship between belief, attitudes, Rokeach as being related to end-states of existence such as
and behavior. Applied to a retail situation, this model indi- inner harmony and belief in salvation, that is, of a religious
cates that a consumer's attitude toward a retail store is a nature. In Darden's patronage choice behavior model, these
function of (a) the degree of importance attached by the religion-related values are viewed as being exogenous and
consumer to various attributes, and (b) the consumer's per- affecting retail store attribute importance through instrumen-
ception of the degree to which a retail store possesses each tal values.
attribute. The resulting attitude toward the retail store is of Sheth (1983) specifically cites the religious variable in
significant concern to retailers because of the positive re- proposing that both product determinants (product cate-
lationship, supported in research studies, that tends to exist gory, usage, and brand predisposition) as well as personal
between attitude toward a retail store and consumer patron- determinants (personal, social, and epistemic values) shape
age of that store (James, Durand, and Dreves 1976; Korgaon- an individual's shopping motives. One particular deter-
kar, Lund, and Price 1985). The most recent study in this minant of personal values identified by Sheth is "religion."
regard found a highly significant relationship between at- It is predicted that "a person's religious orientation, as with
titude and behavior, resulting in the researchers' conclusion other personal traits such as sex, age, and race, acts as a
that retailers interested in increasing store patronage could determinant of a customer's general shopping motives across
benefit by taking whatever steps necessary to develop a a broad spectrum of product classes." The religiosity vari-
more positive attitude toward their stores (Korgaonkar, able is, therefore, expected to significantly influence con-
Lund, and Price 1985). Accordingly, the applied Fishbein sumer evaluative criteria of various retail stores and the
model would suggest the critical need for determining key extent to which key retail store attributes are viewed as
retail store attributes held by prospective customers and important to consumers. It is this relationship between re-

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CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
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ligiosity and retail store evaluative criteria that is explored (g) more submissive and trusting (Hamby 1973; Kahoe
in the present study. 1974, Tate and Miller 1971);
(h) less dominant (Barton and Vaughan 1976; Eysenck
1970; Hamby 1973);
RELIGIOSITY (i) less prone to hold"feminist" positions on women's
issues (McClain 1979);
A major problem which exists with research on religiosity (j) more insightful and mature (Hamby 1973);
is the absence of a generally accepted theory or definition (k) more positive regarding their quality of life
of religion (Guthrie 1980). Proposed definitions of religion (Hadaway and Roof 1978).
have ranged from "wish fulfillment" (Malinowski 1948) to
There are areas, however, where the results tend to be
the "belief in Spiritual Beings" (Tylor 1979). Eister (1974)
unsettled. With respect to an individual's tendency for emo-
observes that religion has defied social scientific consensus
tional expression, mixed findings have occurred, with two
and "may not be definable in general terms." The general
studies indicating religious people to be more emotional
conclusion is that this variable must be defined for each
(Barton and Vaughan 1976; Slater 1947) and two other
research setting. For the present research study, a rather
studies finding religious people to be less emotional (Hamby
traditional approach is used and religion is defined as a
1973; Kahoe 1974). Likewise, mixed findings have resulted
belief in God accompanied by a commitment to follow prin-
in studies investigating the relationship between religiosity
ciples believed to be set forth by God.
and self-esteem. Hamby (1973) and Smith, Weigert, and
It has long been acknowledged that people's religious
Thomas (1979) found a positive relationship between re-
beliefs have a discernible effect on attitudes and on behavior.
ligiosity and self-esteem, while Lindzey and Aronson
For example, at a macrobehavioral level, Max Weber (1904)
(1969), Ranck (1961), and Stark and Glock (1968) found
applied the term "Protestant ethic" to the basic orientation
that highly religious people tend to have lower self-esteem.
of European Protestants in shaping the Industrial Revolution
In a recent study investigating the relationship between
and rise of capitalism. More recently, behavioral scientists
religious commitment and life-style, Wilkes, Burnett and
have concluded that religious beliefs tend to be causally
Howell (1986) found considerable support for the application
related to several kinds of differential attitudes and/or be-
of the religiosity construct in consumer research. They found
havior among individuals in a population. In general, these
that people with a high degree of religious commitment tend
studies have viewed religiosity or religious orientation from
to have a more traditional sex role orientation, tend to be
one of two perspectives: (1) religious commitment or (2)
more satisfied with their lives, and are more likely to be
religious affiliation. Religious commitment has been mea-
opinion leaders. Although additional findings were not
sured both cognitively (e.g., degree to which an individual
statistically significant, results from their study also provided
holds religious beliefs) and behaviorally (e.g., frequency of
some indication that consumers with greater religious com-
church/synagogue attendance). Religious affiliation has typ-
mitment were less likely to use credit, and more likely to
ically been measured relative to denominational membership
prefer national brands of products.
or religious identification of the individual (e.g., Catholic,
Protestant, Jew). The following discussion of the literature
in this area is presented relative to these two perspectives.
Religious Affiliation
As Hirschman (1983) pointed out, religious denomina-
Religious Commitment tional affiliations may be viewed as "cognitive systems."
As such, the members of each of these groups may be
A common measurement of religious orientation has been
viewed as possessing a common cognitive system of beliefs,
the extent of cognitive or behavioral commitment to religious
values, expectations, and behaviors. According to Gallup
beliefs. This has been operationalized in various ways and
(1985), the most prevalent religious groups in the U.S. are
used to investigate various relationships. The psychological
Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. It is these three groups
literature, for example, contains several investigations of
that have been the primary focus of behavioral science
the relationship between religious commitment and person-
studies investigating religious denominational relationships
ality characteristics. Research generally indicates that people
with cognitive and behavioral characteristics of individuals.
with a high degree of intrinsic religiosity tend to be:
These studies have identified several differences across de-
nominational categories, with Catholics and Jews typically
(a) more moral (Wiebe and Fleck 1980);
at opposite ends of the issue and Protestants typically closer
(b) more conscientious and consistent (Wiebe and
to the Jewish position or perhaps in between the two. Basi-
Fleck 1980);
cally, Catholics (as contrasted with Protestants and Jews)
(c) more disciplined and responsible (Hamby 1973;
have been found to be:
Wiebe and Fleck 1980);
(d) more dependent and sociable (Hamby 1973; Wiebe (a) more traditional (Herberg 1964);
and Fleck 1980); (b) more prone to external imposition of order
(e) more empathetic (Wiebe and Fleck 1980); (Herberg 1964);
(f) more conservative and traditional (Barton and (c) less prone to external information or knowledge-
Vaughan 1976; Hamby 1973; Tate and Miller seeking (Green 1973; Herberg 1964; Hirschman
1971); 1981);

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EVALUATIVECRITERIA

(d) lower in self-determination (Greeley 1977); somewhat low response rate may perhaps be attributed to
(e) less oriented toward material possessions the length of the questionnaire and to the fact that only one
(Hirschman 1983; Patai 1977); follow-up was used. Americalist of North Canton, Ohio,
(f) more prone to place a low value on time utilization was contracted to supply a mailing list representative of the
(Hirschman 1983); population in the United States. Comparisons of respondent
(g) more prone than Protestants to place a higher value demographics with general population statistics (Statistical
on time spent in nonproductive leisure pursuits Abstract of the United States 1986; Gallup 1985) indicate
(Anderson 1970; Patai 1977); the sample is in fact not entirely representative of the U.S.
(h) less flexible and rational than Jews (Patai 1977); population. With regard to religious affiliation, the sample
(i) less inclined than Jews toward deferment of is comprised of 28% Catholic, 48% Protestant, 7% Jewish,
gratification (Patai 1977); 2% other, and 15% none. Gallup (1985) reports the U.S.
(j) less prone than Jews toward novelty seeking religious affiliation breakdown to be 28% Catholic, 57%
activities (Hirschman 1982b); Protestant, 2% Jewish, 4% other, and 9% none. Therefore,
(k) less prone toward information transfer (Hirschman Jews and those with no religious affiliation are somewhat
1981, 1982); overrepresented in the sample. Likewise, the sample tends
(1) less inclined than Jews toward consumption to be somewhat overrepresentative of whites, upper income
innovativeness, with resulting higher tendencies individuals, the higher educated, and middle aged (45-64
for brand and store loyalty (Hirschman 1981). years) persons.
Although such limitations should certainly be considered
In a study related more closely to differential buying be- in subsequent interpretation of the results, this sampling
havior between members of these religious groups, Hirsch- error should not be as significant of a factor in this particular
man (1983) presented research results regarding criteria and study for two reasons. First, the overall purpose of this
solutions to week-end entertainment, transportation, hous- study is not to measure absolute occurrences in the society,
ing, and family pet decisions. Among her various findings but rather to analyze relationships existing between vari-
was the tendency for Catholics to be less likely than Protes- ables. Second, the fact that the sample is biased toward the
tants to consider price an important criterion for entertain- more upscale consumer may even be desirable in this type
ment selection but more likely than either Protestants or of study. As pointed out by Hirschman (1982), a study using
Jews to consider price an important criterion for transporta- religion as an independent variable is perhaps better served
tion or family pet selection. Also, Catholics were found to by surveying the upper middle class and above, since doing
be more likely than Jews to consider "residence condition" so allows better control for socioeconomic differences
an important criterion for residence selection, more likely known to exist between these religious groups.
than Jews or Protestants to attend sporting events, and less
likely than Jews to drink at bars or go to a night club. Measurement of Variables
As this research evidence indicates, there are clear cogni-
tive and behavioral differences between people of different Evaluative Criteria
levels of religious commitment as well as between people Two key constructs were operationalized for investigation
of different religious affiliations. A logical question then is in the present study: retail store evaluative criteria and religi-
whether these differences manifest themselves at the retail osity. The first necessitated a comprehensive listing of key
store level as proposed by Sheth (1983). Only one study has retail store attributes or evaluative criteria that would be
explored any aspect of this question. Thompson and Raine valid for either retail stores in general or for one specific retail
(1976) investigated whether or not customers who shopped store type. The attribute listing used was one derived from
at one furniture store differed from the general population a study by Hansen and Deutscher (1977-1978). They tested
of the city with regard to religious affiliation, as well as forty-one attributes for both department stores and grocery
whether religious affiliation was a significant determinant stores and achieved a rank ordering of those attributes. The
of furniture purchases at that store. Their findings provided present study initially used the top thirty attributes from the
some support (p = . 10) for their hypothesis that the store Hansen and Deutscher results. Applying this listing to the
had a greater amount of sales coming from "a middle range present study was deemed desirable for two reasons. First,
of fundamentalist Protestant religious denominations." Al- the list of thirty attributes has empirical support as to their
though very limited in their measurement of religiosity and importance to consumers. Second, Hansen and Deutscher
retail store patronage, the Thompson and Raine (1976) study found that consumer evaluations of the importance of these
provides some support for additional investigation into the particular attributes were similar for both grocery stores and
relationship between these two constructs. department stores. As a result, even though the present study
dealt with department stores, the findings may be somewhat
applicable to other types of stores as well.
PRESENT STUDY The initial step in data analysis consisted of the employ-
ment of principal components factor analysis with the Harris
Methodology -Kaiser case II oblique rotation (SAS 1985). This was done
to gain a clearer understanding of the underlying structure
Data for the present study were obtained from a national of the thirty retail store evaluative criteria. As shown in
mail survey of 2,000 individuals, from whom 550 usable Table 1, seven reasonably pure factors were extracted. Over-
questionnaires were obtained (a 27.5% response rate). The all, twenty-two retail store evaluative criteria loaded signifi-

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for the purpose of shopping. Three closely related evaluative

TABLE 1
criteria comprise this factor. These deal with the convenience
Factor Structure of Retail Store Evaluative Criteria of that particular store relative to the other stores shopped,
Factor the convenience of the hours of operation, and the ease of
Factor Composition a Loadings actually driving to the store.
Factor 1: Shopping Efficiency Factor 3 (Product Assortment) consists of three items
a. "Easy to exchange purchases" 0.864 related to merchandise selection and product availability in
b. "Faironadjustments/exchanges" 0.855 the store. This factor expresses concerns of the customer
c. "Easy to find items you want" 0.827 with regard to the breadth of the merchandise mix carried
d. "Easy to move through store" 0.773
e. "Easy to park" 0.760
by the store (i.e., whether the store has a wide selection of
merchandise), the depth of the various lines of merchandise
Factor 2: Shopping Convenience (i.e., whether the store carries numerous brands), as well
a. "Convenient to other stores shopped" 0.778 as the composition of the various lines of merchandise (i.e.,
b. "Convenient hours of operation" 0.727
"Easy drive to store"
whether the store carries well-known brands).
c. 0.694
Factor 4 (Sales Personnel Friendliness/Assistance) is com-
Factor 3: Product Assortment prised of people-oriented attributes of the store. Two primary
a. "Wide selection of merchandise" 0.824 issues are addressed in the four evaluative criteria making
b. "Well-known brands available" 0.799 up this factor: (1) the extent to which the sales personnel
c. "Numerous brands" 0.723
satisfy the social needs of customers through courtesy and
Factor 4: Sales Personnel Friendliness/Assistance friendliness, and (2) the extent to which sales personnel
a. "Helpful store personnel" 0.862 satisfy the customers' needs for product/service-related in-
b. "Friendly store personnel 0.844 formation and assistance through their helpfulness and
c. "Courteous sales personnel" 0.821
knowledge.
d. "Knowledgeable sales personnel" 0.739
While Factor 3 dealt with the assortment of merchandise,
Factor 5: Product Quality Factor 5 (Product Quality) pertains to the overall quality
a. "High value for prices charged" 0.787 and value of the merchandise the store offers. Of concern
b. "High quality products" 0.741 in this factor is whether the merchandise offered by the store
c. "Dependable products" 0.670
is a good value for the price (i.e., the products are dependable
Factor 6: Store Attractiveness and of high quality).
a. "Attractive exterior" 0.874 Factor 6 (Store Attractiveness) is comprised of the two
b. "Attractive interior decor" 0.866 items with the highest loadings of any items in the study.
These two items relate to the physical characteristics, both
Factor 7: Credit Availability
a. "Accept bank charge cards" (Master Card, inside and outside, of the store facility itself. Of concern in
Visa, etc.) 0.762 this factor is whether the exterior of the store, as well as
b. "Offer store credit/store charge card" 0.745 its interior decor, is attractive to customers.
aVariance explained by each factor: Factor 1 = 7.720, Factor 2 = 5.277, Factor 7 (Credit Availability) pertains to the store policy
Factor 3 = 7.114, Factor 4 = 8.596, Factor 5 = 5.544, Factor 6 = 5.195, with regard to charged purchases. Two items--one dealing
Factor 7 = 1.811. Items shown in table are those with factor loading with whether the store accepts bank charge cards such as
/> 0.67. Master Card and Visa, and the other dealing with whether
the store itself offers its own charge account or charge card--
make up this final factor.
cantly (a factor loading of at least 0.67) on one of the seven
factors. Religiosity
Factor 1 (Shopping Efficiency) consists of those criteria The second key construct of the present study--religios-
related to the efficient use of time spent in and around the i t y - w a s viewed from a multidimensional approach. This
store during the performance of shopping activities. Four is in line with recommendations by DeJong, Faulkner, and
of these items relate to the "ease" of shopping--that is: Warland (1976) and Wilkes, Burnett, and Howell (1986)
exchanging purchases, finding items in the store, moving that research of religious beliefs use a multiconstruct con-
through the store, and parking. The fifth item, dealing with ceptualization of religiosity since religion cannot be viewed
store fairness in adjustments and exchanges, at first appears in academic research as a single, all-encompassing phe-
to be unrelated to the other four. In actuality, however, this nomenon. Accordingly, two general components of religios-
is closely related to the aforementioned ease of exchanging ity were identified: "religious affiliation" and "religious
purchases and perhaps reflects a similar concern related to commitment."
the time and effort involved in shopping activities in and Regarding the measurement of religious affiliation, Roof
around the store. In other words, consumers may equate (1980) cautions against using a question asking for religious
fairness on adjustments and exchanges with an absence of preference. Research confirms that some ambiguity and error
hassles and having to talk with or write letters to various could be introduced since people may have a preference for
store personnel in order to get the matter resolved fairly. one denomination but an affiliation with another. Therefore,
While Factor 1 relates to shopping efficiency in and in the present study, religious affiliation was measured by
around the store, Factor 2 (Shopping Convenience) relates use of an open-ended question, "Please indicate your current
to the convenience of physically going to a particular store religious denomination or sect." Responses were then col-

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lapsed into three denominational categories: Catholic, Prot- psychological characteristics. It is expected that these
estant, and Jew for subsequent analyses using religious af- psychological factors will be related to specific evaluative
filiation as an independent variable. Respondents with no criteria held toward retail stores, and, specifically, depart-
religious affiliation (n = 83), and those with an affiliation ment stores. Therefore, since highly religious individuals
other than these three categories (n = 11), were not included tend to be more dependent and sociable (Hamby 1973; Wiebe
in the religious affiliation analysis. and Fleck 1980), they may be expected to place more impor-
Following the recommendation by Brinkerhoff (1978) that tance on such people-oriented attributes as friendly and help-
religious involvement or commitment be acknowledged in ful sales personnel. Accordingly, the following hypothesis
research on religiosity, a second component of religiosity was tested in the present study:
was operationalized--religious commitment. This compo-
nent was viewed from both a cognitive and a behavioral HI: A positive relationship exists between reli-
perspective. Cognitively, religious commitment was gious commitment and the importance placed
operationalized by asking respondents to: "Indicate how re- by an individual on department store evalua-
ligious you view yourself to be." Five choices ("very religi- tive criteria dealing with sales personnel
ous," "moderately religious," "slightly religious," "not re- friendliness/helpfulness.
ligious," and "anti-religious") were available for respondents
to evaluate this self-ascribed religiousness. Additionally, A second hypothesis stems from findings that highly re-
two religious-oriented questions were interspersed within a ligious individuals tend to be more conscientious than less
list of AIO-related questions. Respondents were asked to religious individuals (Wiebe and Fleck 1980). This personal
indicate on a six-point scale their extent of agreement with characteristic might be expected to manifest itself in the
the following statements: "My religion is very important to importance placed on product-oriented attributes such as
me" and "I believe in God." Responses to these three ques- product quality as well as product assortment. Additionally,
tions were combined in order to obtain a single measurement Wilkes, Burnett, and Howell (1986) found some indication
of the cognitive dimension of religious commitment. that individuals with a higher level of religious commitment
The behavioral dimension of religious commitment was have a preference for national brands. This higher level of
operationalized through two factors: (1) church/synagogue conscientiousness and preference for national brands among
attendance, and (2) monetary giving to religious organiza- highly religious individuals resulted in the second hypothesis
tions. Under a questionnaire section entitled, "Involvement tested in the present study:
in Church/Synagogue," respondents were asked: "How often
do you attend services/meetings?" Seven response categories H2: A positive relationship exists between reli-
were provided, ranging from "never" to "more than 4 times gious commitment and the importance placed
a month." For data analysis purposes, these categories were by an individual on department store evalua-
subsequently reduced to three levels of church/synagogue at- tive criteria dealing with product quality and
tendance: "rarely/never" (less than one time a year or never), product assortment.
"moderate" (once a year to three times a month), and "fre-
quent" (four or more times a month). The second factor asked Findings by Hamby (1973) and Wiebe and Fleck (1980)
the amount of monetary donations given by the respondent to indicate that highly religious individuals tend to behave in
his or her "denomination or sect," "radio or television minis- a more disciplined and responsible manner. These charac-
tries such as PTL, 700 Club, etc.," or "evangelists such as teristics might manifest themselves in the financial method
Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, etc." For each of these three by which products are purchased, i.e., cash vs. credit. Buy-
ministry categories, three separate levels of donations were ing products with cash may, in most cases, require greater
measured (no donations or 0% of after-tax income, moderate self-restraint and discipline than charging purchases. There-
donations or 1 to 5% of after-tax income, and high donations fore, highly religious individuals might be expected to place
or over 6% of after-tax income). For data analysis purposes, less emphasis on credit availability. Although their findings
these three ministry categories were combined into a single were not significant, Wilkes, Burnett, and Howell (1986)
variable, "monetary giving to religious organizations." provide some support for this proposition in that consumers
with greater religious commitment were found in their study
Hypotheses to be somewhat less likely to use credit. Therefore, a third
hypothesis was tested in the present study:
The present study was designed to build upon the theoreti-
cal bases in both the religiosity literature as well as the retail H3: A negative relationship exists between reli-
store patronage literature, and to synthesize the empirical gious commitment and the importance placed
evidence in these two divergent research areas into a single by an individual on department store evalua-
theoretical framework. As a result of literature reviews in tive criteria dealing with the availability of
both areas, several underlying theoretical principles seem credit.
to emerge. These are best considered within the context of
the two separate dimensions of religiosity. The effects of religious commitment on shopping effi-
ciency, shopping convenience, and store attractiveness were
Religious Commitment also investigated in the study. However, this was done on
As stated previously, research indicates that individuals an exploratory basis, with no formal hypotheses tested, since
who are highly religious tend to possess certain identifiable the literature is insufficiently clear to propose expected re-

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CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

lationships between religious commitment and these evalua- cation. This desire to buy products now rather than wait until
tive criteria. money is available might lead Catholics to place higher im-
portance on the availability of store credit. Accordingly, the
Religious Affiliation final hypothesis tested in the present study was the following:
A significant amount of research, cited previously, de-
monstrated various differences in psychological character H7: Credit availability is viewed as being a more
istics and behavior between individuals with different reli- important retail store evaluative criterion by
gious affiliations. Most of these differences occur between Catholics than by Protestants and/or Jews.
Catholics and Jews, with Protestants typically falling in
between the two or perhaps closer to the Jewish position on Background literature pertaining to the expected relation-
the issue. Therefore, since Catholics are typically at one ship between religiosity and shopping efficiency/conveni-
extreme, the hypotheses will be stated in terms of differences ence is not definitive. Therefore, this relationship was
between Catholics and either Jews, Protestants, or both. examined in the present study on an exploratory basis, with
With regard to the importance of sales personnel friendli- no formal hypotheses tested in this area.
ness and assistance, previous research indicates that Catho-
lics may tend to value this retail store attribute more than
others. Findings by Herberg (1964) that Catholics are more RESULTS
prone to external imposition of order and by Greeley (1977)
that Catholics tend to be lower in self-determination indicate Analysis of variance procedures (SAS 1985) were used
that Catholics may view sales personnel as serving a more to test for relationships between religiosity and each of the
necessary function than Protestants and Jews. As a result, seven retail store evaluative criteria. In order to obtain a rela-
the following hypothesis was tested in the present study: tive comparison of the religiosity effects, as well as test for
possible interaction effects, three demographic variables--
H4: Sales personnel friendliness and assistance is age, education, and income--were likewise investigated. In
viewed as being a more important retail store each case the dependent variables were the seven retail store
evaluative criterion by Catholics than by Prot- evaluative criteria produced from the factor analysis. A mean
estants and/or Jews. value was derived for each of the various criteria loading sig-
nificantly with each of the seven factors (see Table 1). The
Previous research suggests that Catholics may also view independent variables were the religiosity and demographic
product quality, product availability, and product assortment variables. A Duncan Multiple Range Test was employed to
attributes differently than Protestants and Jews. Findings by examine paired comparisons of the categorical means result-
Hirschman (1983) and Patai (1977) that Catholics are less ing from the religiosity-evaluative criteria analyses. For each
oriented toward material possessions, and results from Patai test a criterion level of 0.05 was used for significance.
(1977) that Catholics are less rational than Jews, provide
some indication that product-oriented attributes (i.e., those Effect of Cognitive Religiosity
more materialistic and functional in nature) may be viewed
as less important by Catholic consumers. This proposition Table 2 depicts the results of testing for the effect of
results in the following hypothesis: cognitive religiosity (i.e., self-ascribed religiousness) on
each of the seven retail store evaluative criteria. The tests
H5: Product quality and product assortment are for main effects (For) produced four statistically significant
viewed as being less important retail store (p < .05) relationships. However, when controlling for age,
evaluative criteria by Catholics than by Protes- education ' and income (F cr/age,etlu,mc
. . ) this was reduced to three
tants and/or Jews. statistically significant (p < .05) relationships--shopping
efficiency, sales personnel friendliness/assistance and prod-
Anderson (1970) and Patai (1977) found that Catholics uct quality. In each case, the relationship was in a positive
are more prone to place a higher value on time spent in direction; that is, consumers with a high degree of cogni-
nonproductive leisure pursuits. Along similar lines, tive religiosity viewed shopping efficiency, sales person-
Hirschman (1983) found that Catholics are more prone to nel friendliness/assistance, and product quality as being of
place a low value on time utilization. It would seem, there- greater importance in selecting a retail store than did those
fore, that Catholics may not consider shopping efficiency low in cognitive religiosity.
and convenience attributes as being as important as would Analyses of isolated demographic variable effects indicate
Protestants and/or Jews. This served as the basis for the that age, education ' and income(F age/[Link]
9 , F. eau./ or,',gc:mc' and
following hypothesis: Fir~c/,:[Link])are less strongly associated with retail store
evaluative criteria. That is, cognitive religiosity appears to
H6: Shopping efficiency and shopping conveni- be a somewhat better predictor of these importance ratings
ence are viewed as being less important retail than these three demographic variables.
store evaluative criteria by Catholics than by
Protestants and/or Jews. Effect of Behavioral Religiosity

The final proposition stems from findings by Patai (1977) As shown in Table 3, both measures of behavioral religi-
that Catholics are less inclined toward deferment of gratifi- osity-church/synagogue attendance and religious giving--

JAMS 107 S P R I N G , 199(}

CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE M c D A N I E L AND BURNETT
E V A L U A T I V E CRITERIA

TABLE 2
Statistical Results of the Effect of Cognitive Religiosity (cr) on Retail Store Evaluative Criteria
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA )
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sales Personnel
Shopping Shopping Product Friendliness/ Product Store Credit
Efficiency Convenience Availability Assistance Quality Attractiveness Availability
Low (Mean) 4.74 4.56 4.54 4.75 5.14 3.34 3.29
Medium (Mean) 5.04 4.72 4.67 5.01 5.33 3.61 3.46
High (Mean) 5.04 4.75 4.76 5.07 5.46 3.76 3.43
For 6.57 c 1.84 1.78 5.23 c 7.12 c 4.28 b 0.60
Duncan (p < .05) M,H > L -- -- M,H > L M,H > L M,H > L --
Fcr/age, edu, inc 3.71 b 2.35 a 0.88 2.87 b 5.77 c 2.48 a 1.66
Eage/cr, edu, inc 1.06 1.33 3.08 b 2.80 b 1.48 1.33 1.00
Fedu/cr, age, inc 1.58 0.32 1.93 1.58 0.44 1.14 0.14
Finc/cr,age, edu 0.82 1.38 0.29 2.02 1.28 0.17 0.60
Fcr, age 1.44 1.44 0.32 1.53 0.88 1.84 2.47 b
Fcr,ed u 2.98 c 0.39 0.22 0.88 0.83 0.47 0.59
Fcr,in c 0.52 2.29 b 0.58 0.23 0.45 0.43 0.48

ap < .10
bp < .05
Cp < .01

TABLE 3
Statistical Results of the Effect of Behavioral Religiosity on Retail Store Evaluative Criteria
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sales Personnel
Shopping Shopping Product Friendliness/ Product Store Credit
Efficiency Convenience Availability Assistance Quality Attractiveness Availability
Church~Synagogue Attendance (csa)
Low (Mean) 4.92 4.53 4.53 4.81 5.23 3.39 3.27
Medium (Mean) 5.01 4.79 4.73 5.01 5.37 3.67 3.54
High (Mean) 4.97 4.63 4.67 5.01 5.37 3.52 3.30

Fc~a 0.45 4.66 c 2.26 a 2.66 a 2.15 2.71 a 2.27 a

Duncan (p < .05) -- M> L M>L M,H>L -- M>L --

Fcsa/age. edu. inc 0.52 6.40 c 2.67 a 3.00 b 2.47 a 1.80 1.27
Fage/csa,edu, inc 3.95 c 0.21 1.92 6.92 c 1.84 2.41 a 1.46
Fedu/csa. age,inc 2.34 a 0.65 4.13 c 1.85 0.15 0.30 0.16
Finc/csa,age. edu 1.20 2.27 a 1.32 3.39 b 2.20 a 1.37 1.66
Fcsa,age 0.65 0.80 1.08 1.13 1.40 0.82 0.27 b
Fcsa,ed u 1.54 1.24 0.83 1.25 0.73 0.97 1.64
Fcsa,in c 0.36 0.64 b 0.53 1.31 0.33 1.91 1.42

Religious Giving (rg)

Low (Mean) 4.88 4.61 4.52 4.79 5.22 3.46 3.25
Medium (Mean) 4.99 4.74 4.70 5.00 5.36 3.62 3.54
High (Mean) 4.96 4.64 4.63 5.09 5.31 3.35 3.01

Frg 0.89 1.09 1.90 3.42 b 2.16 1.56 3.71 b

Duncan (p < .05) -- -- -- H>L -- -- M>H

Frg/age,edu, inc 0.54 0.56 I. 10 3.1 I b 1.74 1.39 2.50 b

Fage/[Link]. inc 3.70 b O. 22 1.54 0.83 1.30 2.30 a I. 11
Fedu/rg. age, inc 2.37 a 0.53 4.32 c 0.45 0.41 0.43 0.34
Finc/rg, age,edu 1.01 1.77 1.63 1.16 1.31 1.47 1.42
Frg,ag e 0.60 0.90 0.60 0.80 0.48 0.70 0.81
Frg,ed u 1.24 0.95 1.02 0.68 0.52 0.94 1.45
Frg*inc 0.31 O. 76 0.67 1.27 1.12 0.75 1.66 a

ap < .10
bp < .05
Cp < .01

JAMS 108 SPRING, 1990

CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

had some effect on retail store evaluative criteria. When retail store evaluative criteria held by consumers. A signifi-
only main effects are considered, church/synagogue atten- cant part of this investigation dealt with operationalizing the
dance produced one statistically significant (p < .05) rela- construct, religiosity, as well as testing the different dimen-
tionship-shopping convenience--and four marginally sig- sions of this construct. Religiosity was viewed from two
nificant (p < . 10) relationships. Religious giving produced perspectives: religious commitment and religious affiliation,
two statistically significant main effects--sales personnel with religious commitment classified as either cognitive or
friendliness/assistance and credit availability. behavioral commitment. A substantial amount of prior re-
When controlling for age, education, and income, church/ search support, some from the marketing literature but most
synagogue attendance (F csa/age,eau,lnc
9 . ) was significantly (p < from the psychological and sociological literature, provided
.05) related to two factors--shopping convenience and sales a basis for predicting that both religious commitment and
personnel friendliness/assistance--and marginally (19< . 10) religious affiliation would be significantly related to the
related to two factors--product availability and product importance consumers place on various retail store evalua-
quality. Religious giving, when controlling for age, educa- tive criteria.
tion, and income (Fr~ edu~,c)' was also significantly (p < As a result of a factor analysis of the evaluative criteria,
.05) related to two ]~aciors--sales personnel friendliness/ followed by analysis of variance of the religiosity variables
assistance and credit availability. In each case the relation- tested with the evaluative criteria factors, at least two major
ship was positive. observations merit attention. First, it appears that one aspect
Analyses of isolated demographic variable effects also of religiosity, religious commitment, particularly when mea-
indicate some significant relationships. Age is found to be sured by cognitive religiosity and one aspect of behavioral
a somewhat better predictor than education and income and religiosity--church/synagogue attendance--may be signifi-
about equal to behavioral religiosity. Age, education, and cant in predicting the importance individuals place on certain
income are generally found to be uncorrelated with be- retail store evaluative criteria. This corroborates the findings
havioral religiosity. of Wilkes et al. (1986). The importance placed on sales
personnel friendliness/assistance was found in the present
Effect of Religious Affiliation study to be consistently related to religious commitment.
Thus HI was accepted. It appears that religious individuals,
Table 4 presents the findings from the analysis of variance as defined by all three measures of religiosity, attach a
tests involving religious affiliation and retail store evaluative higher level of importance to the friendliness of and assis-
criteria. As indicated, virtually no statistical relationships tance provided by retail sales personnel. The obvious retail-
were found. Religious affiliation does not appear to be a ing application to this finding relates to retail stores operating
significant predictor of retail store evaluative criteria. in markets where a sizeable portion of the customer base is
highly religiously committed. Bama (1983) estimates that
nationwide approximately 20 percent of Americans can be
DISCUSSION classified in the most highly religiously committed category.
In certain markets this figure will no doubt be higher. There-
The major purpose of this study was to investigate various fore, in markets where a large percentage of the population
aspects of the relationship between consumer religiosity and is high in religiosity (i.e., regularly attending and giving to

TABLE 4
Statistical Results of the Effect of Religious Affiliation (ra) on Retail Store Evaluative Criteria
( EVALUATIVE CRITERIA
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sales Personnel
Shopping Shopping Product Friendliness/ Product Store Credit
Efficiency Convenience Availability Assistance Quality Attractiveness Availability
Protestant (Mean) 4.97 4.77 4.69 5.03 5.33 3.62 3.4 l
Catholic (Mean) 5.02 4.67 4.75 4.93 5.34 3.55 3.48
Jewish (Mean) 5.13 4.67 4.67 4.81 5.42 3.52 4.14

Era 0.75 0.81 0.30 1.25 0.50 0.58 2.09

Fra/age,edu, inc 2.31 a 0.09 2.75 ~ O.35 1.86 0.50 1.5 I

Fage/ra,edu, inc 0.09 1.65 0.59 0.13 0.43 0.32 0.66
Eedu/ra,age, inc 2.63b 3.63 b 3.25 b 1.28 0.24 0.26 0.33
Finc/ra,age,edu 0.28 0.90 0.73 0.49 0.50 0.93 1.51
Era,age 0.71 1.21 1.38 0.87 0.29 2.04 a 0.36
Era,edu 0.61 1.36 1.49 0.22 2.24 a 0.65 I. 19
Era,inc 0.95 1.00 0.95 0.57 0.90 0.73 0.99

ap < .10
bp < .05
Cp < .01

JAMS 109 SPRING, 1990

CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

local churches and having deep religious faith), retailers that Unitarians) while significant theological similarities may oc-
offer and promote the courtesy and friendliness of their sales cur across denominational categories (e.g., Protestant Epis-
personnel should have a competitive advantage over those copals vs. Catholics). When these theological differences/
retailers that do not. This desired attribute perhaps relates to similarities are manifested in individual behavior activities,
the tendency of highly religious individuals to be more de- the result may be some problems in the performance of reli-
pendent and sociable than less religious individuals (Hamby gious affiliation as a consistently effective predictor variable.
1973; Wiebe and Fleck 1980). Since consistent findings In interpreting the findings from this study, one should
were not obtained for H2 and H3, these were rejected. keep in mind these and other limitations. As mentioned
The second major observation relates to the apparent tack previously, the sample composition was somewhat upscale.
of predictability in using religious affiliation as a predictor Although this can be considered positive from the standpoint
of retail store evaluative criteria. The hypotheses related of better control for socioeconomic differences between re-
to this variable (H4-H7) were all rejected. Although pre- ligious groups, it does limit generalizability. These socio-
viously cited studies indicate psychological and behav- economic differences represent a second limitation since
ioral differences between respondents of different denomina- religiosity tends to be significantly related to such factors
tions, the present study indicates that evaluative criteria as education (negative) and age (positive). The high corre-
differences between Catholics, Jews, and Protestants are lations between religiosity and such variables create prob-
not as great as between those with differing degrees of lems in isolating true, casual relationships, alt hough the
religious commitment. present study attempted to control for these two demographic
At least two reasons may exist for the fact that only one variables. A final limitation relates to the aforementioned
of seven hypotheses was supported by the results. The first difficulties involved in identifying the religiosity construct.
reason may be the relatively strict nature of the decision Although an attempt was made to measure religiosity from
criterion for accepting the first three hypotheses. In order both a cognitive and behavioral perspective, the very per-
to be accepted, the religious commitment hypotheses had sonal nature of this construct makes valid groupings into
to be statistically supported (p = .05) by all three measure- the various religious categories, such as degree of religious
ments of religiosity, one dealing with cognitive religiosity commitment, somewhat difficult.
("extent of self-ascribed religiousness") and two pertaining
to behavioral religiosity ("frequency of church/synagogue
attendance" and "monetary giving to religious organiza- FUTURE RESEARCH
tions"). Only H1 met this criterion. It is noteworthy, how-
ever, that the H2 and H3 results were in the hypothesized Given findings from the present study, the evidence of an
direction and statistical significance for each was found with apparent upswing in the level of religious commitment of
at least one measurement, but not all three. That is, product Americans (Gallup 1985), and LaBarbera's (1987) call
quality was found to be positively related with cognitive for the inclusion of religiosity in consumer behavior re-
religiosity, but not with either measure of behavioral re- search, this variable should be given consideration in future
ligiosity (H2). As hypothesized in H3, highly religious patronage behavior model building and research efforts. The
individuals, according to all three measures, apparently present study indicates these efforts should concentrate on
placed a lower level of importance on credit availability. religious commitment of the consumer rather than religious
This difference, however, was statistically significant with affiliation. From a retail patronage behavior perspective,
only the religious giving measure of behavioral religiosity. several subsequent research questions would logically result.
With regard to the lack of support for any of the four While the present study investigated only the relationship
hypotheses dealing with religious affiliation, the best expla- between religion and primarily one type of shopping motive
nation may simply be that religious affiliation is not an (i.e., "functional" wants), future studies might explore other
effective segmentation variable in American society today. considerations typically affected by such personal determin-
Although some behavioral scientists have found psychologi- ants as religion. For example, does religious commitment
cal and behavioral differences across religious affiliation have an effect on "nonfunctional" shopping motives of the
groups (Anderson 1970; Greeley 1977; Herberg 1964; Patai consumer (Sheth 1983)? Does religious commitment help
1977), and at least one marketing researcher has found evi- in explaining differences in shopper-types, such as those set
dence of these differences manifesting themselves in con- forth in classic retailing typologies by Stone (1954) and
sumer decision-making situations (Hirschman 1983), it may Stephenson and Willett (1969)? Based on the results of the
be that religious affiliation classifications tend to be too present study, it is expected that highly religious individuals
operationally vague to produce consistent results. With re- are more likely to be "personalizing shoppers" and "ethical
ference to the traditional categories "Protestant," "Catholic," shoppers" (Stone 1954) and "store loyal shoppers" (Stephen-
and "Jew" (as used in this study) Brinkerhoff (1978) con- son and Willett 1969).
tends that there "is undoubtedly greater variation within Another research area for investigation is whether reli-
these categories than between them." Today there is some gious commitment helps in explaining patronage at different
evidence that these differences between religious affiliation types of stores--for example department stores vs. specialty
categories may be diminishing even more (Gallup 1985). stores--or even retail patronage mode. Along these lines,
In measuring religiosity, the religious affiliation construct Hawes and Lumpkin (1986) found that department stores
may have an inherent problem as a classification variable were associated with the lowest amount of perceived risk
since religious beliefs within denominational categories may among six retail patronage modes explored, while media
differ greatly (e.g., Protestant Pentecostals vs. Protestant advertisements were associated with the highest amount ot

JAMS 110 SPRING, 199(

CONSUMER RELIGIOSITY AND RETAIL STORE McDANIEL AND BURNETT
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

perceived risk. Taking into account research results indicat- Greeley, Andrew M. 1977. The American Catholic. New York: Basic
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Lexington, MA: Heath.
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Future research efforts might also extend to industrial Hadaway, C.K. and W.C. Roof. 1978. "Religious Commitment and the
buying situations. Since industrial buying decisions are often Quality of Life in American Society." Review of Religious Research 19
(Spring): 295-307.
made in a manner similar to consumer buying decisions
Hamby, J. 1973. "'Some Personality Correlates of Religious Orientation."
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prefer a higher level of sales personnel friendliness and vestigation of Attribute Importance in Retail Store Selection." Journal
of Retailing 53 (Winter): 59-72, 95.
assistance. Do industrial buyers high in religiosity also place Hawes, Jon M., and James R. Lumpkin. 1986. "Perceived Risk and the
a high level of importance on this attribute and does this Selection of a Retail Patronage Mode." Journal of the Academy o["
affect the purchase decision? Marketing Science 14 (Winter): 37-42.
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of Retailing 52 (Summer): 23-32.
Kahoe, R.D. 1974. "Personality and Achievement Correlates of Intrinsic
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STEPHEN W. McDANIEL is Associate Professor of Mar-
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Sociology 60 (July): 36-45. Business Administration from the University of Arkansas
Tate, E. and G. Miller. 1971. "Differences in Value Systems of Persons in 1979. His publications have appeared in such journals as
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of Religion 10(4): 357-365.
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ing Strategy." In: Patronage Behavior and Retail Management. William
JOHN BURNETT is Associate Professor of Marketing at
R. Darden and Robert F. Lusch, eds. New York: North-Holland, pp. Texas A&M University. His research interests center on
89-113. segmentation of the elderly and singles, human values, and
Tylor, Edward B. 1979. "Animism." In: Reader in Comparative Religion, emotional appeals. He has published in a number of journals,
4th ed. William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, eds. New York: Harper including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing
and Row, pp. 9-19.
Weber, Max. 1904. Die Protestantished Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalis- Research, Journal of Consumer Research, and Journal of
mus. I. 1I. Archiv fur Sozialwissenschaft und Socialpolitick+ No. 20, Applied Psychology. He has written two books, one on
pp. 1-54. promotion management and another on advertising.

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