Purpose

Offline retail stores have been working on improving their in-store customer experience; they have begun to realise the physical advantage they have over online channels. Especially sports products have a number of unique features, such as high emotional involvement or a sense of community; additionally, sports customers put emphasis on multisensory brand experience at the point of sale. This study examines the in-store customer experience (ISCX) in offline sports retail stores, taking into account the commercial uniqueness of sport.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study (focus groups; n = 16) and quantitative survey (cross-sectional survey design; n = 238) were conducted to measure ISCX in sports retail stores.

Findings

The results suggest that the customers' in-store experience has a significant influence on customers' satisfaction with the sports retailer and their likeliness to recommend the store to friends, which, in turn, is significantly affected by customers' satisfaction with the retailer. Moreover, social responses to actors involved in the service encounter, for example, the interaction with employees, play a significant role for the customer in-store experience. Accordingly, sports customers strive not only for functional benefits inherent in the interaction with customers and employees but also for social benefits.

Originality/value

This study extends the knowledge by (1) replicating the ISCX scale, (2) analysing ISCX in a sports retail environment and (3) examining the influence of ISCX on the Net Promoter Score. Moreover, the findings support managers' know-how about in-store setting and help to maintain the customer relationship.

中文翻译：

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洞察体育零售商店中的客户体验

目的

线下零售商店一直在努力改善其店内客户体验；他们已经开始意识到他们比在线渠道具有的物质优势。尤其是运动产品具有许多独特的功能，例如高度的情感投入或社区意识。此外，体育客户在销售点还注重多感官品牌体验。这项研究考虑了体育的商业独特性，研究了离线体育零售商店的店内客户体验（ISCX）。

设计/方法/方法

进行了定性研究（焦点小组；n  = 16）和定量调查（横断面调查设计；n  = 238）来测量体育零售商店中的ISCX。

发现

结果表明，顾客的店内体验对顾客对体育零售商的满意度及其向朋友推荐商店的可能性具有重大影响，而顾客对体育零售商的推荐意愿反过来又受到顾客对零售商的满意度的影响。此外，对参与服务的行为者的社会反应，例如与员工的互动，对于客户的店内体验也起着重要的作用。因此，体育顾客不仅为与顾客和雇员互动中固有的功能利益而努力，而且为社会利益而努力。

创意/价值

这项研究通过（1）复制ISCX量表，（2）在体育零售环境中分析ISCX以及（3）检查ISCX对净促销者分数的影响来扩展知识。此外，调查结果支持经理们关于店内设置的专业知识，并有助于维持客户关系。