Retailer Categorization: How Store-Format Price Image Influences Expected Prices and Consumer Choices

[Display omitted] •Product price expectations vary based on a retailer’s store format (e.g., drug store, club store).•Price image, the qualitative assessment of a store’s overall prices, affects price expectations.•Consumers associate price image not only with specific retailers but also store formats.•Store-format price image can exert influence on consumer price expectations and store choice.•Consumers’ choices may vary if they focus on retailer-specific versus store-format price image. Prior research indicates that consumers may base their retail decisions (e.g., store choice, purchase quantity) on price image, which has been defined as consumer perceptions “of the aggregate price level of a retailer” (Hamilton and Chernev 2013, p. 2). The present research shows that consumers associate different price images not only with specific retailers, but more broadly with various store formats — such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and specialty stores. Six studies provide evidence that store-format price image exerts influence on consumer price expectations and store choice decisions, and that these retailer categorization effects are distinct from the effects of retailer price image.