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Quality, value, satisfaction, trust, a

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Berry, Seiders, and Grewal (2002) identify and define five dimensions of convenience<br />

applicable to the services arena: access, decision, transaction, benefit, and post-benefit. Seiders,<br />

Voss, Grewal, and Godfrey (2003) empirically investigate these dimensions of service<br />

convenience and their relationship to <strong>value</strong> perceptions and behavioral intentions. Their findings<br />

suggest that decision convenience has a positive effect on <strong>value</strong> perceptions; access convenience<br />

has no significant effect on either <strong>value</strong> perceptions or behavioral intentions; transaction<br />

convenience has a positive effect on behavioral intensions; and benefit convenience has a strong<br />

positive effect on both <strong>value</strong> perceptions and behavioral intentions.<br />

Seiders, Berry, and Gresham (2000) identify and define four dimensions of convenience<br />

that are specific to retailers. These four dimensions of retail convenience are essential for the<br />

purposes of this study. They are discussed in greater detail below.<br />

Access convenience. Access convenience is defined as “the speed and ease with which<br />

consumers can reach a retailer” (Seiders, Berry, and Gresham 2000, p. 81). This access may<br />

occur in person, over the phone, through a computer, or in other ways. Access convenience is an<br />

extremely important dimension of retail convenience, because if the consumer cannot reach the<br />

retailer, then all other dimensions of retail convenience are meaningless. In other words, if the<br />

consumer cannot reach the retailer, then they will never be given the opportunity on that<br />

particular shopping attempt to make a decision, to complete a transaction, or to possess the<br />

desired product from the retailer.<br />

Consumer decision-making is significantly influenced by both the speed and ease with<br />

which consumers can make contact with retail outlets. Traditional retailers may improve access<br />

convenience by operating from a location that is easy to get to, near to most consumers, and near<br />

to other frequently visited stores (Seiders, Berry, and Gresham 2000). Online retailers are<br />

particularly suited for access convenience, as it provides the opportunity for consumers to shop<br />

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