The Effect of Affect and Trust on Commitment in Retail Store Relationships

This paper extends the study of relational exchange to retail markets. We propose that certain individual level determinants (perceived differences between stores and prior experience) are determinants of store commitment. Store trust and store affect are also modeled as intervening variables in the process. Survey data of consumers at a retail store with an affective environment provide evidence that experience is both directly and indirectly (through trust) related to store commitment, while perceived differences is indirectly related to store commitment through both trust and affect generated by the store.