Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate competitive structure between the department store and the discount store based on consumers' purchase intention. Female consumers who purchased clothing both in the department store and the discount store participated in the study by completing questionnaires (N=533) . Data were analyzed using factor analyses, paired t-test, Cronbach's $\alpha$, and chi-square analyses. The result was as following: 1 . Overall, the department store and the discount store are competing complementarily. However, this competitive structure varied with clothing items and consumers' age. 2. As a result of factor analyses, the two retailer's service quality could be evaluated with four dimensions: price and A/S, store atmosphere and VMD, store policy, and salesperson. 3. The department store was expected to provide the highest level of service in ‘price and A/S’, ‘store atmosphere and VMD’, ‘salesperson’ whereas the discount store in ‘store policy’ 4. Respondents were classified in four groups according to how frequently they use department store and discount store as following: shopper of both retailers (68.35％), discount store shopper(20.97%), department store shopper(4.70%), shopper of neither retailer(3.97％). Each group showed differences in service satisfaction and demographic characteristics.
