Chinese consumers' perception of hypermarket store image

Purpose The purpose of this paper is first, to find out store image attributes valued by Chinese consumers in Beijing; second, to understand Chinese consumers' preference by comparing an international retailer with a domestic retailer; and third, to provide both international and domestic retailers with suggestions for store image improvement. Design/methodology/approach This study used a three‐stage approach to collect the data. First, two waves of semi‐structured interviews were carried out, followed by a survey, concluding with another wave of interviews. The survey data were analyzed using SPSS. Findings The paper finds that there are 18 important attributes in building a hypermarket retailer's store image in China. Beijing consumers are more concerned with a retailer's reputation and services than with the price. In terms of store image dimensions, the paper concludes that store atmosphere is the most important, followed by service personnel and merchandise. Research limitations/implications The research scope is limited to Beijing. Practical implications The practical implications of the findings are that: store atmosphere is the most important store image dimension for Beijing consumers; Chinese consumers no longer look only for low prices; international hypermarket retailers hold better store image than domestic retailers; and corporate reputation is important for hypermarket retailers in China, followed by quality of goods and staff's service attitude. Originality/value This paper is the first to investigate Chinese consumers' perception of store image and top concerns when shopping at a hypermarket.