Gendered retailing: a study of customer perceptions of front line staff in the DIY sector

Foster, C. ORCID: 0000-0003-2462-5155, 2004. Gendered retailing: a study of customer perceptions of front line staff in the DIY sector. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 32 (9), pp. 442-447. ISSN 0959-0552

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This paper reports findings from a small scale study exploring the role gender plays in the interactions between customers and front-line staff in DIY retailing. Drawing on materials gathered through observations, informal discussions with staff and focus groups, this study suggests that “maleness” pervades many aspects of DIY retailing. For the respondents the image of the case retailer, B&Q, and the products sold had male connotations. Furthermore, male customers perceived male customer-facing staff to have better knowledge of technical DIY than female employees, even though this was not always the case. Given the rising interest from women in home improvements, it would appear that measures need to be put in place to create a more “inclusive” DIY store environment for female customers, and one that challenges the stereotypical assumptions held by many male home improvement customers.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management
Creators:	Foster, C.
Publisher:	Emerald
Date:	2004
Volume:	32
Number:	9
ISSN:	0959-0552
Rights:	© 2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 09:55
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 13:14
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/4885

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Views

Downloads