Do supermarkets’ emails have any value for their customers? The effect of emails’ content and interestingness on customers’ attitude and engagement
Abstract
Supermarkets use relational emails to foster sales and support promotional campaigns, while brands and more exclusive retailers use non-transactional contents in order to foster a positive attitude towards their brands. Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework we study the role of relational email content and interestingness of emails emanating from supermarkets on consumer’s perceived value and on their attitude and engagement towards the supermarket, but also on their mood. Building a dedicated relational email perceived value scale and comparing three types of content, this article highlights the importance of emotional value even in a utilitarian context (supermarket). A few recommendations are offered to help supermarkets to provide value-added content to their customers in order to foster preference and loyalty in a highly competitive market where discounters are gaining shares.