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Definition of store image is argued to be useful if it predicts phenomena such as satisfaction, loyalty, customer retention and other attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Previous researches show that customers are affected by the store attributes and consider them to assess perceived benefits and attitudes. One of the biggest challenges for companies is to build a positive image. Knowing the alternatives which could be used to form a positive image is an important issue. A positive image which is created in the customer’s mind about store is seen to have a strong and positive influence on satisfaction. A satisfied customer is likely to be loyal to the store. Therefore, image and customer satisfaction gain importance in the stores which aim to survive. This study focuses on store image, customer satisfaction and the relationship between them. The study primarily explains these two concepts, and then provides a literature review on the researches related with them. The study presents researches in which store image and customer satisfaction are separately discussed, thus it also shows other variables which can be influential on these concepts. Implications for both store image theory and practices are discussed. The literature review reveals that store image plays an important role in customer satisfaction.  Since most of the studies in literature are based on retail industry, in this study ‘store’ concept mostly refers to ‘retail store’.

The study’s research model suggests that store design and ease of shopping are associated with customer retention through a mediated pathway in which store design and ease of shopping influence perceived store satisfaction, which in turn, influences customer retention. This survey was administered to two separate clothing stores offered to either females or males (in total, 533 participants). Using structural equation modelling methodology, data was analysed to explain the interrelations among the variables in the model. The results of an empirical study of a sample of store shoppers revealed that store design and ease of shopping influence customer retention in an indirect way through customer perception of satisfaction with the store. In building store satisfaction that is centred on customer retention, store design and shopping ease differ in their relative influences. This difference is high for females, but for men as low as to be considered negligible in males. As a result, improving customers’ perceptions of store design and ease of shopping is a way to ensure store satisfaction support customer retention. The results of the study provide a new insight into the relationships by suggesting indirect effects of shopping ease and store design on consumer retention by their impacts on store satisfaction, rather than direct effects.