Decision making strategies and retail buyers: An empirical examination of automatic replenishment programs

The purpose of this research was to utilize a modified version of Sheth's model (1981) of merchandise buying behavior to determine retail buyer's willingness to trade off on negotiation variables based on their merchandise requirements and vendor accessibility when placing items on an Automatic Replenishment Program (ARP). A total of 103 usable questionnaires were returned, yielding a 41% response rate from retail buyers in five major department store chains located throughout the United States. Multiple regression was used to test model relationships and the eight hypotheses developed for this study. Findings indicated that Sheth's model was satisfactory in exploring the relationships that exist between buyers and vendors when determining what products to be placed on an ARP. Although the entire regression model was significant and respectable in its explanatory power, only two variables---management mentality (merchandise driven) and product characteristics (price/value and color) were found to be significantly related to the buyers willingness to trade off on the negotiation variables (price, packaging, delivery & assortment).;Further research is needed to investigate additional criteria that retail buyers examine when selecting items for an ARP. This research proved to be satisfactory as a beginning step in the future investigation and study of ARPs.