Memory-Work: An Alternative Approach to Investigation Consumer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction of Clothing Retail Encounters

Abstract

This paper introduces memory-work methodology to examine consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction of women clothing retail exchanges. Unlike most other methodologies, memory work aims to capture the complexity of the consumer's experience. This paper uses one memory, "a quick exit from a clothing store", to illustrate critical concepts in the satisfaction and dissatisfaction process. The analysis reveals that the consumer appraises and evaluates her exchange interactions based on her "self", social experiences and attached social meanings Specifically, it illustrates how injustices, disconfirmation of expectations and resultant emotions were
constructed. It further describes and theorises how the resultant emotions drove this consumer to "flee" the store and perceive her experience as being dissatisfying. The analysis implies that by fleeing, this consumer protected her "self" by avoiding association with the perceived meanings created by the unjust experience.